From Publishers Weekly
A late adolescence of fierce, sweet turmoil provides the inspiration for McGhee (
Shadow Baby), who also writes YA novels. His legs recently paralyzed in an accident, 16-year-old, wheelchair-bound Joseph works in a Minneapolis bakery with Zap, a boy of 17, and is pelted with questions by Enzo, a girl of nine whom no one seems to be looking after. After the accident, Joseph left upstate New York and his troubled mother to live with a father he barely knows. Enzo, who desperately wants Joseph to be a superhero hurt performing a feat of derring-do, persists in trying to unravel the accident's mystery. Mai, a lovely teenage girl with a growing crush on Joseph, and her younger brother, Cha (who is locked in an interior world of his own, add to the mix. McGhee renders their insular world delicately, but the narrative gets saturated with that world's atmosphere, and the characters often come across as too young for their years. Readers willing to suspend some disbelief will be charmed by McGhee's tender and affecting coming-of-age tale.
(Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—Two boys work in a Minneapolis bakery—Zap, whose father owns it, and Joseph, recently paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Their most regular customer, Enzo, is an overtly angry nine-year-old who insists on being called the Mighty Thor, and who endlessly clicks her mechanical pencil. The book unfolds slowly as readers learn about these damaged kids, while the adults stay on the periphery. These adults never even get names; they are called "The Figurehead" and "the old guy," with one exception, John Schaefer, the man who investigated Joseph's accident, who is only referred to in the boy's memory. No one knows what really happened, but Enzo is determined to find out, while Zap tells everyone that Joseph is a superhero who can fly, and who fell off a mountain. McGhee's style is at times reminiscent of David Almond's, with the realistic yet magical setting transferred from the Northern England wilderness to an urban setting. Other times, it skirts art movie pretensions, especially when adults pop up and make obtuse statements, then disappear. All of the questions are eventually answered, and, despite the sad subject matter, the end gives the characters hope. Though the mystical metaphor sometimes comes on a bit strong, sensitive teens could easily be drawn into this story of emotionally compromised kids.—
Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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