Sleepy Angel's First Bedtime Story Book

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I am still thinking about it. The cover made it look like it was going to be fluffy, but it was poignant and well-written.

I tend to like books about smart, under-appreciated poor kids from dysfunctional families (Matilda, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, anyone?). It's a coming of age book, set in the 80ies, and I related to the main character a lot. For me, it was a realistic portrait of adolescence. I loved her religious phase and her holier-than-though attitude toward the people around her who make bad choices, the tense mother-daughter relationship, the mom who is problematic but loving, her stunning but less-than-bright best friend, her unrequited crush, her frenemies, and how she manages to separate herself from the mess around her, yet come to terms with.

The school dynamic and the religious pulse in her community were true to life. I appreciate that the story is set in Kansas, which on map looks like "The Center of Everything" rather than the middle of nowhere.