Tracy Holczer’s heartfelt middle-grade debut novel, The Secret Hum of a Daisy (2014), centers on twelve-year-old Grace, who must come to terms with her mother’s premature death. Sent to live with a grandmother she doesn’t like, in a town she doesn’t know, Grace tries to piece together what she thinks is a posthumous message about life from her mother. The narrative addresses themes of loss, death, family, and reconciliation, among others. Twelve-year-old Grace lives with her eccentric, artistic mother. This small family, however, is never in one place for too long. For reasons unknown, Grace’s mother uproots them every few months or so to start life anew somewhere else. Though Grace loves her mother, she is tired of the constant moving from one locale to the next. When Grace and her mom move again, Grace thinks that they will finally settle down. In time, however, her mother informs her that they will be moving again; Grace determines to let her mother know how she feels. Angry at the possibility of being uprooted again, Grace complains to her mother, saying things she later regrets, especially with what follows. One day, before Grace can apologize for her angry outburst, her mother drowns in a swimming accident. Grief-stricken, Grace is sent to live with her grandmother in a small town in California. Though Grace has always wanted a home to call her own, this set-up complicates matters as Grace doesn’t know or trust her grandmother—she has never met her before. Grace feels that her mother would not want her living with a stranger. However, her grandmother is a key to her mother’s complicated past, as is the new town in which Grace suddenly finds herself. When Grace begins a treasure hunt, finding clues that are similar to the clues she and her mother used to share, Grace begins to wonder if her mother is reaching out to her in an attempt to show her the true meaning of home. Well-received by readers and reviewers, many praise The Secret Hum of a Daisy for its tender, poetic approach to the theme of loss in a middle-grade novel. Holczer has also been praised for her nuanced characters. For some, the novel lacks action and suspense, thus stalling in some areas, but the overall consensus is that the narrative works in the way Holczer intended it to, as a captivating and engaging narrative about loss for kids. Some of the more intense parts of the narrative that might potentially trigger readers include the fact that Grace’s mother became pregnant with her while still a teenager and was kicked out of the house by Grace’s grandmother for this perceived transgression; the revelation that Grace’s father and grandfather were killed in a car accident before she was born; her father’s parents died in a fire; the inclusion of a pony with an incurable disease and of a young boy who deals with cancer remission. Despite possible triggers, The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a wonderful read for children; its contents include many topics for parents to discuss with children.

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Tracy Holczer

Middle grade

Novel

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