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Middle Grade Sidekick Super Review: A Scar Like a River (2026) by Lisa Graff
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
The Basics
Page Length: 400
Audiobook Length: ~9 hours
Grade Reading Level: 6+
Target Audience Age: 12+
Goodreads Score: 4.39 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: Contemporary Southern California
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Topics: Middle School, Trauma, Friendship, Secrets, Family relationships, Therapy, Theatre, Activism, Courage
Plot: Fallon Little is thirteen, in eighth grade, and loves theatre. At school, she’s known as “the girl with the scar.” A scar covers much of her face, and while she’s used to the stares and comments, she has never told anyone the full truth about where it came from. Fallon got the scar when she was five years old, and its origin holds her three biggest secrets—secrets that even her family doesn’t know. When her uncle’s sudden death begins to bring some of those secrets to the surface, Fallon is forced to confront the trauma of her past.
In the midst of dealing with her uncle’s death, Fallon is also looking forward to her school’s upcoming production of Hello, Dolly!, though she hopes to land a background role because of her scar. She is surprised when she is cast as the lead. But as rehearsals begin, Fallon starts to worry about the messages she may be portraying on stage to kids like her. When her role in the musical begins to collide with her past trauma, Fallon must make some difficult choices and face even harder truths.
Will she be able to make h-er voice heard? Will she begin her journey toward healing? Can Fallon finally find the courage to tell her family the truth about the secrets behind her scar?
Themes: Healing from trauma, finding your voice, empathy and understanding, friendship and support, self-acceptance and confidence, standing up for your beliefs
You might like this book if you like:
Theatre/drama club
Community activism
Volunteering
Books like: Out of My Mind, Counting by 7s, The War That Saved My Life, Speak, A Kind of Spark, A Glimmer of Change
Books/Movies like: Wonder, Bridge to Terabithia, A Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Matilda
Shows like: Anne with an E, Andi Mack, The Healing Powers of Dude
Movies like: Mask, Inside Out, Onward, Encanto, Eighth Grade
Other books written by this author: Absolutely Almost, A Tangle of Knots, Lost in the Sun, Umbrella Summer, The Thing About Georgie, The Great Treehouse War, Double Dog Dare, Sophie Simon Solves Them All, Rewind
Teaching A Scar like a River in Class
Content
Language: none
Sex/Romance: This book describes one short scene of sexual assault, and it is somewhat graphic. It is on pages 294-298 for parents/teachers who want to read through it first.
Violence/Scariness: This book also includes a physical attack involving a knife and discusses healing from both physical and sexual trauma. Some readers may find these elements scary or triggering. While these incidents are included, the book does not describe them in much detail or focus on them frequently. Instead, it places much greater emphasis on the healing and recovery process.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: The moment before the protagonist is attacked, she describes her attacker as "kind of out of it." It is assumed he is drunk.
Class Novel-ability:
I don’t think this would be suitable as an in-class novel. The subject matter is simply too mature and potentially triggering. However, I do think it should be included in every trauma-informed middle grade library. It would be a valuable resource for middle school–age readers who may need a story about overcoming sexual and physical abuse. It’s a beautiful story with very meaningful themes.
The Star Qualities
The narrator is strong, relatable, and well written. She has endured major trauma in her family: sexual and physical abuse from her uncle and emotional abuse from her aunt. Now she must face the painful memories of her childhood while attending her uncle’s funeral. Although what she has gone through is horrific, she approaches life with a great deal of humor. Her journey toward healing feels very authentic—using humor as a shield, keeping secrets even from the people she loves most, resisting therapy, and enduring everything internally until she simply can’t anymore. I imagine this is a very realistic story that middle school students who have experienced similar situations could see themselves in and learn from. For some readers, this book might even be the beginning of a healing journey.
