Blue Plate Special

Doomed loves, failed families, nixed dreamssomeone else's leftovers are heaped on our plates the day we come into this world.

Big Macs and pop tunes mask the emptiness as Madeline watches her mom drink away their welfare checks. Until the day Tad, a quirky McDonald's counter boy, asks Madeline out for a date, and she gets her first taste of normal. But with a life thats anything but, how long can normal really last?

Hanging with Jeremy, avoiding Mam, sticking Do Not Disturb Post-its on her heart, Desiree's mission is simple: party hard, graduate (well, maybe), get out of town. But after Desiree accepts half a meatball grinder, a cold drink, and a ride from her mother's boyfriend one rainy afternoon, nothing is ever simple again.

Too many AP classes. Workaholic mom. Dad in prison. Still, Ariel's sultry new boyfriend, Shane, manages to make even the worst days delicious. But when an unexpected phone call forces a trip to visit a sick grandmother she's never met, revealing her family's dark past, Ariel struggles to find the courage to make the right choice for her own future.

As three girls from three different decades lives converge, they discover they are connected ways they could never imagine. Each of them finds strength that brings her closer to healing a painful past, and faith that there is a happier future.

Blue Plate Special

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Blue Plate Special

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452104119
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	03/22/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	380
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Michelle D. Kwasney has written two middle grade novels: Baby Blue, named a Booksense Pick and New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and Itch, released in 2007. Michelle lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she writes and teaches art. Visit her at www.michelledkwasney.com to learn more.

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Editorial Reviews

Kwasney’s evocative story shifts between the lives of three struggling 15-year-old girls being raised by single mothers in small New York cities. Madeline, living in 1977 Elmira, N.Y., is overweight, depressed and overburdened: “I will always be stuck here. In this spot. In this body. I will never be a spirit. Or anything other than what I am,” she thinks. Her life consists of babysitting her alcoholic mother, until she meets sensitive Tad and begins to hope for a life with a stable family. In 1993, Desiree, whose story is told in free verse, is raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Larry, becomes pregnant and flees with her boyfriend, Jeremy, who believes he is the father. And in present-day Poughkeepsie, overachieving Ariel’s ambitions and friendships are stifled by her controlling boyfriend. Ultimately the girls’ stories converge as they cope with the hands they’ve been dealt (“We all inherit someone else’s leftovers,” Ariel muses) and attempt to build better lives. Kwasney’s (Itch) protagonists are distinctive and empathetic, her narratives meticulously structured and realistic, exposing the unpredictability—and sometimes unfairness—that life can bring. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

In alternating chapters, three teenage girls tell their story. Madeline is an overweight, insecure sixteen year old during 1977; Desiree, at sixteen in 1993, is dealing with a mother who is strung out on medication, a stepfather who is looking at Desiree inappropriately, and a boyfriend who truly cares about her; Ariel is living in 2009, dealing with a father who is in prison for murder and with a mother who is doing her best to be the kind of role model she herself would have liked to have had. As the stories of these girls unfold, an unusual twist becomes evident—this is the story of one family, told through the story of the three generations of women who deal with the need for forgiveness. Kwasney does an excellent job of creating individual voices for each of the characters that allows the reader to understand just how they are each dealing, and often not dealing, with the highs and lows of their lives. Reviewer: Naomi Williamson

Children's Literature - Naomi Williamson

Gr 10 Up—Three generations are portrayed in this compelling novel about complicated relationships between mothers and daughters. Overweight Madeline, growing up in the 1970s, has taken care of her alcoholic mother for as long as she can remember. Food is her crutch, until she meets Tad, who changes her life. But a tragic accident leaves her pregnant and alone. Desiree, growing up in the 1990s, tells her story in free verse. Her mother's boyfriend rapes her in the backseat of his truck. After a falling out with her mother, the pregnant teen runs away. Ariel's story begins in 2009. Her father is in jail; she lives with her workaholic mother who offers little guidance, allowing Ariel to make her own decisions. But, as her relationship with her boyfriend becomes more troubling, Ariel realizes just how much she misses and needs her mother's support. As the stories develop, readers begin to see clues as to the relationships among the teens. Of the three stories, Ariel's is the weakest compared to the palpable emotions conveyed in Madeline's and Desiree's stories. But, it's Ariel's insight ("We all inherit someone's leftovers") that gets to the crux of the book. Life lessons abound in this grim look at how decisions can have lasting effects. Short, alternating chapters among the teens and authentic voices make this a good choice for reluctant readers.—Kelley Siegrist, Farmington Community Library, MI

