SuitabookJust under the clouds
Melissa Sarno
- Reading
- Consider reading together or checking in as the family’s housing changes and Cora’s care responsibilities emerge. Let the child set the pace for discussing grief or housing insecurity.
- Themes
- Belonging and unstable housing: Cora’s family moves between temporary homes, and Cora hopes her mother’s friend’s apartment could become a place to belong. Housing instability shapes Cora’s search for a secure place and her understanding of home.
- Care and independence: Cora looks after Adare, while her mother considers staying with a friend; Cora imagines that living there could limit her mother’s autonomy. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Friendship and different experiences: The book addresses friendship and different experiences; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The friendship connects two characters with different experiences of being rootless and having a home.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes a father’s death, homelessness and temporary shelter, a shelter room being ransacked, bullying, school struggles and Adare speaking little and needing care. These difficulties may prompt questions or discussion.