Almost There and Almost Not by Linda Urban (review)

After her dad takes off for Alaska, eleven-year-old California is shuffled between relatives, landing eventually with her aunt Monica, who seems not entirely clear what to do with her. California finds company then with her great-great-great Aunt Eleanor, who might be a ghost but is plenty interesting. Heeding advice from Eleanor’s long ago book on manners, California starts writing letters to various people in her life, an exercise that becomes more like journaling once she realizes that no one is writing back to her. At the same time, she is learning more about Eleanor and her transformation from hotel maid to society lady and the ripple effects it had. California’s voice rings true as a kid who has internalized the neglect by the adults in her life as a sign of her unlovability, and the fleeting references to her dead mother only sharpen the picture of a grieving girl who has been pushed aside enough to believe that she’s not even worth her sadness. Urban unspools both California’s and Eleanor’s stories with a gentle patience, making it clear both girls were utterly failed by those who were supposed to care for them and learned to manage themselves for better or worse. Hope shines through, however, as Aunt Monica emerges from her own fog of grief for her late husband, becoming California’s champion and protector, and even Eleanor gets a belatedly happy ending. The ghostly element here feels more magical than haunting, and fans of Rebecca Stead and Erin Entrada Kelly will appreciate the realistic emotional turmoil touched with a dash of fantasy.