The themes of this book are incredibly important, especially the theme of speaking up. Many kids this age are often told messages similar to what the protagonist hears: “You’re just a kid. Stop making so much noise. Know your place. These battles aren’t necessary and are an inconvenience to the rest of us.” However, Fallon never accepts that message. She remains strong and continues speaking up against the injustices she faces, no matter what the trusted adults around her say. I love that about her character. I wish I had possessed a little more of her courage and determination at that age. Students need to hear her voice and see her example.
This author has written several other powerful and relatable middle grade books. She has a real talent for approaching difficult subjects and presenting them in ways that this age group can understand and respond to. Her body of work offers a thoughtful and meaningful collection of stories for young readers to explore next.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 3-7.
If you don't, read the same pages in the Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
I really like this passage because of its voice and tone. You get a real look inside the narrator’s head. She is self-reflective and introspective, and she doesn’t let what others say define her. This is a central theme throughout the book, and it’s displayed perfectly here. The dramatic paragraph breaks and repetition of the word character emphasize her obsession and thought process. The use of italics serves two purposes: memory recall and added emphasis. Lots of little moves here for students to imitate.
This passage is very effective because of its vivid imagery. You can hear the sound of the wipers, see the raindrops slowly making their way down the windshield, and feel the awkwardness of the silence that makes the narrator uncomfortable. There is also personification, metaphor, repetition, and excellent paragraph breaks and pacing. So much is packed into such a small passage. It’s a great example to show students and have them try to imitate in their own writing.
This passage is simple, yet powerful because of a few easily imitated moves. Repetition, parallel sentence structure, and thoughtful paragraph breaks make the writing dramatic and meaningful. There are also several other effective techniques at work: short, powerful sentence fragments, an aside, listing, and the use of dashes. It’s a great example of how small craft choices can create a big impact—and there are plenty of techniques here that students can learn from and practice in their own writing.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"No kids were allowed inside the teachers’ lounge–there was a big sign on the door and everything–so I couldn’t just knock, and I felt awkward standing around, so I pretended I was tying my shoe." (A Scar like a River, p. 66)
No kids were allowed inside the teacher's lounge.
There was a big sign on the door and everything.
I couldn't just knock.
I felt awkward just standing around.
I pretended I was tying my shoe.
"If I’d listened to my stomach–which was doing flips as I left my room with my laptop–I would never have asked Aunt Lune about publishing my letter in the Cedar Haven Herald." (p. 195)
My stomach was doing flips.
It was doing flips as I left my room with my laptop.
If I'd listened to my stomach, I would never have asked Aunt Lune.
I never would have asked her about publishing my letter in the Cedar Haven Herald.
"Mom and I made Dad listen to Taylor Swift the whole trip out there, and I could tell Mom was having a good day because she sang along to nearly every song, and even did some dance moves." (p. 335)
Mom and I made Dad listen to Taylor Swift.
We made him listen the whole trip out there.
I could tell mom was having a good day.
She sang along to nearly every song.
She even did some dance moves.
Sentences for Imitation:
"Here’s what it looks like, in case you were wondering. (I know you were wondering. You didn’t have to say it out loud, I just knew.)" (p. 3)
"The bottom hems of my jeans were frayed in the back, as always, since apparently I was shorter than any jeans manufacturer thought someone my size should be. (Last I checked, there were plenty of kids at school who were shorter than me, though, so I wasn’t, like abnormal.)" (p. 13)
"The floor of the ladies’ room at the funeral home was covered in the most god-awful brown carpet I’d ever seen. I learned that after the whole barfing-in-the-middle-of-a-eulogy thing. (Who carpeted a bathroom?)". (p.109)
"It would be nice, after all, to have an aunt I could go to with questions about . . . I don’t know . . . whatever girls talked to their aunts about. Boys, maybe. Makeup. Books. Cats." (p. 197)
"Elise asked Hazel some follow-up questions, and we learned a little more about Hazel’s date. What kind of restaurant they ate at (Cuban), what they did afterward (played pickleball)." (p.228)
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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