Kyra’s mom is an alcoholic, but she’s been in recovery for more than five years now. She cleans houses for a living, sometimes with Kyra’s help. In many ways, Kyra’s life revolves around her mom’s recovery. Kyra (white) keeps everything under control at home. She cooks and cleans, packs her mom’s lunch, and reminds her mom to take her phone charger with her. She attends Group, a supportive space for kids who are affected by others’ alcoholism. Kyra and her mom journal together and share their entries with one another. Kyra has always felt grateful that her mom is committed to recovery, but lately, something has changed. Her mom starts coming home later and has become moody, sometimes snapping at Kyra in anger. The truth—her mom is drinking again—comes out when Kyra, who is home alone one evening, burns herself while cooking and can’t hold of her mom. Although her mom recommits to recovery, it doesn’t erase Kyra’s pain, anger, or feelings of neglect and betrayal. But with the support of friends both within and outside of Group, Kyra begins to set boundaries and to gain a healthier image of herself as a whole, complex, multifaceted person apart from her mother. This raw, tender novel is honest in its depiction of the effects of one parent’s addiction on her child.

Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by Kirkus!

From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together.

Krya has always felt like she’s a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she’s okay with that, because she’s got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years ago, she and Kyra have always been there for each other—something Kyra is thankful for every week when she attends her group meetings with other kids of alcoholics. When Mom is managing her cleaning business and Kyra is taking care of things at home, maybe, she thinks, she’s not too much. Maybe, she’s just enough.

Then seventh grade starts, and everything Kyra used to be able to count on feels unsure. Kyra’s best friend, Lu, is hanging out with eighth graders, and Mom is unusually distant. When Mom starts missing work, sleeping in, and forgetting things, Kyra doesn’t dare say “relapse." But soon not saying that word means not saying anything at all—to Lu or to her support group. And when Kyra suspects that her worst fears might be real, she starts to question whether being just enough is not enough at all.

With sensitivity and candor, acclaimed author Sara Zarr tells a heartfelt, personal story about finding hope in even the most difficult places, and love in even the most complicated relationships.