The Opposite of Hallelujah
*Starred Review* Big sister Hannah joined the Sisters of Grace convent when Caro was eight, so it seemed simpler to tell everyone at school that her sister was dead. That was “Caroliar’s” first lie. Eight years later, Hannah is home, depressed, and anorexic, having left the convent in self-imposed disgrace. This time it is easier for Caro to announce Hannah’s return from the Peace Corps, but as the lies pile up, so does Caro’s own confusion and disgrace. Jarzab packs a lot into this story—questions of faith and forgiveness, science and religion, mental illness, guilt, and possible redemption, as well as simple high-school drama. But at its heart, this is a story about sisters, and it’s as complex and convoluted as the relationship itself. Caro must reinvent her only-child status, learning to accept her parents’ worried focus on an older sister who was for years essentially nonexistent. Hannah, on the other hand, is overwhelmed with guilt over a friend’s death and is resentful and envious of Caro’s normal teenage angst. Couched among the issues are truly likable people: intelligent teenagers supporting each other through good times and bad; loving, very human parents struggling with how to intervene in the life of a seriously ill adult child while nurturing their teenage daughter; and a science-nerd priest who is honest enough to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn