Karen and Vicki

Name: Karen and Vicki
ISBN: 9780688025434

by Elisabet McHugh

Karen Series · Book 2 of 2

For a child adjusting to a parent's remarriage, this story explores the challenges and triumphs of navigating a new blended family, especially with an older stepsister.

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About This Book

A parent might reach for this book when their child is struggling to adapt to a new stepparent and, more specifically, a new stepsister. Karen and Vicki offers a gentle, realistic look at the formation of a blended family from the perspective of a middle child who suddenly finds herself with a new, older, and very cool stepsister. The story explores Karen's feelings of jealousy, loneliness, and her search for a place within the new family unit. Published in the 1980s, its quiet, character-driven pace provides a timeless comfort, normalizing the complicated emotions that arise and modeling a path toward acceptance and affection.

Family & Siblings Love & Family Adoption & Foster Care Loneliness & Belonging Sibling Rivalry Jealousy & Comparison Self-Confidence & Identity Resilience & Perseverance

What Parents Should Know

Sad ThemesMild

Characters experience realistic loneliness and jealousy related to new family dynamics.

Sensitive Topics

The core topic is parental remarriage and blended family adjustment. The approach is direct, secular, and focused on the internal emotional experience. The resolution is hopeful and realistic: the stepsisters don't become instant best friends, but develop a genuine, earned affection and respect. The parents' prior divorce is a background detail, not a central conflict.