A Scar like a River
by Lisa Graff
Middle School    Ottaviano/Little, Brown    400 pp.
2/26    9780316570800    $17.99

Thirteen-year-old Fallon has been keeping secrets for as long as she can remember, such as how she got the scar on her face and why she can’t stand to be near her aunt Lune. She’s content with these secrets remaining a part of her past until the news of her uncle Geebie’s death sends deeply buried traumatic memories shooting to the surface. Graff doesn’t mince words in this story of recovering from abuse, and neither does our spirited and tenacious main character, who always says what she means. These traits are put to the test when Aunt Lune, the only family member who knew about Uncle Geebie’s actions (and yet told no one), moves in with Fallon’s family. Through group therapy and a close look into her family’s past, Fallon learns she may have more in common with Aunt Lune than she thought. Graff strikes a thoughtful balance between the heaviness of Fallon’s hurt and the humor and awkwardness intrinsic to middle school. Her parents are loving and supportive of her both before and after they learn of the abuse. Though it isn’t integral to the plot, Fallon’s mother has an undiagnosed chronic illness that affects her day-to-day existence, a reality not often reflected in children’s fiction. Two instances of child physical and sexual abuse are described in some detail but are done so carefully and without sensationalism.

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.