Navigating Family and Friendship: A Review of Tillie Heart and Soul

Ten-year-old Tillie is the only child living in an artists’ live-work warehouse space. She rollerskates in and out of the artists’ work areas and climbs up to her homemade loft when she wants to be alone. But while lots about Tillie’s life is super cool, she feels she’s missing out. She lives with her gay uncle while her mother is in rehab for the umpteeth time, a thousand miles west of the warehouse in Massachusetts. Her mother doesn’t seem to be getting better, and Tillie doesn’t seem to be getting any better as a rollerskater either, no matter how hard she practices. She hopes that she’ll be able to qualify for her town’s skate-a-thon, and her mother will come back to see her.

Enter Glory, a new student who Tillie likes. But Tillie’s best friend since first grade, Shanelle, is also trying to befriend Glory, and leaving Tillie out when she does. Tillie lies to Glory about her unusual family, but Shanelle knows the truth and isn’t afraid to reveal it to gain an advantage. Can Tillie’s friendship with Glory survive the lies? Can her friendship with Shanelle survive a big betrayal?

Mary Atkinson’s second middle grade novel, published through the coop small press Main Authors Publishing, is a hidden gem. It’s an unflinching look at girls’ friendships—the loyalties, the betrayals, the shifting hierarchies as some girls mature earlier than others. Few novels for this age group address the “rule of three” (the likelihood that when three pre-teenage girls come together, two will gang up on one) in such an honest, kid-friendly way. Tillie will instantly grab readers’ hearts and never let go, no matter how many bumps and bruises she encounters or brings on herself. And she will inspire readers with her resilience, her determination to keep going despite the disappointments