Someone's Gonna End Up Crying

This heartfelt middle-grade novel introduces Maple, a ten-year-old who channels her anxieties about her parents' escalating arguments and her father's frequent departures into her art. Through comics and drawings, she creates an imaginary world, "Dadlandia," to process her feelings. The story sensitively explores themes of family strain, the emotional impact on children, and the power of creative expression as a coping mechanism. It also touches on sibling dynamics and school friendships, ultimately showing Maple's journey to find inner strength and seek support to face difficult truths. Ideal for children navigating family changes or those who express themselves through art.

In this authentic and heartfelt middle-grade novel, Maple uses her artwork to help sort through sibling relationships, school drama, and her parents’ increasingly fraught marriage. Ten-year-old Maple can’t wait for summer: No more math! Adventures with her friends! Best of all, she and Dad are finally going to build a real treehouse. Or are they? Lately Dad has been quick to storm off when he argues with Mom, which happens more and more. Maple seeks refuge in her sketchbook, filling it with comics and other drawings and posing the questions she can’t bring herself to ask anywhere else. She imagines “Dadlandia,” a place that Dad whooshes off to when he’s gone. Maple confides in her favorite tree—her namesake—that she wishes Dad would come home for good. But eventually, Maple will need to step outside her imagination and confront what’s happening for real. For that, she will need support from friends and family—and strength and courage from within. Celebrated author Jo Knowles delivers complex characters and emotions with care, while illustrator Glynnis Fawkes’s powerful illustrations perfectly capture Maple’s creative spirit, her struggles, and her capacity for hope.