genre: middle grade fictionWhat will it take for a shy boy to be able to make a new friend? What kind of friend will be better than no friends at all for a girl who is deaf and disillusioned by her peers? Can a middle-school-aged self-proclaimed psychic find what gets lost? When they all meet in a forest, can the universe intervene in such a way as to create something new out of several combined individuals?
I chose this because it won the Newberry but honestly, it didn't ever turn into the beautiful thing I wanted it to be. It was tender, don't get me wrong, but it was slow and never GRABBED me, not until maybe the last 25%. Part of me liked that we read part of the story from the bully's point of view, but it also left me flat with really no redemption, we just are left thinking that oh well, here's a mean kid that was taught to be mean and will maybe always be mean. I HATED how he always used the word "retardo" - I get that the author was playing his hatred of differences against the other characters but I wish she'd chosen a different word for him to repeat over and over.
I DID like that there are characters of color and differently-abled characters and that while those things are a part of them, it's not the entire point. It's a piece of their story but their kindness, resourcefulness and cleverness was more important. I liked the relationship between one main character and his grandma, and for the most part I liked how cultural stories played into the narrative, although during the end I had a hard time knowing if we were moving into magical realism or if he was dreaming or what. It may be confusing to younger readers.
I'd be interested to know how much the intended audience likes it because it just wasn't my cup of tea.
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