SEBASTIAN AND THE GO-KART GIRL

In this middle-grade sequel, a pathologically shy New York City boy and an aspiring young race car driver try to help each other overcome their fears.

Twelve-year-old Sebastian Kemp is a whiz at math. But he’s less adept with people, and though signed up for the New York State Regional Teen Math Olympics, he cannot summon the courage to get one foot in the door. Sebastian’s social anxiety also prevents him from making friends. (In fact, his only pal turns out to be an artificial intelligence construct of Sebastian’s own devising.) He would like to join in, but he overthinks things and shies away from spontaneity. Then Sebastian sees Naomi, his sister’s 16-year-old best friend, for the first time since “her father’s memorial service.” Naomi, an experienced go-kart driver, is fearsome and confident. She is applying to an elite race car driving school overseas and needs to win one more competition to qualify. Naomi thinks Sebastian’s shyness is an excuse, not an affliction. She urges him to just go for it and not look back. But Naomi has her own problems. Apart from dyslexia, which she takes in stride, she has a chronic fear of flying that saps her ferocious competitiveness. Can Sebastian and Naomi take strength from each other’s bravery and determination? Day writes in the first person, present tense, from Sebastian’s point of view. The narrative is convincing and unaffected, and Sebastian’s inner thoughts come across as age-appropriate. The dialogue for the most part is naturalistic. Sebastian is a sympathetic and well-drawn character, and his struggles will resonate with readers who have ever felt disconnected or unsure of themselves. The other players are similarly memorable—Naomi, with her unfiltered exuberance; Sebastian’s dad, Arthur, who’s still coping with an existential crisis brought on by the death of his best friend; and even minor characters like Harold, Arthur’s colleague, who suffers from intense social anxiety and uses text-to-speech technology to express his thoughts. In the people around him, Sebastian comes to see that he isn’t alone in having issues to deal with. The story moves quickly, and though the transition between scenes can be abrupt, this too is somehow redolent of Sebastian’s awkwardness in communicating. All told, young readers will approve.

Quirky and upbeat; a satisfying tale of inner courage and friendship.