Come November

When Rooney was nine years old and her little brother, Daniel, was a baby, her parents divorced. Nine years later, Rooney has an all-too-clear understanding of why her parents split up: Mom (Anneliese) is a member of the Next World Society, a group of people who believe that on November 17, they will Depart Earth and travel to an alien planet unaffected by climate change.

It's Rooney's senior year and she's supposed to be editor of the school newspaper--she loves writing and she's hoping to build a strong enough résumé to get her into Columbia University. But Anneliese, who refused to stop talking about the Next World at work, just got fired. Angry, Rooney asks her mom how they will feed themselves and pay rent. Anneliese responds, "I know it's hard for you to accept, but none of those things matter anymore." Rooney quits the paper, ups her hours at her coffee shop gig and reaches out to her recently remarried and seemingly absent dad, asking if he can help out "just until November is over." She (naively, of course) believes it'll get better once the 17th of November passes and no one has Departed. As the months count down, Rooney's relationships morph: her bond with brother Daniel disintegrates as he begins believing in Departure; her friendship with bestie Mercer develops into a romance; and she grows closer to her dad and his new wife.

Rooney is a wholly teenaged narrator who learns--over and over again--that everyone is complicated and no one is infallible. Katrin van Dam's debut is a nuanced work for young adults that delves into family dynamics and their imperfect, extremely human emotional responses. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness

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