THE LIGHTNING PEOPLE PLAY

Fourteen-year-old Kirby Renton is determined to put on a play to raise money to help his younger brother, who has epilepsy.

Kirby is scared. His dads are separated, and his brother keeps having seizures. During them, Baxter says he sees “the lightning people”—and that “they’re coming.” As Baxter’s seizures worsen, Kirby uses his passion for theater to write and produce a play to raise money for a seizure alert dog, with help from a ragtag team of fellow theater kids. He’s determined to save Baxter before the lightning people arrive. Little do they know that the play will surpass their wildest dreams. Kirby is desperate to help his family—he blames Dad for Pop’s leaving, which in turn “is what made [Baxter’s] brains explode inside his head and that’s what’s causing the seizures.” While the representation of epilepsy is important, there are instances of misinformation on how to help someone who’s having a seizure. Kirby, who presents white, states early on that he may have mild OCD, but his symptom—mostly an urge to be orderly—vanishes by the end of the book. Because he has two dads, Kirby contends with homophobic comments from peers, which are framed as a normal aspect of life in his small town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. While this book is seemingly set in the present day, the use of pop culture references and slang from different eras creates a muddled portrayal of contemporary teenagers.

A heartfelt but confusing story about family.