Once You Know This, Emily Blejwas
Once You Know This, Emily Blejwas
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Once You Know This

Author: Emily Blejwas

Narrator: Catherine Taber

Unabridged: 3 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/19/2017


Synopsis

A girl wishes for a better life for herself, her mom, and her baby brother and musters the courage to make it happen in this moving and emotionally satisfying story for readers of Kate DiCamillo and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

“Once You Know This reminds me of a flower blooming in the crack of a sidewalk. It’s important, and it’s special. Just read it.”—Ali Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Thing About Jellyfish
 
Eleven-year-old Brittany knows there has to be a better world out there. Lately, though, it sure doesn’t feel like it. She and her best friend, Marisol, stick together at school, but at home Brittany’s granny is sick, her cat is missing, there’s never any money, and there’s her little brother, Tommy, to worry about. Brittany has a hard time picturing her future as anything but a plain white sky. If her life is going to ever change, she needs a plan. And once she starts believing in herself, Brittany realizes that what has always seemed out of reach might be just around the corner.
 
This debut novel by Emily Blejwas is perfect for readers who love emotionally satisfying books. Thoughtful and understated, it’s the hopeful story of a girl who struggles to make her future bright . . . and the makeshift family that emerges around her.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

About The Author

Emily Blejwas grew up in Excelsior, Minnesota, where she learned to ice fish and love the North Stars. She now lives in Mobile, Alabama, with her husband and four children, and directs the Alabama Folklife Association. Her first novel, Once You Know This, was a Junior Library Guild selection that School Library Journal called “a poignant and emotionally driven debut."


Reviews

Goodreads review by Leah on August 17, 2017

once you know... freedom! "This is freedom. this is a weapon greater than any force you can name. Once you know this, and know it with all your being, you will move and act with a determination and power that the federal government cannot ignore, that the school boards cannot overlook, and that the h......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on November 18, 2017

While I enjoyed this book and feel it deserves a 4 star rating, I have mixed feelings about it. It shows the harsh realities of life for some children, I.e domestic violence, hunger, poverty, underfunded schools, etc. On one hand, this can help these children feel understood as they can identify wit......more

Goodreads review by Julia on July 07, 2018

I enjoyed how the story shows a lot of major problems in the world and in the city of Chicago from the viewpoint of such a young child. She sees abuse, she lives in poverty, she sees violence, and she sees the issues with funding for Chicago schools. I liked how the author incorporated those element......more


Quotes

"A poignant and emotionally driven debut."--SLJ

"Some readers may know Brittany's world well, others will find it surprising; all will appreciate the way Brittany's actions propel the resolution. Hard to take but ultimately hopeful."--Kirkus

"Uplifting . . . Brittany gives many readers a compassionate glimpse into their own near-desperate lives and offers others a window into a world they may not really have seen or understood."--The Horn Book

"Heartfelt and sincere with a strong dose of hopeful . . . I can see it becoming a favorite."--My Comfy Chair