[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Amulet Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
On the morning of Brian’s 13th birthday, his dad disappears leaving only a cryptic note, and his mom overdoses and is rushed to the hospital. Before the day is over, Brian and his little brother are in foster care. The pressure starts mounting, Brian’s anxiety starts growing, and he starts pushing back at everyone around him. He strikes back at his bully. He runs away from his foster home.
Ezra is one of the only guys at school who treats Brian like a friend. But as Brian starts to spiral, Ezra realizes that he’s never stood up for Brian to his other friends. Lately it seems like Brian might need a buddy to lean on, and Ezra is the one person he might trust enough to help him. The complication is that Ezra has a crush on Brian. And he’s not quite sure what to do with those feelings.
Review
I adored this! Brian and Ezra will quickly become kids you want to hang out with – and hug. There are so many exceptional character pieces in this – Brian’s evolution through the story, Ezra’s fierce desire to help Brian, Gabe – my favorite character – and Brittany, Brian’s family dynamics… It’s all perfection. I quickly became attached to these characters. And I would have happily kept reading another book’s worth of pages with them.
There’s a lot of heavy content in this one – the overdose/suicide attempt, Brian’s panic attacks and social anxiety, some of Brian’s choices in the story, Ezra working through his understanding of his sexuality and the impact of it on his friendships, grief and loss – which is why this is an older middle grade story for readers 10 and up. All of the content is handled beautifully. But it’s still a lot, especially when you remember that Brian and Ezra are only 13. (The story reminds me of A List of Cages in some of the content, although more “mild” in some ways for the younger audience.)
This would be a great book for discussion with kids – both to help them process some of the more serious pieces of the story, but also because it’s such a rich and meaty story with great characters and an engaging plot. I think kids will love Brian and Ezra (and Gabe!). And the story here will leave readers with lots to think about. (LGBTQ+, TW: Panic attacks/anxiety, suicide attempt, bullying)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!
Echo Mountain – Ellie and her family move to Echo Mountain during the Great Depression, making due with what nature has to offer and the negotiations they can make with their neighbors. When Ellie’s father is injured and goes into a coma, she seeks out the mysterious “hag” who might be able to help him. This isn’t the sort of novel I would pick up on my own, but I enjoyed the characters in this one. There’s a magical element to Ellie’s instincts for medicine and healing that was interesting. ♥♥♥♥
Efrén Divided – Efrén’s parents are undocumented immigrants, and when his mother is deported, Efrén steps into more responsibilities to help his family. I liked the kids in the book, but the story is sad. I appreciated that the complications of the situation were reflected in the story – there are no simple solutions offered by the end. I think this could be a great story to introduce kids to contemporary issues on immigration, but it’s a heavy story which might keep some kids from giving it a try. ♥♥♥♥
Fighting Words – [TW: sexual abuse, sexual harassment, suicide] (Older Middle Grade) – When the older of two sisters who have been through a considerable amount of trauma tries to commit suicide, the younger sister thinks it might be time to make some noise about what they are going through. This is an excellent story – probably my second favorite from this list – but it is a *hard* read. This is definitely for older middle grade readers (10+), and even for that group, it’s a pretty weighty story. This is another book that could help readers feel seen and know they aren’t alone. But this is also a title that I believe will appeal to a subset of readers who are mature enough to handle the content. ♥♥♥♥½
From the Desk of Zoe Washington – A girl preparing for a baking challenge is secretly investigating the crime that put her father in prison – the one he says he didn’t commit. This was the one book from the list I had already read before receiving the list of nominees. I loved this book, and I’m thrilled that it was our team’s choice for the Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction. You can read my full review 
King and the Dragonflies – Kingston, grieving the loss of his brother, is convinced his brother has become a dragonfly. Kingston has no one to talk to about his grief or this theory because just before he died, Kingston’s brother told him to stay away from his best friend, Sandy, because he is gay. Being Black is hard enough; Kingston doesn’t need people thinking he might be gay, too. This is another heavy story. The writing is terrific, but the story itself felt dark and sad to me – there’s racism, harassment over sexuality, grief/loss, and also child abuse. This is the sort of book that can help some readers feel seen, but not all kids are looking for such a hard-hitting story. ♥♥♥½
Land of the Cranes – This is a novel in verse, also about immigration. This time, though, the main character is the one who is detained, making the the story sit much closer to the reader than Efrén’s story. This was hard to read, and I didn’t enjoy it. It’s enlightening, but another difficult, serious subject. ♥♥♥
Show Me a Sign – An OwnVoices story about a Deaf community in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1800s. A young scientist comes to Mary’s village to figure out why there is such a large population of Deaf people in the community, but his personal biases lead him to make dire choices that impact the community as a whole and Mary directly. This was a fascinating story, although it, too, was dark. The things that happen to Mary in the story were awful, and as a reader, I could feel her panic at being trapped without a way to communicate her thoughts, feelings, and experience in order to get the help she needed. There’s a lot of infuriating injustice in this story. Not only does the story address Deaf culture and communication and community, but it also touches on land disputes with Native Americans and other racial issues of the time period. This was my third favorite of the seven books we read; there will be a sequel to this one, Set Me Free, later this year. ♥♥♥♥
