June 22, 2015
Two 10-year-old boys, Zavion and Henry, live 1600 miles apart in New Orleans and in Vermont; facing separate tragedies, they become connected by a treasured marble and by the power of their grief. After Zavion loses his home to Hurricane Katrina, he and his father move to a temporary home in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, Henryâs best friend Wayne has a fatal accident while hiking on a mountain trail. Debut author Smith handles the aftermath of both events tenderly, as well as how they begin to unite the characters: Henry loses a marble that he and Wayne shared when his mother donates his jeans to a New Orleans charity; Henry hitches a ride to the city with a volunteer in an attempt to find the marble. Meanwhile, Zavion stows away in a bird rescue van back to New Orleans. Smith sensitively depicts both Henryâs rage toward the mountain he loved for betraying him and Zavionâs consuming feeling of obligation to the home that has vanished. As the boysâ paths converge, their stories are gracefully laced together and their individual communities are vividly imagined. Ages 9â12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
Starred review from May 1, 2015
Two 10-year-old boys, both on journeys in the wake of loss, find themselves connected by a simple marble-and much more. Zavion and his father evacuate to Baton Rouge after surviving Hurricane Katrina. Zavion, traumatized by the destruction and death he witnessed, is also heartbroken that he and his father had to steal candy bars from a local store to survive. Eventually, he is given a pair of donated blue jeans with a marble in the pocket. Henry is traveling from Vermont to New Orleans on the hunt for that very marble, accidentally given away by his mother. The marble was a magical talisman he shared with his best friend, who fell to his death as the two raced home from an overnight mountaintop adventure. In a bit of serendipity that feels like grace in this well-constructed storyline, the boys meet on the streets of New Orleans, Henry searching for his marble and Zavion returning to the market to pay for the candy bars. The two, who seem so different on the surface, come to understand all they have in common and begin to help each other confront their losses and their fears. Elegant prose and emotional authenticity will make this title sing not only for those who have experienced tragedies, but for everyone who knows the magic that only true friendship can foster. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
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May 1, 2015
Gr 4-7-Two stories of loss collide in this work of realistic fiction. Zavion and his father lose their house and everything they own in Hurricane Katrina. Zavion's already experienced the death of his mother, and he has created a personal code of conduct to help him survive. After he and his father take food from an abandoned convenience store in New Orleans, Zavion believes he has a debt to pay. That's going to be hard to do from Baton Rouge, where he and his father have relocated. Meanwhile, in Vermont, Henry is dealing with sudden death of his friend Wayne. Henry was with Wayne at the time, but the memories of the event are too painful for him to recall. The two boys passed a special marble back and forth for good luck for years. When Henry's mother donates some of his clothes to victims of Hurricane Katrina, she accidentally gives away the marble, which becomes the catalyst for merging the two plots, with Henry making his way to New Orleans in hopes of finding it and Zavion hatching his own plan to travel to the city to pay his debt. Smith excels at capturing the urgency of crisis, and strong, fast-paced openings of both plotlines pull readers right into the story. While the narrative is based on coincidence and chance, the voices and losses of Zavion and Henry are plausible and heartbreaking. Less believable are the many minor characters in the book, who are difficult to keep track of and who are sometimes inserted without context. However, the disorientation this creates is not entirely out of place here, since the novel mirrors the characters' feelings and experiences. The author is at her best when she conveys emotionally charged moments, with the prose reminiscent of a free verse poem; a particularly memorable moment involves the two main characters literally running into each other. It is refreshing to see the feelings of two middle grade boys explored so fearlessly. VERDICT This is a novel that will spark contemplation and discussion.-Juliet Morefield, Multnomah County Library, OR
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2015
Two ten-year-old boys. Henry from Vermont; Zavion from New Orleans. Henry's best friend, Wayne, was killed in a fall on a mountain; Zavion lost almost everything he had in Hurricane Katrina. When Henry takes a marble -- the marble he and Wayne used to pass back and forth when good luck was needed -- from Wayne's casket, it serves as a remembrance, until his mother donates clothes, including Henry's jeans (with the marble in a pocket), to the Salvation Army in New Orleans, where Zavion gets the jeans and happens upon the marble. Henry and his best friend's father travel to New Orleans, and Henry and Zavion eventually meet. Each in need of healing, they begin a friendship, and the marble turns out to be more than a lucky talisman; it has a sort of magic that connects people, pulling them together, holding hope in such connections. Though the plot -- related in alternating third-person points of view -- is predictable, and life lessons are spelled out a bit too neatly, the story of two young boys finding each other in a time of need is memorable. The mystery of what exactly happened to Wayne is slowly revealed, drawing readers into the tale. An author's note relates the sources of inspiration for this heartfelt and philosophical story of dual journeys toward a hopeful future. dean schneider
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)