Monday, August 10, 2020

MMGM: Here in the Real World



I discovered Here in the Real World  from my local library's new reads section. I was intrigued by the premise and the title. For some reason, I expected magical realism or fantasy, but this is realistic fiction at its best.

I  was moved by this story about a boy who doesn’t fit in, but wants to be a knight, and his sidekick, a girl from a difficult home, who thinks gardening might save her life.

Synopsis (from Amazon):

From the author of the highly acclaimed, New York Times bestselling novel Pax comes a gorgeous and moving middle grade novel that is an ode to introverts, dreamers, and misfits everywhere.
Ware can’t wait to spend summer “off in his own world”—dreaming of knights in the Middle Ages and generally being left alone. But then his parents sign him up for dreaded Rec camp, where he must endure Meaningful Social Interaction and whatever activities so-called “normal” kids do.
 

On his first day Ware meets Jolene, a tough, secretive girl planting a garden in the rubble of an abandoned church next to the camp. Soon he starts skipping Rec, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot.
 

Jolene scoffs, calling him a dreamer—he doesn’t live in the “real world” like she does. As different as Ware and Jolene are, though, they have one thing in common: for them, the lot is a refuge.
But when their sanctuary is threatened, Ware looks to the knights’ Code of Chivalry: Thou shalt do battle against unfairness wherever faced with it. Thou shalt be always the champion of the Right and Good—and vows to save the lot.
 

But what does a hero look like in real life? And what can two misfit kids do?

What I loved:

1. Intriguing characters: Both Wade and Jolene are multi-dimensional and sympathetic. Wade sees the possibilities in things, and Jolene counter-balances him with her realism. And the juxtaposition of their deep hurts with their big dreams (knighthood and gardening) makes them very multi-dimensional.

2. Kid- like point of view: I don’t know if I’ve read a MG book recently where the author captured the kid point of view so well. From Wade’s understanding of his parents and their world to his ideas of being a knight to Jolene’s idea of growing papayas to save her family, everything is filtered through a kid’s understanding.

3. Hope as a theme: I read this book at a time when I was feeling overwhelmed and discouraged by all that is going on in our world right now. What Wade's mom said about "looking around the edges” and accepting that you may not be able to fix everything, but you can fix something, really resonated with me right now. I’m sure it will with a lot of readers.

4. Sparse, but powerful prose: I am in awe of writers who can convey a lot of emotion in very few words. Pennypacker is a master at writing simply, yet powerfully. I think this adds to the strong middle grade voice, and packs a more powerful emotional punch than a lot of words would do.

Caveat: While I loved almost everything about this book, the one thing that stumped me is the author’s use of a lot of Christian symbols, but assigning different meanings to them. I was a bit confused at times with what the author was trying to say with these symbols. For that reason, I would just say that I think that aspect of this book would be something to discuss with readers, especially if you are a teacher or a parent.

Have you read any books that filled you with hope lately? Please share in the comments!





8 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great story except for those Christian turns off. We can all use a book about hope during these challenging times.

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  2. This book sounds excellent! It's so important for books to capture how kids actually think and act, but so few books actually do—I'm reminded of The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, which did an excellent job depicting this as well. Also, we could all use a bit of hope right now, so I appreciate that theme of the book. Thanks for the excellent review!

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  3. I like that message. We do need hope that we can do something good.

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  4. The characters in this story remind me a bit of a story I've reviewed that will be released in October. I liked your comment about how you thought the book might be magical realism. But sometime imaginative play can also be a form of magic for two tweens trying to find their way. This sounds like an excellent book. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. This is one of the reasons I love children's books because no matter how bleak, there's always hope. At least, that's my rule for kids' books :) I'm reading St. Faustina's Diary and it gives me such hope. The message of Divine Mercy is so beautiful.

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  6. I enjoyed this story too! Great character arcs and wonderful plotting. Thanks for featuring on MMGM.

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  7. I love layered stories that operate on the level of action but are truly interior. This is one such book.

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  8. I have Pax on my pile and still haven't gotten to it. I know I need to do that. This one sounds great. The line, "accepting that you may not be able to fix everything, but you can fix something" is a lesson everyone should learn. Thanks for your thoughtful review.

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