Heaven
Written by Angela Johnson
Reading Level: Ages: Young Adult
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Rating: * * * *  

Reviewed by G.R.I.T.S. Kidz Book Club

Heaven, the 1999 Coretta Scott King Award book, is a first-person narrative centered on the idea or theme that just as some truths in life may bring a sense of sorrow and loss, they can also turn those painful feelings and emotion into real joy, hope, and acceptance. When main character, Marley, discovers that she's adopted, knowing what to do with that truth becomes the real issue of the story. For 12 years, Marley has lived in Heaven, OH with two doting parents, a quirky but lovable brother, good friends and neighbors that she adores. Now, it seems that her life up to this point has been one big fat lie! Even though she lacks trust in her adoptive family now that she knows the truth, it will be their continued love and support which wins her over and helps her to finally find the answers she so desperately needs to know about her life.

I believe what makes this book so interesting to read is that it presents Marley's family, filled with deception and lies, as paradise. While the most troubled family in the story is "picture perfect" and free of deceit. The plot is idyllic and often dreamy with punches of reality mixed in as everyone's deceptions unravel. Even though this story is not as compelling as Ms. Johnson's 1994 Coretta Scott Award winning book, TONING THE SWEEP, it is still a moving story that handles the topic of adoption with graceful sensitivity.