Trowbridge Road

Drawing comparisons to Bridge to Terabithia, this literary middle grade novel by Pixley (Ready to Fall) follows two lonely children awash in secrets and hurts. When Ziggy Karlo moves in with his grandmother, Nana Jean, June Bug Jordan is watching from a perch in the branches of a copper beech tree. She's an isolated child whose father died early in the AIDS crisis, before much was known, and whose mother has been lost to mental illness and terror of germs ever since, even making June wash with bleach. Though June is at first envious of the way Nana Jean lavishes affection on Ziggy, a bullied boy with an impressive vocabulary, she soon befriends her fellow outcast and the two escape to "the ninth dimension... a place you can go only if you are magical." Though both children have been abandoned by parents in different ways, each has a loving adult to turn to at least some of the time, with Nana Jean taking in Ziggy and June's uncle Toby wanting desperately to help his brother's family. Heartbreaking and sometimes emotionally difficult, this novel will appeal to young teens looking for something serious to dig into. Ages 10-up. Agent: Victoria Wells Arms, Wells Arms Literary/HSG. (Oct.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 5 Up--A beautifully honest account of trauma and childhood friendship that takes place in the early 1980s. June Bug Jordan has watched her world shrink after the death of her father from AIDS, a disease that is little understood and causes her mother to adopt an obsessive regime of cleaning and isolation. Left to her own devices, June watches her neighbor Nana Jean and her grandson Ziggy, who has come to stay on Trowbridge Road after a traumatic experience of his own. June Bug and Ziggy become the creators of a magical world that allows them to escape the demons of their everyday lives, as they transform into everything from dragons to farmers overlooking a snow-covered field. The story is told through June's inner monologue, and the prose feels authentic to the voice of a middle grader, albeit one who has dealt with some very heavy things. The text richly illustrates the inner lives of children, and the subject matter is handled in a way that is honest yet age appropriate. VERDICT A solid choice for mature tweens who appreciate a story with literary and fantastical elements that also tackles realistic topics.--Katie McBride Moench, New Glarus Middle and High Sch. Library, WI

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June Bug narrates this work of historical realism with a magical, poetic quality, turning the ordinary extraordinary. June Bug and Ziggy's fanciful adventures are likely to resonate with fans of Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (1977)...An exceptional story for readers who feel deeply.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Trowbridge Road is a luminous, heart-wrenching story that reminds us that love—maybe flawed, maybe messy—is what sustains us. Burbling over with lush details, Marcella Pixley's novel takes the ordinary stuff of life—steam from a bowl of warm pasta, summer sunlight, the bond between two kids burdened by family secrets—and makes it extraordinary."
—Esther Ehrlich, author of Nest

Told from the point of view of the two friends, the narrative is imaginative, flows smoothly, and has you routing for both characters by the end of the story...I truly enjoyed this well-written, plot-driven story and would recommend it for all middle schoolers. The book also reflects the lack of diversity that defined many communities in the 80s. Even though it is a work of historical fiction, there are many lessons in this book that all readers can learn from today.
—School Library Connection

Drawing comparisons to Bridge to Terabithia, this literary middle grade novel by Pixley (Ready to Fall) follows two lonely children awash in secrets and hurts...Heartbreaking and sometimes emotionally difficult, this novel will appeal to young teens looking for something serious to dig into.
—Publishers Weekly

A beautifully honest account of trauma and childhood friendship that takes place in the early 1980s...The text richly illustrates the inner lives of children, and the subject matter is handled in a way that is honest yet age appropriate. A solid choice for mature tweens who appreciate a story with literary and fantastical elements that also tackles realistic topics.
—School Library Journal

Fans of Kate DiCamillo's Raymie Nightingale (BCCB 4/16) and its followups will find this similarly emotional and ultimately satisfying. A brief author's note offers more information about AIDS and about mental illness.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books