Narrated by True North, this is a story of overcomers. When times get tough, True and her family discover what’s important.
This book mainly deals with kids who are struggling through a worldwide crisis. Coming face to face with loneliness and fear, they have to decide to accept defeat and give in to depression and anxiety or get tough and stick together. The characters grow throughout the story leaving the reader with hope.
True is a headstrong kid with a big heart. There’s a lot we can learn from her about compassion and tenacity. Faced with challenges, she discovers truths about herself and that family & friends are there to help when she’ll let them. She gets herself in trouble more than once, but steps up to pay the consequences of the punishments she’s earned. My favorite part is when she discovers Kyle is far more than the rumors say. If there is one word to describe True North it would be courageous.
The pacing of the story is well-done with characters who grow throughout the story and are engaging. This is Gina Linko’s eighth book and as well-written as this one is, I’d be willing to check out the others. Gina writes with fantastic details and her characters are real people which remind me of the family next door. With the characters in this book, it would be a good read for both male and female audiences.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy provided by the Publisher
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence Gore: A 5th grader tells the story of kids bullying him because he is big for his age. He got in a fight and punched a kid who lost 2 of his front teeth.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Sickness and death from a virus; quarantining; theft; death of an animal; separation from a parent.
Drug/Alcohol Use:
None
