Quick Lit: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandon

This middle grade novel about a boy named Rory who has trouble pronouncing the letter “r” feels very much like the middle school experience. There are parts that are really hard to read that are nevertheless true to what it’s like to be young and insecure and looking to feel more comfortable in your own skin by directing cruelty at someone else.

Rory’s former best friend, Brent, is now hanging out with a different crowd, and Rory, embarrassed that he can’t even pronounce his own name dreads continuing speech in middle school. But then Brent is in a serious accident, and Rory must contend with the complicated and understandable feelings he experiences in the aftermath. Supported by a fabulous speech pathologist who uses music and lessons about Mohammad Ali in Rory’s sessions, Rory learns “how you say something is never as important as what you say.”

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

Wow, wow, wow. You might remember I did an interview with Kate this spring about our nature-centric verse novels. Kate Messner is a standout children’s author, and this is her very, very best.

Thirteen-year-old Finn Connelly must make reparations: In his sad-angry grief over losing his father, he kicked over the headstone of Edna Grace Thomas, “beloved Trail Mother” of the Adirondack 46ers — hikers who have summited the Adirondack’s highest peaks. Edna’s daughter says instead of paying for a replacement, Finn can hike the 46 mountains along with a few “trail nannies” (to assist him if ever he runs into trouble). Finn must finish before Labor Day. He’s also working on an incomplete assignment from seventh-grade English: a collection of essays about heroes. But the trouble with heroes is that sometimes they give and give and give to everyone but their own families — at least that’s what Finn believes about his hero dad.

This is such a heartfelt, honest, funny, tender look into a young life processing hard things. Truly a must read. The Trouble with Heroes is definitely a Newbery award contender.

Incident at Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert

Earlier this summer, a few authors were discussing Incident at Hawk’s Hill during our SCBWI-NM meet up. How had I never heard of this book? I requested it from the library on the spot.

This a survival story loosely based on a real incident that happened in the 1870s outside of Winnipeg. Six-year-old Ben, the youngest member of the MacDonald family, is a quiet, shy boy who rarely speaks but finds a deep connection with animals. His father worries he’s strange and needs to snap out of it. His mother is convinced he just needs time. Ben, who loves to wander the prairie, goes missing, and for several months is cared for by a badger who has lost her litter. As I read, I couldn’t help feeling this wasn’t a children’s book in the way it was written. Sure enough, with a bit of searching I learned the author intended it for for adults, but when it won a 1972 Newbery Honor, it was later marketed for children. I really loved the bond between Ben and Badger. The book reminded me a bit of The Red Pony in its style. So glad it came up in conversation!