YA Book Club: 2022 Far From the Tree

Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After getting pregnant at sixteen and putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family and finds an older brother and younger sister. But she struggles to find the balance between her cautious joy at discovering two brand-new family members and the gaping loneliness that lingers in the space her daughter once held. Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she's quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. When her adopted family's long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can't help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs. Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, has no interest in bonding over their shared loss of a biological mother. After all, he is the only one of the three who was never adopted. And seventeen years in the foster care system have taught him his secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, tight to his chest where they can't hurt anyone but him. Robin Benway's beautiful interweaving story of three very different teenagers connected by blood explores the meaning of family in all its forms -how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it. -- From dust jacket.