Sugaring Off is a realistic fiction novel, that has been nominated for the North Star Award, about a 17 year old partially deaf girl, who goes by the name Owl. Owl lives on her aunt and uncle’s maple farm after a tragic accident 10 years prior involving her father. Owl’s father was sent to jail after throwing Owl down the stairs and rendering her deaf in one ear. Owl’s uncle Seth is getting on in his years and needs another hand on the maple farm. So he hires a friend’s grandson named Cody, without telling Owl. Owl and Cody’s relationship is a tumultuous one, after a rough first encounter. As Owl begins getting used to Cody on the farm, she is dealing with a stubborn teacher at her school. In a K-12 school of 14 kids, they hire a private tutor who aids deaf students on a regular basis named Mrs. Z. Owl is not a very big fan of Mrs. Z and often tries to make things difficult for her. Owl and Mrs. Z often butt heads because Owl struggles with using sign language and Mrs. Z uses it constantly. As frustrations grow between the two of them, it becomes more and more apparent that a confrontation is near. As Cody and Owl grow closer, so does the potential threat of Owl’s father. Owl’s father is to be released and wants to get into contact with Owl. As Owl battles with the idea of interacting with her father, Cody’s secrets start piling up. Cody is hiding things from Owl and she gets suspicious about how bad these secrets could be.
I enjoyed this books. The pacing of the story was nice and the characters felt multifaceted, instead of flat. Much of the story details were hidden to the reader and you had to find things out at the same time as Owl. I really enjoyed the air of mystery around the intentions of all the different characters. I will say that by the end of the book I absolutely hated Cody. It went back and forth for a while but he lied so much that I couldn’t do anything but despise him. I do think that the ending of the book moved a little too fast considering how slow the rest of the book usually was.
I think that this book is suitable for those who are a bit more mature. There isn’t any explicit sexual content but there are parts that hint at it so I don’t think this is a book for everyone. There is also talk of child abuse and drug use. I recommend this for those who are looking for a realistic fiction book with a healthy dose of romance. Fantasy elements aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and Sugaring Off has none of that. The romance plot is a big component that moves the story along.
YA Realistic Fiction readers will be delighted by the story that Gillian French has crafted. The characters’ storylines will be sure to entertain readers of all kinds. For readers who are interested in romance, this is definitely the book for that. However, they should be warned that the relationships in the book are not always the healthiest.