THE SECRET TO BELONGING by Megan E. Freeman, Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, September 2026, 336p., ISBN: 978-1-6659-8840-7

“What can I say, my dear, to make it clear

I need you badly, badly, Madam Librarian, Marian

If I stumbled and I busted my what-you-may-call-it

I could lie on your floor unnoticed

'Till my body had turned to carrion, Madam Librarian”

– “Marian the Librarian” from one of my favorite musicals growing up, The Music Man

I had a grandfather who really made a difference in my life. So I appreciate how, in THE SECRET TO BELONGING, the unnamed main character, a high school senior and eldest sibling, has received a couple of significant presents from her now-deceased grandfather: his vinyl collection of musical soundtracks, that she frequently listens to, and a college fund. 

BUT:

“later, your mother calls everyone to dinner

she’s made your brother’s favorite

(Crock-Pot tuna noodle casserole with crushed potato chips)”

your father sits at his place at the table

you slide into yours

your brother comes up from his room in the basement

fills a plate, grabs a Coke, and goes back downstairs

your mother stands in the middle of the kitchen

a serving spoon in her hand

dinner is eaten sans conversation

Forks click against plates

bottled water gurgles in the Sparkletts dispenser

potato chips grind between teeth

Your parents finish their meals and wipe their mouths

then they speak

we needed it for rehab, your father says, because we already

refinanced the house and our credit is maxed

we’re still paying off the card your brother

borrowed last summer, your mother says

we needed it for rehab and we’re still going to have to cash out our 401(k), though we’ll have to find a way to pay the taxes and penalties on the early withdrawal and we don’t know how we’re going to do it

but that’s not your problem, honey, so please don’t 

worry about that

we needed it for rehab because the judge said it’s either probation and an in-patient program, or jail. and we can’t let him go to jail

he would never survive in jail

but this time is different

he’s ready this time, he swears

he’s really going to try

this time is different. he’s turning a corner.”

Without any input on her part, her parents have withdrawn and spent HER precious college fund, gifted to her by her grandfather, on enrolling her big brother in a drug addiction rehab!

This little brother has been a serious disaster since forever. This latest kick to the gut leads to her applying for a foreign student exchange program which, in turn, leads to her living with a family in Norway. Here she will get together with her first serious boyfriend. But even halfway around the globe from her home in Glendale, California, her addict brother will further decimate her year.

A verse novel told in the second person, THE SECRET TO BELONGING is a stay-up-late, can’t-put-it-down, gem. It’s a book that I guarantee eighth- and ninth graders will be fighting over; a don’t-miss-it purchase for middle- and high school collections.

I’m dying to hear young readers debate about the degree to which they either applaud or condemn the parents’ decisions. And it would be quite interesting to have them converse or write about addiction issues and observations from their own young perspectives. 

Richie Partington, MLIS

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