Reserved - Paperback

Love can be complicated. Within families, even more so.

Reserved follows a young girl, Penny, who works through trauma by creating imaginary characters. She retreats into selective mutism in order to process her mom's extreme choices. Deirdra is a mother who is trying to do right by her kids. She speaks through her poems and her point of view is told from the current day, working backwards through time. She struggles to maintain sobriety as pressure builds from work and poorly chosen relationships. One hope that keeps her going is the struggle for a better life for her girls. Deirdra's sister Alexia becomes temporary guardian of Penny and her sister, Kelly, after their mother's accident. Alexia sees the job as purely duty at first, but is quickly thawed by the unexpected whirlwinds attached to these two tiny faces. The family holds on to hope, finding laughter in the mundane, humor in the pain, and encouragement in the unforeseen. Each person learns more about themselves through trusting others, even when it seems pointless. This is the story of an unassuming family facing many trials behind closed doors. Each point of view is told through messages and pictures, putting the reader in the place of investigator. Can joy really be uncovered in the midst of tears?