The Thing I'm Most Afraid of

by Kristin Levine (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

A new middle-grade tale from critically acclaimed, award-winning author Kristin Levine about facing your fears, set in Vienna during the Bosnian genocide.

Most twelve-year-olds would be excited to fly to Austria to see their dad for the summer but then Becca is not most twelve-year-olds. Suffering from severe anxiety, she fears that the metal detectors at the airport will give her cancer and the long international flight will leave her with blood clots. Luckily, she's packed her Doomsday Journal, the one thing that always seems to help. By writing down her fears and what to do if the worst happens, Becca can get by without (many) panic attacks.

Routines and plans help Becca cope but living in a new country is full of the unexpected--including Becca's companions for the summer. Like Felix, the short and bookish son of Becca's dad's new girlfriend. Or Sara, the nineteen-year-old Bosnian refugee tasked with watching the two of them for the summer. As Becca explores Vienna and becomes close to her new friends, she soon learns she is not alone in her fears. What matters most is what you do when faced with them.

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Kirkus

An important story about anxiety, change, and courage.

Publishers Weekly

In 1993, 12-year-old Becca's anxiety disorder makes her nervous about many things--developing cancer from an airport X-ray machine or salmonella from undercooked food--but she is determined to visit her father in Vienna for the summer. While he works during the day, Becca embarks on a sightseeing tour with Felix, the quiet son of her dad's girlfriend, and Sara, a Muslim au pair from Bosnia, all implied-white. Though Sara and Felix are patient, Becca's anxiety, and the embarrassment she experiences from it, is a daily struggle. Hearing about Sara's escape from war-torn Sarajevo, though, inspires Becca to create a list of things she wants to accomplish, despite her fears. Becca is an engaging and sympathetic narrator, and Levine (The Jigsaw Jungle) writes her experience of anxiety with nuance and sensitivity. The past is never forgotten in Vienna, and Levine threads the city's history into this novel, in some ways more successfully than others: a historically accurate protest concerning a rise in nationalism interrupts the tale's momentum, while Sara's recollections of the Bosnian War are heartrendingly effective. Ages 10-up. Agent: Kathy Green, Kathryn Green Literary. (June)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up--In this historical novel set in 1993, fears and anxieties are taking over 12-year-old Becca Greenburg's life. She has understanding (divorced) parents who support her and her therapist's goals for conquering her severe anxiety. A summer trip to stay with her relocated father in Vienna, Austria, is not what Becca had in mind. There she meets Felix, another 12-year-old with his own worries. Over the course of the summer, they are guided through the city by Sara, a Bosnian refugee from Sarajevo. Sara has her own fears since her mother and younger brother were left behind in Sarajevo, under attack by the oppressive Serbians. As Becca and Felix overcome their fears (different foods, crowds, bicycles, making friends, etc.), they learn that having and being a support for others builds inner strength. After a harrowing detention for Sara, they help her because their love creates family. They attend a historic pro-refugee rally to protest against a growing fear-driven, Austria-first sentiment. By supporting Sara's search for her family, Becca focuses on others' bigger fears and concerns. Her anxieties do not vanish, but she learns how to live in spite of them. VERDICT A slice of history that echoes another country's struggle with anti-immigrant sentiment.--Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area Dist. Lib., Holt, MI

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for The Thing I'm Most Afraid Of

"An engaging historical novel with an unusual, vividly realized setting. . . A moving resolution." —Booklist

"In this thoughtful novel populated with well-developed characters, Levine slowly and realistically reveals Becca's growth. . . An important story about anxiety, change, and courage." —Kirkus Reviews

"Becca is an engaging and sympathetic narrator, and Levine (The Jigsaw Jungle) writes her experience of anxiety with nuance and sensitivity. The past is never forgotten in Vienna, and Levine threads the city's history into this novel . . . while Sara's recollections of the Bosnian War are heartrendingly effective." —Publisher's Weekly

"In this historical novel set in 1993, fears and anxieties are taking over 12-year-old Becca Greenburg's life. . . As Becca . . . learn[s] that having and being a support for others builds inner strength . . . her anxieties do not vanish, but she learns how to live in spite of them. VERDICT: A slice of history that echoes another country's struggle with anti-immigrant sentiment." —School Library Journal
Kristin Levine
Kristin Levine received her BA in German from Swarthmore College and an MFA in film from American University. She spent a year in Vienna, Austria, working as an au pair, and has taught screenwriting at American University. Currently, she lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her two daughters. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Best Luck I Ever Had, The Lions of Little Rock, and The Paper Cowboy.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780525518648
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date
June 15, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV016040 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Europe
JUV039240 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Depression & Mental Illness
Library of Congress categories
History
Friendship
20th century
Refugees
Austria
Vienna (Austria)
Anxiety disorders
Yugoslav War, 1991-1995
Bosnia and Herzegovina

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