April 23, 2024 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
ARC provided by Follett First Look
Isaiah has been friends with Darius and Drew for a long time, and the three often try to break world records, often involving their skateboards. Both Drew and Isaiah have to deal with fathers who frequently travel; Isaiah's father is a photographer for National Geographic while Drew's is in the military. While he gets a long with these friends, Isaiah doesn't tell them everything about himself. He collects vintage concert t shirts from heavy metal groups that his friends consider "too white", he enjoys helping his mother with plants for her business, and he secretly enjoys wearing nail polish. His father thinks he should "toughen up", but sometimes the stunts that his friends want to pull are too much for him. When the three try to break a record for wheelies, they head to a neighborhood with better street surfaces and encounter someone who yells at them to leave. Tragedy occurs when the melee ends with Drew not seeing a car approaching. Both Isaiah and Drew are devasted by their friend's death and think it's their fault. Drew becomes very quiet, leaving Isaiah to suffer alone. During the summer, Isaiah is sent to live with relatives and help on the farm, which is very therapeutic. He meets a girl, Kiana, who accepts his "softer" side and even gives him black nail polish to wear. When he returns home, he has a better grasp of who he is, connects more with Darius, and gets ready to start high school as his authentic self.
Strengths: Like Williams' Genesis Begins Again, this is a great exploration of personal identity, a very important topic in middle grade literature. It's interesting to see her embrace the novel in verse format. I particularly enjoyed Isaiah's relationship with both of his parents, which was close but somehow detached in the way that parent-child relationships tend to become when children get into high school and have to decide who they are in the world at large. The grief is certainly there, but I appreciated that Isaiah was working at overcoming his guilt and really trying to figure out how to move forward. The difficulties with Drew are also well portrayed, and the fact that Isaiah is concentrating on his own issues and not really understanding what his friend is going through is absolutely true to life. There's a lot of healing and understanding that goes on, leaving this book with a hopeful ending as Isaiah starts high school unafraid to show the world his interests.
Weaknesses: This is a rather contemplative and long novel, which would probably appeal very much to Isaiah himself, but doesn't have as much action as the cover would indicate. On the bright side, it is a book that involves skateboarding without involving the characters in building a skate park.
What I really think: This is not quite as philosophical as Rhodes' Ghost Boys, Draper's Tears of a Tiger, or Alexander's Rebound, and is equal parts dealing with grief and finding personal identity. This is a good choice for readers who want to read about more well rounded male friendships, like those in Jung's The Boys in the Back Row, Lucas' Thanks a Lot, Universe. or Craft's New Kid.
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