Wink

Gr 3-6--Ross Maloy is a middle schooler with bigger problems than most. Diagnosed with a rare eye tumor, he is challenged to maintain normalcy despite taxing cancer treatments. Afraid of pity, Ross also fears losing his close friends Abby and Isaac. Ross's alter ego is Batpig, a character in his comic where he takes refuge from health challenges, relationship problems, anonymous trolls, and hurtful internet memes. He befriends a medical technician who is also a musician, and soon is motivated to learn guitar and perform in a band. The story's beauty lies in how Ross's life unfolds and opens. He forms a ragtag group of friends while undergoing monumental challenges. In response to Ross's cry for normalcy, one close friend, Jerry, says normal shouldn't be the goal: "Different moves the needle. Different is where the good stuff happens. There's strength in different." VERDICT This title is delightfully good and different. Readers will be interested to know that Harrell draws from his personal experience. There are witty comic panels and other art interspersed throughout the text. Highly recommended.--Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Ross wants badly to be a normal seventh grader, but it's not easy when everyone at school knows he has eye cancer. Besides enduring radiation treatments and their nasty side effects, he's contending with personal questions, concerned looks, and cheerful wishes from his schoolmates. His best friend, Abby, makes him feel "like something in the world is normal," but their other friend, Isaac, has all but vanished. When Ross's radiation tech, Frank, turns him on to music and teaches him to play guitar, he finds an outlet for his anger and frustration and comes to see a new side to a school bully, a drum player, whose cousin lives with Frank. Harrell (the Life of Zarf series), himself a cancer survivor, offers a frank account of cancer's effects while keeping the subject matter accessible for middle grade readers. Ross never takes himself too seriously, and amusing black-and-white comics trace his unsavory experiences, capture the ironies of his predicament, and underline his creativity and sense of humor. Told in the first person, this lively novel showcases the author's understanding of middle school angst amid the protagonist's experience with a serious illness. Ages 9-12. (Mar.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

★ "Heartfelt, humorous, soul-searching plot . . . This page-turner is not to be missed." —Booklist, starred review

★ "Amusing black-and-white comics trace his unsavory experiences, capture the ironies of his predicament, and underline his creativity and sense of humor . . . This lively novel showcases the author's understanding of middle school angst amid the protagonist's experience with a serious illness." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The author balances this anger element well against the typical middle-grade tropes . . . While some of these elements will feel familiar, the novel's emotional climax remains effectively earned . . . Not your typical kid-with-cancer book." —Kirkus

"The story's beauty lies in how Ross's life unfolds and opens . . . This title is delightfully good and different. Highly recommended." —School Library Journal