TUNE IT OUT

A 12-year-old girl navigates sensory processing disorder and complicated emotions when she’s removed from her mother’s care.

Lou Montgomery hasn’t attended school in over a year. Instead, she and her mother scratch out a nomadic living, performing in casinos and diners and sleeping in their worn-out truck as her ambitious mother scouts the country for Lou’s “next big gig.” Lou loves singing; her voice “makes me feel stronger than I am,” she tells readers. But she hates performing; loud sounds hurt “like knives” and leave her screaming, and light touch makes her flinch. When her mother’s investigated for neglect and Lou’s sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Lou’s new world—regular meals, a fancy private school, and a diagnosis of sensory processing disorder—overwhelms her even more. Her voice alternately wry, naïve, and wise beyond her years, Lou confronts sensory overload, self-consciousness, and her simultaneous love for and anger toward her mother in poetic, poignant prose. The way she contrasts poverty and privilege is thought-provoking; her dread of being labeled a “special-needs kid” is realistic. Though Lou’s friendship with quirky theater classmate Well sometimes feels too good to be true (would that all kids were so endearingly and instantly accepting of neurodivergence), Sumner realistically avoids fairy-tale endings while still closing on a hopeful note. Most characters, including Lou, default to White; Well’s mother is Japanese American.

A vivid, sensitive exploration of invisible disability, family bonds, and the complex reality of happily-ever-after.