Some Kind of Happiness

There’s old-fashioned appeal in the kids roaming free and exploring the outdoors, and . . . the story’s exceedingly satisfying and well told.

Depression and anxiety are usually reserved for YA fare, so it’s refreshing to see those matters brought to younger readers and especially to those kids struggling to voice emotions they don’t yet understand. Legrand handles the topic with sensitivity and compassion.

Legrand has pulled off a difficult trick in this novel. She’s constructed a story-within-a-story fairy tale that’s utterly compelling but sounds as though it was written by an 11-year-old girl. . . . A layered, thoughtful exploration.

A multilayered plot, engaging characters, and more than one mystery highlight this ambitious novel. . . . Legrand successfully weaves it all into a rich, nuanced tale that culminates in a convincing and satisfying conclusion.

★ A quiet magic is at work in Legrand’s novel, in which she adeptly interweaves Fin’s imaginative writing with the real-life narrative, underpinning all with an appeal to honesty and self-acceptance. This beautiful and reflective tale carries echoes of Katherine Patterson’s The Bridge to Terabithia (1977) and will resonate with thoughtful readers who enjoy pondering life’s bigger questions.

★ Legrand handles the tough subject of childhood mental health gently and honestly, and. . . . paints a realistic picture of a girl trying to figure out what’s wrong with her. Finley’s quest to uncover family secrets reveals not just what kept her father away from his relatives but how a family sticks together through good times and bad.