Engelfried, Sally. Learning to Fall. Little, Brown. 09/2022. 268pp. Fiction. GRADES 5 – 8. OUTSTANDING. Trade $16.99. 978-0-316-36797-4.
Daphne’s mother sends her to spend the summer in Oakland, California with her dad while mom is working on a movie in Europe. She’s unhappy about being away from her mom, and prepared to be careful around her emotionally absent, alcoholic dad. But Daphne discovers more about herself and her family than anyone may have expected. This twelve-year-old, assumed to be white, girl used to want to be a skateboarder like her dad, but she buried that ambition after her dad never showed up when she thought he was going to. The issues around her then-absent dad are slowly exposed and examined, and Daphne begins to develop a new understanding of her dad. Engelfried’s swift-moving storyline, engaging characters, and Bay Area setting details bring her dad, neighbors, grandparents, skateboarding, and especially Daphne to life. There’s plenty to like in this local story by a local librarian.
Joshua Rees — Daly City Public Library