Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar

After a car accident, Ruthie spends months in a full-body cast. Though she is surrounded by the love of her Cuban-Jewish immigrant family and a few colorful neighborhood personalities, it's a long and difficult time as she recovers. And, after being in the cast for so long, will she be able to gather up the courage to stand again?

This is a soft, lovely story, loosely based on the author's own experiences as a child. I loved descriptions of Ruthie, her family, and the vibrant and diverse group of friends in 1960s New York City who help make her long convalescence easier to bear. One thing to note: for some reason, my first impression from descriptions and whatnot was that this was a teen book, but it is not. Both content and writing style are firmly middle grade. Recommended for readers who enjoy slice-of-life stories with excellent characters and a recent-historical setting.

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)