Simon Sort of Says

Gr 5 Up--Facing trauma from the past is difficult, but this book handles it masterfully. Main character Simon is the only survivor from a shooting in his school classroom. He and his family have just moved to Grin and Bear It, NE--a National Quiet Zone town without internet, cell phones, or television. He hopes it will be the perfect place to find the "now" version of himself. While on his journey, Simon makes friends with Agate and Kevin. All three kids face different types of pressure and support one another as they seek out coping mechanisms and strategies. Simon's mother works as the town undertaker and his father works for the Catholic Church. It is a very rural environment, and a large part of the story is Simon and his friends experiencing birthing goats, being chased by emus or an attack peacock, training the sweetest service dog ever, and even faking an alien signal to the scientists managing a Large Radio Telescope. In the mix are an incompetent morgue assistant who is constantly losing bodies (or taking the wrong ones!) and a wild squirrel who ate the sacrament. Simon is a funny, lovable character who has lived through an unthinkable event. Simon is white, Kevin is Filipino American, and Agate is white and autistic. Funny and heartfelt in equal measure, this book tackles some tough topics, but the humor keeps readers engaged, and it is easy to care about these characters. VERDICT A solid purchase for all libraries that serve middle grade readers A solid purchase for all libraries that serve middle grade readers. It deftly handles the sensitive topic of being a young trauma survivor; warning for school shooting content.--Claire Covington

Centering 12-year-old Simon O'Keefe's recent move to a completely off-the-grid town and told in his laugh-out-loud first-person perspective, Bow (Stand on the Sky) delivers a compassionate and refreshingly hopeful novel about a tween navigating the aftermath of a school shooting, which takes place before this book's start. Hoping to escape the anxiety-inducing notoriety they've been experiencing after the event, Simon and his family move to Grin and Bear It, Neb., where all electronic devices are banned. The devices, local scientists say, would interfere with their radio telescopes, which are listening for signals of extraterrestrial activity. Since no one can google him, Simon is optimistic that he can fly under the radar and put his past behind him. He makes fast friends with classmates Agate Van der Zwann, who is white and autistic, and half-white, half-Filipino Kevin Matapung; together, they set out to create false messages from aliens, using Kevin's family's contraband microwave to attempt to trick the scientists. Without detracting from Simon's uplifting emotional arc about making peace with his past and looking toward a brighter future with friends, Bow imbues this sincere story with levity by employing madcap plot points, including several animal-centered shenanigans featuring squirrels, dogs, and emus. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jane Putch, Eyebait Management. (Feb.)