There are no wizards in Angela Johnson's books. No furry animals. No plot lines about a tea party or a space journey or a madcap adventure. But there is a sister struggling with the sudden disappearance of her brother. There is a pair of siblings trying to understand why their parents don't live together anymore. There is a little girl who never really knew her mother, but who has pictures to remind her.
If Angela Johnson eschews fantasy in her approach to fiction, her head-on treatment of topics like teen pregnancy, racism and mixed race couples challenges the notion that certain conversations are best had beyond a child's ear shot. When curling up with a good book means reckoning with reality. The enlightening literature of family secrets and difficult truths.
