SING SOMETHING TRUE

With Cass’ BFF’s turning away from her, the many meltdowns of her disabled older sister become harder to cope with.

Cass’ best friend, Dani, seems far too interested in prickly but nonetheless very attractive new girl Lucy, leaving the Jewish fifth grader left out. Although Cass is her mother’s “Cassidy Sunshine,” none of the strategies she tries to warm Lucy to her work at all. The new girl seems determined to make Cass feel bad, with Dani too swept up in Lucy’s popularity to intervene. Meanwhile, Cass’ sister, sixth grader Sophie, diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, is prone to severe meltdowns. Trying to avoid those disturbing events, her family has believably learned to be ever so careful, leaving Cass with responsibilities that are hard for the child. In an entrancing subplot that ultimately fails to fulfill its promise, Cass is befriended by a lonely robin that seems to have been left behind by its flock; she and the bird charmingly establish a magical rapport based on their shared musical talents. A too-tidy conclusion results after Cass finally asks her mother for help, makes her uncomfortable position clear to Dani (who receives it without a scrap of defensiveness), and bravely sets limits on Lucy—who, with equal improbability, mends her ways. The cast is default White; Cass and her family are Jewish, Dani is Latinx, and the fifth graders’ sensitive teacher is Korean American.

A fair-to-middling exploration of typical and not-so-common middle-grade challenges.