If you asked me about my reading habits, I’d have to be honest and tell you that young adult (YA) fiction isn’t high on the list. Sure, I’ll read everything from Pulitzer winners to trashy mystery novels I buy at the airport, but YA fiction doesn’t really make it into my Goodreads list very often. But When Estelle at This Happy Place posted a review of Kate Abbott’s new novel Disneylanders, my interest piqued. A quick and easy e-book download later, I settled in to read the book over the long 4th of July weekend.

For many reasons, I adored this book. First, Casey – the book’s protagonist – spoke loud and clear to my former just-out-of-middle-school self. Kate Abbott deftly captures the anxiety, insecurity, and feelings of displacement that many young adults – especially young females – feel between the ages of 12 and 14. Casey was a young adult character who rang true to me; her interactions with her parents, her friends,  her new enemies, and even a potential (boy?)friend, were real and honest and ultimately very touching. Casey is a young adult trying to find her independence, to locate her voice. Disneylanders addresses not only Casey’s desire for independence from her parents, but chronicles her attempts to define herself on her own terms, independent of anyone else. Ultimately, it’s a very moving and believable journey, one that helped me look back with kindness at my awkward 13-year-old self.

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