Only child Ellie thinks she knows the secret to a smooth relationship with her parents: tiptoe around Mom’s mood swings, be a good listener, and maybe, just maybe, provide the solutions that will keep her family together. A summer away shakes up Ellie’s perceptions of what is normal, however, and what she learns goes a long way to grounding her in a truer sense of the world.

After the death of her aunt Jeanette’s partner, Ellie volunteers to spend the whole summer at Jeanette’s house in Victoria, cleaning out the basement and keeping her company. Once she gets there, Ellie begins to understand certain things about life back home. At Jeanette’s, Ellie is free to express her opinions and pursue the things that really interest her, instead of just putting on a show to please her parents. Most importantly, she’s free to be 12 years old, instead of acting as her mother’s confidante. Ellie also makes a fabulous discovery: a mysterious Argentinean instrument called a bandoneón turns up in the basement, and her research into the family that lost the instrument adds another layer to her thoughts about parents, children, and the ties that bind.

Victoria’s Michelle Mulder, author of After Peaches (about Mexican refugees in Canada), continues her exploration of social justice in Out of the Box. Along with a historical look at Argentina’s desaparecidos (people “disappeared” by the ruling junta), the novel provides an honest perspective on Ellie’s mother’s mental health issues, as well as a subtle, elegant nod to same-sex relationships. (No more attention is paid to the details of Jeannette’s relationship with her long-time partner other than her name, Alison.)

Ellie’s voice is strong and engaging, and the story is realistic in its lack of easy solutions. There’s a quick-cut finish typical of much YA fiction, but only for the more removed, political thread of the story. Where things really count, in Ellie’s family life, the author paces us across the finish line with a wrap-up that is as subtly complex as real life.