Being Fishkill by Ruth Lehrer
5 out of 5 stars.

Goodreads Description: Born in the backseat of a moving car, Carmel Fishkill was unceremoniously pushed into a world that refuses to offer her security, stability, love. At age thirteen, she begins to fight back. Carmel Fishkill becomes Fishkill Carmel, who deflects her tormenters with a strong left hook and conceals her secrets from teachers and social workers. But Fishkill’s fierce defenses falter when she meets eccentric optimist Duck-Duck Farina, and soon they, along with Duck-Duck’s mother, Molly, form a tentative family, even as Fishkill struggles to understand her place in it. This fragile new beginning is threatened by the reappearance of Fishkill’s unstable mother — and by unfathomable tragedy. Poet Ruth Lehrer’s young adult debut is a stunning, revelatory look at what defines and sustains “family.” And, just as it does for Fishkill, meeting Duck-Duck Farina and her mother will leave readers forever changed.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Release date was November 14th.

I seen Jeff Zentner (The Serpent King) talking about Being Fishkill and how amazing it was, so I had to check it out! I love his books, so anything he recommends, I’m down to read. I was super excited when I was approved for it on Netgalley and I am glad that I was finally able to read it, because it was so amazing.

I instantly fell in love with Fishkill she was only thirteen years old, but she felt so much older to me. She had to grow up pretty fast with the life that she had to live her first thirteen years of life. It wasn’t easy for her and when she met Duck-Duck and Molly, things seemed a lot brighter for her. I was rooting for Fishkill and so badly wanted her to have the life that she deserved. Fishkill and Duck-Duck had this amazing friendship and you could feel all the love between them and Duck-Duck’s mom Molly.

I can’t even count on one hand how many times I cried while reading this book, there are SO MANY FEELS! 320 pages of feels, you guys! Good and bad. Fishkill’s story is really sad. The book as a whole is really sad, but there are still happy moments too. It was so well written and I flew through it pretty quickly. It was hard to put down. It was beautiful and it was sad all at the same time. It was everything you could hope for in a good book. It was so easy to connect with the characters, fall in love with them, and go on this emotional roller coaster with them.

Overall, I really loved Being Fishkill. It’s hands down one of my new favorite books now. Although it was so sad, I still enjoyed it so much. The ending was a shocker to me and so unexpected. I honestly couldn’t believe it. I keep thinking about the book and I keep wanting to cry every time I do. I think this will be a book that sticks with you for a very long time. I know it will for me. I highly recommend reading it. It’s out in the world now, so you should definitely go pick it up!

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