Kyra, Just for Today
CCBC Review:
Kyra’s mom is an alcoholic, but she’s been in recovery for more than five years now. She cleans houses for a living, sometimes with Kyra’s help. In many ways, Kyra’s life revolves around her mom’s recovery. Kyra (white) keeps everything under control at home. She cooks and cleans, packs her mom’s lunch, and reminds her mom to take her phone charger with her. She attends Group, a supportive space for kids who are affected by others’ alcoholism. Kyra and her mom journal together and share their entries with one another. Kyra has always felt grateful that her mom is committed to recovery, but lately, something has changed. Her mom starts coming home later and has become moody, sometimes snapping at Kyra in anger. The truth—her mom is drinking again—comes out when Kyra, who is home alone one evening, burns herself while cooking and can’t get a hold of her mom. Although her mom recommits to recovery, it doesn’t erase Kyra’s pain, anger, or feelings of neglect and betrayal. But with the support of friends both within and outside of Group, Kyra begins to set boundaries and to gain a healthier image of herself as a whole, complex, multifaceted person apart from her mother. This raw, tender novel is honest in its depiction of the effects of one parent’s addiction on her child. ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 9-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Abandonment
Addiction
Anger
Drugs and Alcohol
Independence/Self-Reliance
Self-Esteem and Self-Worth
Diversity subject:
Psychiatric Disability/Condition
Publishers:
Balzer + Bray, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2024
Pages: 305
ISBN: 9780063045132
CCBC Location: Fiction, Zarr