The Secrets of Cricket Karlsson

Cricket Karlsson is eleven and very artistic. She plans to become an artist, like her Aunt Frannie. She doesn’t want to be anything like her mother, who sighs all the time and worries about dieting. Cricket draws constantly, but her art teacher doesn’t think her drawings follow the rules of art. Cricket’s best friend deserts her to join a clique known as the horse girls, and her Aunt Frannie loses her joy and ends up in a mental hospital. Cricket goes and visits her aunt after school and takes on the burden of trying to get her aunt well and out of the hospital while also dealing with trying to win back her best friend and ward off the advances of a boy she doesn’t like. Cricket has her own struggles with depression.

This book is written in the form of a diary. The voice is believable, although the artwork, which appears on nearly every page, is dreary and uneven. The adults in the story are by and large unpleasant and somewhat irresponsible. American readers might also find the writing off-putting as it seems more European than American, although some young readers may find this interesting.