Call number
Collection
Genres
Publication
Description
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: 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"â??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 dreamerâ??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 Goodâ??and vows to save the lot. But what does a hero look like in real life? And what can two misfit kids… (more)
User reviews
Overall, a cute story indeed.
I felt SO MUCH for Ware, even when I myself was just learning to love him, and when Uncle Cy arrived, it was like a light bulb just ignited, shining as bright as the sun. With everything going on in his and his family's lives, it was easy for him to get lost along the way...but thanks to a certain precocious and determined young lay, he won't be able to lose his way. True, he won't know exactly where to start, but once he gets on the right path, there'll be no stopping. Same goes for Jolene, actually. She's a complex little lady who only shows as much as she's willing and has big dreams for her own predicament. Their unexpected friendship, their unanticipated project will bring more than a focus on something other than their family problems, but a chance to see themselves as something more than they ever thought they could be; people (albeit children) that can affect change in not only themselves, but the world around them.
**ARC received for review; opinions are my own