A funny, whirlwind romp that embraces the beautiful buzz of a busy brain.
A young Canadian boy’s mind moves at lightning speed, and so does this heartfelt, hilarious tale.
Everyone daydreams, but as Gus’ older sister Ruby says, “Most of us have a big sign over the doorway of our mind: THIS WAY OUT.” Thirteen-year-old Gus has ADHD, and his maze of a brain definitely doesn’t have clearly marked exits. One morning while reading aloud the daily announcements on the school’s loudspeaker, he goes off script in the name of comedy. The secretary, Miss Funn, doesn’t find Gus’ improvisations amusing and instead serves him a two-day suspension. Gus’ adventure begins the moment he walks out of school and gets a call from Ruby, who requests his help moving out of her college dormitory on Vancouver Island. She gives him clear instructions on how to take the ferry and a bus to her school, but of course no journey is quite so linear for Gus. He must deal with his forgetfulness, his wandering thoughts, and even some incredibly realistic hallucinations, all of which lead to a thoughtful conversation with his doctors about the pros and cons of medication. Gus’ breakneck misadventure is both tender and entertaining—an ode to neurodiversity that speaks to the importance of forging one’s own path and serves as a much-needed reminder that all brains are awesome. Gus is white with Macedonian heritage.
A funny, whirlwind romp that embraces the beautiful buzz of a busy brain. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781546158332
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean.
A 12-year-old copes with a brain tumor.
Maddie likes potatoes and fake mustaches. Kids at school are nice (except one whom readers will see instantly is a bully); soon they’ll get to perform Shakespeare scenes in a unit they’ve all been looking forward to. But recent dysfunctions in Maddie’s arm and leg mean, stunningly, that she has a brain tumor. She has two surgeries, the first successful, the second taking place after the book’s end, leaving readers hanging. The tumor’s not malignant, but it—or the surgeries—could cause sight loss, personality change, or death. The descriptions of surgery aren’t for the faint of heart. The authors—parents of a real-life Maddie who really had a brain tumor—imbue fictional Maddie’s first-person narration with quirky turns of phrase (“For the love of potatoes!”) and whimsy (she imagines her medical battles as epic fantasy fights and pretends MRI stands for Mustard Rat from Indiana or Mustaches Rock Importantly), but they also portray her as a model sick kid. She’s frightened but never acts out, snaps, or resists. Her most frequent commentary about the tumor, having her skull opened, and the possibility of death is “Boo” or “Super boo.” She even shoulders the bully’s redemption. Maddie and most characters are white; one cringe-inducing hallucinatory surgery dream involves “chanting island natives” and a “witch doctor lady.”
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean. (authors’ note, discussion questions) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62972-330-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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