Review By: Denise Stillitano
Published: 2024; Nancy Paulsen Books
Genre: Verse Novel, Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade
Triggers: Poverty, homelessness, death of family member, abuse, foster care
Summary: A gripping new novel in verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish, featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him. Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can’t be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets “the itch,” and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic books—superheroes have a lot of “and then, boom” moments, where everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe too, as in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park. But things fall apart again when Joe is suddenly left to fend for himself. He doesn’t tell anyone he’s on his own, as he fears foster care and has hope his mom will come back. But time is running out—bills are piling up, the electricity’s been shut off, and the school year’s about to end, meaning no more free meals. The struggle to feed himself gets intense, and Joe finds himself dumpster diving for meals. He’s never felt so alone—until an emaciated little dog and her two tiny pups cross his path. And fate has even more in store for Joe, because an actual tornado is about to hit home—and just when it seems all is lost, his life turns in a direction that he never could have predicted.
Review: “Walk a mile in Joe’s shoes and try not to trip over the flapping soles as you seek out where you’re going to find a morsel of food. Whether the reader has experienced food insecurity and homelessness or not, this book shows us that Joe is just like us in so many ways. He has “”one day”” dreams of playing basketball professionally, but he also dreams of being able to avoid Doomsday bills and not worry about where his next meal will come from.
In true Fipps’ fashion, this story is told in verse and employs symbolism and figurative language throughout Joe’s journey. Like Starfish, Fipps tackles difficult topics that teens grapple with and make them approachable to discuss and consider. After reading this book, students will be intrigued about homelessness, soup kitchens, how to support those who lose close family members, Child Protective Services, and depression. The themes around friendship and who you call you family can be seen throughout the book. It vividly calls to mind that family is not always defined by blood, but rather by those who you can count on through anything.
Middle schoolers will like the comic type of design of the front cover illustration, but it does not match the seriousness of the topics within the book. Teachers could use this book in relation to other books that tackle serious topics like these and I could see it pairing well with Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate or The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Both of these other texts follow young adolescents who find themselves in situations far beyond their control and having to manage them with people they can trust.”
