An extraordinary and timely piece of writing.
Just before she begins seventh grade, Haley tells the story of the previous school year, when she and five other students from an experimental classroom were brought together.
Each has been bullied or teased about their difficulties in school, and several face real challenges at home. Haley is biracial and cared for by her white uncle due to the death of her African-American mother and her white father’s incarceration. Esteban, of Dominican heritage, is coping with his father’s detention by ICE and the possible fracturing of his family. It is also a time when Amari learns from his dad that he can no longer play with toy guns because he is a boy of color. This reveals the divide between them and their white classmate, Ashton. “It’s not fair that you’re a boy and Ashton’s a boy and he can do something you can’t do anymore. That’s not freedom,” Haley says. They support one another, something Haley needs as she prepares for her father’s return from prison and her uncle’s decision to move away. Woodson delivers a powerful tale of community and mutual growth. The bond they develop is palpable. Haley’s recorder is both an important plot element and a metaphor for the power of voice and story. The characters ring true as they discuss issues both personal and global. This story, told with exquisite language and clarity of narrative, is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
An extraordinary and timely piece of writing. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-25252-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Heartwarming, insightful, and surprisingly funny.
A middle schooler tries to survive his worst day ever.
Seventh grader Andrew Yaeger has a lot on his mind. Money is tight, his beloved grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and the biggest bully in school is after him. To make matters worse, it’s picture day, and Andrew’s mom desperately wants one good photo of him. But after taking a basketball to the face in gym class, getting knocked into a trophy case by his bully, and getting sprayed with grape juice thanks to a friend’s explosive sneeze, Andrew’s anxiety starts to simmer. When he gets a call from his mom saying that his grandma has gone missing, his anxiety escalates from simmering to boiling—and he starts to wonder whether he can withstand the pressure. One bright spot is the presence of Aisha “Jonesy” Jones, his lifelong best friend—although their friendship is shifting as she spends more time with her basketball friends. Harrell’s conversational tone, snappy pacing, and realistic dialogue make each chapter eminently readable. The accompanying black-and-white doodles, notes, and comics lend humor to some serious situations. Harrell does a fantastic job of explaining the symptoms accompanying anxiety and panic attacks in simple terms, with Andrew feeling “like I’m in hot oil and I might pop” or “there’s a blue whale…crushing my chest.” Readers will also appreciate the accurate depictions of talk therapy and of the tics that accompany Andrew’s OCD. Andrew is white; Jonesy is Black.
Heartwarming, insightful, and surprisingly funny. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593697924
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers.
A missing boy returns from another world. Will anyone believe his story?
When 12-year-old Aidan goes missing, his family and community members search everywhere in their small town. Things progress from worrying to terrifying when Aidan doesn’t turn up. No note. No trace. Not even a body. Six days later, Aidan’s younger brother, Lucas, finds Aidan alive in the attic they’d searched many times before. Aidan claims he was in a magical world called Aveinieu and that he got there through a dresser. While everyone around the brothers searches for answers, Lucas gets Aidan to open up about Aveinieu. Lucas, who narrates the story, grapples with the impossibility of the situation as he pieces it all together. Is any part of Aidan’s story true? YA veteran Levithan’s first foray into middle grade is a poignant tale of brotherly love and family trauma. The introspective writing, funneled through a precocious narrator, is as much about what truth means as about what happened. Though an engaging read for the way it makes readers consider and reconsider the mystery, the slow burn may deter those craving tidy resolutions. Bookish readers, however, will delight in the homages to well-known books, including When You Reach Me and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The cast defaults to White; the matter-of-fact inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters is noteworthy.
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984848-59-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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