School Library Journal

Three young women spanning three generations become intimately connected as their mothers' mistakes affect their lives. Growing up with a self-centered, single-parent, alcoholic mother, obese Madeline copes by indulging her insatiable hunger and being ultra-responsible. Desiree avoids her overly critical, negligent mother, who's stoned on headache pills and glued to soap operas, by hanging out with her boyfriend. Ariel's father is incarcerated for murder and her possessive boyfriend stalks her, but her mother is loving and supportive. Madeline's life changes when her boyfriend dies, leaving her pregnant, Desiree's, when she's raped and impregnated and Ariel's, when she meets her maternal grandmother, and all three lives are pulled together in an epiphany of discovery, forgiveness and healing. From 1977 through 2009, Madeline, Desiree and Ariel tell their stories in alternating present-tense voices evoking the tone of their respective generations (Desiree in all-lower-case free verse). While Kwasney effectively develops her characters into multidimensional personalities, convincing in their strengths and weakness, the coincidental plot feels contrived. Despite intergenerational differences, however, all three learn to make the most of the lives they inherit. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

BOOKLIST
"...[A] moving novel narrated in alternating voices....a larger tale of love, abuse, understanding, and forgiveness. The women aren't all likable, but they are authentic, and each story explores single motherhood, body obsession, and the search for meaningful love. Each woman's hard-fought journey towards self-respect makes for difficult yet compelling reading."
LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION, STARRED REVIEW
This book is impossible to put down and would be especially appreciated by older teen girls. It would also make a great discussion book for a mother and daughter to share.
KIRKUS REVIEWS
"...Kwasney effectively develops her characters into multidimensional personalities, convincing in their strengths and weakness..."
VOYA
The overall picture is of hope and affirmation, and readers will applaud these flawed but resilient women.
TEENREADS.COM
"the kind of novel that mothers should give to their daughters or, even better, read and discuss together.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Short, alternating chapters among the teens and authentic voices make this a good choice for reluctant readers."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Kwasney's protagonists are distinctive and empathetic, her narratives meticulously structured and realistic, exposing the unpredictability—and sometimes unfairness—that life can bring."

From the Publisher

Madeline copes with a weight problem and an alcoholic mother; Desiree is raped by her mother's lover; Ariel juggles AP classes and a possessive boyfriend—three women, three distinctive voices, and, the reader gradually realizes, three generations of the same family. "What the daughter does, the mother did," a Jewish proverb dryly observes at the beginning of Kwasney's novel. Abuse, abortion, alcoholism, unwed motherhood, sex, and salty language are all part of this story. But despite the problems, it is not a gloomy book. Madeline finds love, however brief, with a boy she meets at MacDonald's; Desiree works hard to get an education and raise her daughter; and Ariel develops the strength to claim her own space. When Ariel's grandmother, hospitalized for breast cancer surgery, reaches out to her daughter, a complicated, tentative reconciliation begins. The interwoven first-person, present-tense narratives (Desiree's in blank verse) portray fully realized characters. The males are equally convincing, creepily so in the case of Desiree's attacker. Occasionally a character's voice is not consistent, but it is a minor quibble. The author weakens her story somewhat by relying on coincidence—the drunken driver of the car that runs over Madeline's boyfriend is her mother, and Desiree's mentor turns out to be Madeline's long-lost high school friend. There is a gentle pro-life slant. The overall picture is of hope and affirmation, and readers will applaud these flawed but resilient women. Reviewer: Kathleen Beck

VOYA - Kathleen Beck

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