In the lovely new middle-grade novel “Paper Chains” by local author Elaine Vickers, Katie and Ana are best friends, in spite of their differences. Although she yearns for adventure, Katie is inherently cautious and reserved. Ana, on the other hand, leaps first and looks later.
What do these unlikely friends have in common? Secrets, for one thing. Secrets that they are keeping from one another because they are too afraid to share. Katie, whose loving parents adopted her as a toddler from Russia, suffers from a heart condition she’s reluctant to talk about. Ana, meanwhile, is working overtime to stop her family from imploding.