Lilac and the Switchback

“Lilac and the Switchback” by Cordelia Jensen is a beautiful, lyrical novel in verse about Lilac and her family. While her mother passed away, her father is still alive somewhere in England. She longs to know him, but when her mother died, she found she didn’t get to go with him, but rather went to live with her uncle (who is her mother’s brother), aunt, and cousin. Ever since moving in, she has felt like she is an extra addition to the family, but not in a good way, even though they love and care about her. She just wants to feel like she’s part of something, like she matters. When middle school begins, she begins feeling more lost than ever.

Her best friend, Callie, really enjoys spending time with Lilac, but Callie also longs to be friends with some girls that Lilac doesn’t especially care to spend more time with, including Lilac’s cousin, Charla. As Lilac begins to grow distant from Callie and Callie begins to spend more time with Charla, their conversations dwindle, and they are left with not too much to talk about since their interests start to differ. Not helping Lilac feel any better is the fact that her Aunt Truly and Uncle Mack announce that they are expecting twins. While Lilac wants to be happy for them, she can only wonder how she will fit into this new scenario, with two more people about to live in the house, while she wasn’t meant to be there in the first place.

Lilac starts to explore new hobbies, including a trailblazing club, while Callie, Charla, and some other girls join the French club. She longs to meet her father and finds a way to connect with him, hoping he’ll come to town and see her. She feels her world is turning upside down and longs for some semblance of order, something to keep her from flailing, and she thinks her father offers her the respite she needs and wants.

As the story goes on, Cordelia Jensen does a wonderful job showing how Lilac’s ebbs and flows allow her to realize that being “extra” doesn’t have to be bad. It can also mean “something more” and her role in her aunt, uncle, and cousin’s family can be truly wonderful if she believes it to be so.

Lilac learns a lot about herself and her role in her family and her friendships in this sweet, enduring tale that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt at least a little bit on the outside.