"In August or Forever , Ona Gritz has penned a beautiful novel about sisters. Ten-year-old Molly longs to spend time with her older half-sister, Alison, who has grown up in England and is finally coming to spend August with Molly's family. Sensitive, artistic Molly longs to make up for lost time with her sister and forge stronger bonds. She even schemes to find her twenty-year-old sister a job so she will stay beyond her visit and they can be a family together. However, Molly's expectations are soon met with disappointment and misunderstanding when Alison arrives with her own plans. This spare, elegant story will resonate deeply with middle grade readers in its excavation of Molly's hopes, disappointments, and inevitable growth as she reimagines her relationships in new ways. Exploring themes of friendship, family, and art, Gritz deftly captures the voice of her protagonist as this tender story unfolds, defying our notions about what it means to be a family." -- Carol Dines, author of This Distance We Call Love and The Queen's Soprano.