Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve

Abstract

Reviewed by: Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve April Spisak Stoeve, Ray Arden Grey. Amulet/Abrams, 2022 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781419746000 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781683359494 $15.54 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-12 Arden wishes her mother hadn't left, but at least she still has photography and her best (only) friend as consistent elements in her life. When Jamie finds his first girlfriend, however, and drops off a relationship deep end, Arden is left alone to grapple with her difficulty opening up to new people, her guilt at feeling less stressed in her mother's absence, and what her newly solidified asexual identity means for her want for romantic connection. First-person narration keeps us solidly in Arden's head, which can be an exasperating place to be as she generally assumes the worst of everyone before finally accepting them as nuanced people. Her hyper-critical mother and her parents' abusive relationship have Arden understandably putting up an impregnable emotional wall, so it is a relief to see her finally lower that [End Page 262] protective barrier and let people in. Arden's (forgivably) self-involved perspective does mean that other characters remain underdeveloped, but readers will see that Arden is on a painstaking path to a better her, and there are a lot of promising signs that she'll get there. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois