Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Having her philosophize for the last two chapters was gilding the lily and nearly ruined the entire book for me. This gets especially bad at the end, when, of course, everything turns out all right and Ari grows up and Learns Things and reflects back on her experiences-basically, a whole lot of telling when it’s not needed, because we’ve already been shown how Ari has changed. The book is marred by only one major thing: the author’s tendency to philosophize, moralize and explain all of Ari’s symbolic decisions through Ari’s thoughts and dialogue. And, though Ari and Gage never seem to be in any real danger, there is enough hinted at that gives the vague feeling of danger for these two siblings while they are without their own home. Enough is explained of Gage and Janna’s relationship to understand both why Gage left and why Janna didn’t pick much of a fight about Ari leaving. The problems that Ari faces and the solutions that come about flow naturally from each other, so nothing seems contrived, forced, or too over-the-top to seem unrealistic. Rating: 3/5 Paper Things, though a little clumsy in execution, is a sweet book about family, love, determination, and the problems and emotions that can arise from keeping (or not keeping) secrets. Of course, it would be better if she didn’t have to pretend.

She knows she’s too old to play with the paper people she’s cut out of magazines over the years, but it’s nice to pretend to have a big, happy family and a house with a room all her own. In all this chaos, there is one thing that gives Ari comfort: her Paper Things. Instead, Gage and Ari “couch surf,” crashing with friends or sneaking into shelters to escape the cold Maine nights. So when Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him, even though they don’t have an apartment yet. When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she made Ari promise that she and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always. Paper Things, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson, was published in 2015 by Candlewick.

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson