Kenzie and Quinn are stepsisters and best friends in this beautiful and moving graphic novel about sisterhood and family change. Kenzie’s dad and Quinn’s mom have been together for years; Kenzie’s mom died when Kenzie was very young. Recently, though, the parents have been arguing constantly, and the girls don’t know what’s going to happen to their family. Gramma knowingly swoops in to take the girls for a summer in the Outer Banks, offering the girls a respite and giving their parents time to sort things out. She is Kenzie’s dad’s mother, but views both girls as equally her granddaughters.
The region offers beaches, a herd of wild horses, and even a newborn foal. The girls explore and become involved in local conservancy efforts through veterinarian Gramma, who is a stable, calming presence. Despite their activity, though, the girls are still grappling with the question of what will happen to their family. If their parents divorce, the girls would be separated, too, each living with the parent who raised them before their family blended.
Quinn is snappish and Kenzie withdrawn as they each navigate how their relationship may change. The Outer Banks offer a respite from their family storm—but also a more literal one that blows in, endangering the new foal. The girls try to help, and one senses that their desire for family unity is overflowing into their attempts to keep foal and mare together.
Quinn is also in the midst of a budding romantic relationship with Willow, a girl from her school, through texts and video calls. When Kenzie realizes that Willow is a crush as well as a friend to Quinn, she is immediately supportive, and the fact that Willow is a girl is a non-issue. (Some reviews of this book are vague about Willow’s gender, but the book clearly uses she/her pronouns for her.)
The sweeping lines and soft colors of the drawings feel perfect for the windswept, outdoor setting of most of the tale and for the shifting sands of the girls’ family life. The images also do as much as the text, if not more, to show us the girls’ personalities and emotions: uncertainty, anger, and sadness, but also the joy of discovery, the sweet embarrassment of a crush, and the fierce love that binds these siblings.
Author/illustrator Niki Smith has given us a poignant tale of sisterhood and growing up, but also a rare look at what happens when a blended family seems about to unblend. It is a bittersweet story, but also somehow full of joy, and highly recommended.
The family is White. Kenzie has a port-wine birthmark on her face, but it is not remarked on.
