Review | Kyra, Just for Today

Summary: Kyra, Just for Today

This companion to A Song Called Home stars Lu’s best friend Kyra. Kyra’s mother is a sober alcoholic trying to stay on the straight and narrow and she has a great friendship with Lu even though she doesn’t have many other friends. But in the 7th grade, everything starts to change. Lu starts to make new friends and splits her time between both friend groups, eventually asking Kyra to join them sometimes. Kyra is also getting bullied for being bigger than most other 13-year-olds. Kyra is a great cook and finds solace cooking at home and helping her mom out with her cleaning jobs until her mom starts acting strange, and Kyra begins to suspect that she’s fallen off the sober wagon. How can Kyra stay afloat when her world seems to be crumbling?

The Good

This book is so absorbing — I couldn’t put it down! Kyra’s character feels so real and relatable and is going through A LOT! Like in Choldenko’s Hank Hooperman and Sumner’s Maid for It, Kyra is a bit parentified and essentially parents her mother sometimes because it’s been just them both forever. She does all the cooking at home and helps her mom keep track of money for the family. Of course, the pressure and financial anxiety intensifies when her mom appears to have gone back to drinking.

Through the ups and downs, Kyra goes to a support group for kids of alcoholics with Casey, Lu, Owen, and Gene, their sponsor, and this is such a great representation of kids experiencing living with an alcoholic parent. It broke my heart to see everything she deals with, but I appreciated that she did not have to face it all alone.

Hands down, my favorite part of this book is all the food descriptions, discussions, and cooking scenes. I loved seeing Kyra LOVE good food and ingredients. I also enjoyed reading Kyra’s thoughtful musings on life and friendship and how spot-on so many of them are. Friendship is another huge theme in this book as Kyra feels unmoored when Lu’s circle begins to grow, and Lu feels stifled by being Kyra’s only friend — who sometimes feels too needy.

Content Notes

Here are some specifics to know about the content.

Content Warnings

• Death: None
• Alcohol/substance abuse: Several recovering addicts and thoughts of kids whose parents have addiction issues
• Sexual content: None
• Religious content: Kyra’s grandmother is very religious and not the most welcoming, Kyra and her mom say they choose the ocean as their higher power
• Language: Adults say “crap” at least twice in the story, and one almost says “sh–“

Diversity

• Ethnic: Most characters are white, with a Latino side character
• Sexual orientation: None.

Recommended for ages: 11+

Good for kids who like:

• Books about overcoming challenges
• Stories revolving around food and cooking
• Books about changing friendships
• Coming-of-age stories
• The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
• Maid for It by Jamie Sumner

Publisher Details

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