Lois Lowry, in my reading experience, tends to be “presentation soft, but still deals with the hard stuff. And Tree. Table. Book. does not disappoint.
Lowery deals with family, friendship, bullies, mental and physical health and coming to terms with death. Things build slowly but once the stories that relate to the title come into play (I won’t mention them as I feel it is important to learn about them when our narrator does), things really take off. But up until then, things are slow, building the character of young Sophie. We get to see her relationships with her friends (those her age and a best friend who is decades older, the other Sophie) and her viewpoint of the world. It is a simple look at things, as our character is only 11 and maybe she does not get “all the points” but she is on her way to growing up.
There are a few pop culture references that might become a bit dated, but others help paint the bigger picture. One character is autistic and while we learn they are bullied, we never see that. The kids do “kid things” that maybe they shouldn’t but nothing is “bad” and is old fashioned in tone, but is modern (cell phones are an issue Sophie has with her parents).
I enjoyed this book. It did not WOW me, but I will read it again. It is a book where you know that “tense things” are happening (the older Sophie in the book is dealing with dementia related issues) but you know that it will work out okay and realistically.
