One Square Inch
For sixth-grader Cooper and his seven-year-old sister, Carly, the new school year brings new friends, stimulating class projects—and increasing worry as their mother goes from disappearing into her room for hours and hours to rushing about buying art supplies, taking on special or household projects without following through, and undergoing wild mood swings. Cooper and Carly find some refuge in constructing a tiny bedroom kingdom (see title), and Cooper knows he should talk to an adult. But the right time for that never seems to come until, at last, Carly runs away after being left alone again at home. There’s a clear purpose driving this simply written story, but along with slipping in a few brief info-dumps about bipolar disorder, Mills effectively and realistically conveys both Cooper’s rising anxiety and his mother’s increasingly erratic behavior. An expertly crafted, low-key alternative to Leslie Connor’s Waiting for Normal (2008). Grades 4-6. --John Peters