Rebecca Stead blurbed this book, and I understand why. There’s a distinct When You Reach Me flavor to All the Greys on Greene Street - to its benefit, I think. WYRM is, at the end of the day, a fantasy book, and ATGOGS is not, but there is something magical about Ollie’s story and the way Tucker writes it. And boy, can Tucker write. She conveys the feeling of looking at art, at creating it. She plays with tense. She creates characters so believable they threaten to leap off the page. Her style is pitch-perfect and clear, conveying complicated ideas with seeming ease.

From the publisher’s description, I was expecting a mystery, a sort of Chasing Vermeer-style romp, but this book is much more about character than it is about adventure. In fact, there’s not much sleuthing at all. Instead, there’s Ollie, who remains sympathetic even when she’s being unreasonable, and the friends who surround her. My favorite thing about this book was how kind everyone was, and how kindly the narrative treated them. Everyone around Ollie is passionate about something. Alex loves stunts; Richard loves monsters. Tucker treats both of these interests with respect, painting the boys as people with complex inner lives. Similarly, Ollie is a true artist who sees the world in fascinating ways. Her art is real art; Tucker doesn’t patronize her or diminish her passion just because she’s a child, and neither does anyone else in the book. This book is fairly dripping with compassion. Ollie cares for these people, and they care for her, even if they don’t always see eye to eye. In one especially lovely scene, Alex and Ollie wordlessly reconcile while running through a forest on a beach. It’s a joy to read.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this book is largely about living with a parent who has depression. Tucker handles this issue with nuance. Ollie is, rightfully, hurt and confused when her mother goes to bed and refuses to get up. Those feelings are real, and as with everything else in the book, Tucker does not shy away from or diminish them just because her protagonist - and her audience - is young. At the same time, she does not demonize Ollie’s mother. The ending is not neat; it would not make sense if it were, because mental illness can’t just be solved over the course of one book. But this is, by the end, a positive book, one about the complicated joy of creating and of loving.