Squint

From School Library Journal Gr 5-7-Sixth grader Flint (aka Squint) is feverishly trying to finish making his comic book in order to enter it in the "Find a Comic Star" contest. Due to a genetic eye disease, keratoconus, he wears thick glasses and has double, sometimes triple or quadruple, vision. Flint, who lives with his grandparents, spends most of his time alone working on his comic book. When McKell, a new girl at school and part of the popular group, sits with him at lunch, he's wary at first, but she seems genuine. She invites him to take a hike after school and talks about her brother Danny's YouTube videos where he posts challenges asking people to push themselves and try new things. After Flint tears his cornea and has surgery, he sees better than he has in years, a cause for celebration until he sees his comic more clearly and realizes that it isn't as good as he thought. He quits drawing, but after Danny dies of heart disease, a consequence of having progeria, a disease where you prematurely age, he works with McKell to fulfill Danny's last challenge, a chance for them both to achieve their dreams. Flint and McKell are sympathetic protagonists with relatable concerns and issues. The challenges of middle school are leavened with humor through the "Middle School Rules" sprinkled throughout the story. The use of the comic book as a metaphor for Flint's experiences would have been more impactful if it had been shown as the actual comic rather than written as text. This small flaw aside, this is a moving story about friendship, loss, and seeing life from other people's point of view. VERDICT Recommended for any library serving middle grade readers.-Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, ILα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. ''Tale of loss and redemption...Likely to find an appreciative audience among young teens.'' - --Kirkus''Pulls off the seemingly impossible; it is an empathy-building novel with a message that's fun to read. Flint is a sharply observant narrator. He is self-deprecatingly humorous rather than self-pitying, and he easily embodies the secret freakishness that many teens feel. Despite the book's dual medical issues, this is not a 'sick kid' book...it sends a strong message about making the most of what you have. The writing is perfectly tuned, trusting its audience enough not to hammer at its main themes. With its sophisticated themes and thoroughly likable main character, Squint takes on a lot and delivers beyond expectations.'' - --Foreword Reviews''Flint and McKell are sympathetic protagonists with relatable concerns and issues. The challenges of middle school are leavened with humor through the 'Middle School Rules' sprinkled throughout the story. A moving story about friendship, loss, and seeing life from other people's point of view. Recommended.'' - --School Library Journal Chad Morris grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. Neither of those plans quite panned out, so he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college. Now hex92s a teacher and a writer. Shelly Brown loves to write books for children. In her spare time, she enjoys the theater and traveling. In addition to her five children, she has three chickens and sixty-four Pez dispensers. Their previous book is Mustaches for Maddie . Read more