Not Nothing
by Gayle Forman (Author)
"The book we all need at the time we all need it." --Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan In this middle grade novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman, a boy who has been assigned to spend his summer volunteering at a senior living facility learns unexpected lessons that change the trajectory of his life.
To say Alex has had it rough is an understatement. His father's gone, his mother is struggling with mental health issues, and he's now living with an aunt and uncle who are less than excited to have him. Almost everyone treats him as though he doesn't matter at all, like he's nothing.
So when a kid at school actually tells him he's nothing, Alex snaps, and gets violent. Fortunately, his social worker pulls some strings and gets him a job at a nursing home for the summer rather than being sent to juvie. There, he meets Josey, the 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who stopped bothering to talk years ago, and Maya-Jade, the granddaughter of one of the residents with an overblown sense of importance.
Unlike Alex, Maya-Jade believes that people care about what she thinks, and that she can make a difference. And when Alex and Josey form an unlikely bond, with Josey confiding in him, Alex starts to believe he can make a difference--a good difference--in the world. If he can truly feel he matters, Alex may be able to finally rise to the occasion of his own life.
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Publishers Weekly
Twelve-year-old, white-cued Alex's mother has been missing for almost a year. Now sleeping on a lumpy couch in the home of his indifferent aunt and uncle, Alex harbors a simmering anger that soon boils over into an act of violence. A sympathetic social worker provides Alex the opportunity to avoid juvenile detention by spending the summer working at Shady Glen Retirement Home; once there, he immediately picks a fight with another volunteer. But with limited options--and nothing better to do--he returns to Shady Glen and meets 107-year-old Josey Kravitz, a Polish Holocaust survivor who "stopped talking and waited to die" following the death of his lost love. Drawn to Alex, Josey begins telling him the story of his doomed romance with fiercely intelligent Olka, a seamstress at his family's clothing store who teaches young Josey how to sew, a skill that would save his life. Written in second person from Josey's perspective, this tale of intergenerational friendship forged through a shared understanding of loss by Forman (Frankie and Bug) is told with spellbinding grace and wrought with exquisite structuring that quietly highlights the heartrending parallels between Josey's WWII remembrances and Alex's current struggles. Ages 10-up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Aug.)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
Not Nothing is a beautifully-written, poignant, life-affirming gem about ordinary people doing extraordinary things during unimaginable times. Ultimately, it's a story about stories, those spoken memories handed down from generation to generation that inspire us all to 'rise to the occasion of our lives'. Bravo, Gayle Forman! —R. J. Palacio, Bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony
Tenderly layered and beautifully constructed. Forman weaves an intensely moving portrait of stories separated by generations but inextricably connected by the experience of having known love and lost it. —Ruta Sepetys, author of Carnegie Medal-winning Salt to the Sea and international bestseller Between Shades of Gray
This stunning, masterfully told story of compassion, forgiveness, and joy is the book we all need at the time we all need it. Profound, heart-healing, and life-changing. —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan
It's not nothing when a story grabs you from the first line and keeps you turning pages until the last. It's not nothing when a story (two actually) makes you laugh, cry, worry, wonder, and cry again. It\'s not nothing when a book captures your heart, expands your mind, and stays with you long after you've reluctantly read the last word. — Deborah Heiligman, award-winning author of Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of The Children's Ship
Not Nothing is a masterpiece. It has so many feelings and moral conundrums and ultra-urgent themes—it should be a community-wide read all over the country. Timely, funny, perfect.— Adam Gidwitz, bestselling author of Newbery Honor Book The Inquisitor's Tale and Max in the House of Spies
Beautiful, heart-wrenching, and impossible to put down, Not Nothing is a story about the power of love, hope, and forgiveness. —Sarah Mlynowski, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Whatever After and Best Wishes series
JUV033020 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Jewish
JUV013090 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Alternative Family
Jews
Self-esteem
Old age
Poland
Holocaust survivors
