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!