In a nicely written novel-in-verse, Skyscraping, Cordelia Jensen describes high-school senior Mira’s range of emotions when she unexpectedly walks in on her father and his boyfriend. It is soon after this that her father starts showing the symptoms of AIDS and his deterioration is rapid.
It is 1993 Manhattan when the AIDS epidemic is in full swing. While New York is considered a liberal area, there are those who frown on homosexuality and those who are afraid of contracting AIDS and HIV. Mira learns who her true friends are when the news finally extends beyond her immediate family.
But there is more about her unusual family situation that emerges when the diagnosis is made and Mira has a hard time absorbing it.
Skyscraping is an absorbing, tender story about a family struggling with what can only be an unhappy ending. There is a stark contrast between the reactions of Mira and her high-school freshman sister, April, but siblings are different and the differences ring true. Emotions run high, as they should. The characters are fleshed out and endearing…all of them. And while it is through this tragedy that Mira finds her true self, Skyscraping is by no means an ordinary coming of age teen story.
It is, without a doubt, worth reading, whether you’re a teen or a grown up.
Two Heads Together 