How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian (review)

Izzy Crawford's classmates at St. Veronica's Catholic High School don't know she's on scholarship or that she lives in a mobile home park. When her mom's application for a Habitat for Humanity house is accepted, Izzy dreads becoming the "poverty poster child of Clayton, Virginia" at the fundraising dinner and encountering among the donors her new boyfriend's parents. Instead, she catches a bus to North Carolina, where her dad's side of the family, whom she hasn't seen since her father died in Iraq, is holding a reunion. Izzy is a spunky, relatable character who is uncomfortable with the truth, even though she's fortunate enough to have a candid and perceptive friend who calls her out when necessary. Ultimately, it's the family reunion, where she faces the grandmother bitter over her son's marriage to Izzy's Puerto Rican mother, that convinces Izzy she needs to stand her ground and own who she is. Padian shows again and again that a story is always more complicated and more ordinary than it seems.