"Authentic . . . . Middle school worries and social issues skillfully woven into a moving, hopeful, STEM-related tale." - starred review, Kirkus Reviews
"Vivid characters and situations, along with clear, simple writing and plotting, make this an accessible and enlightening read . . . A gentle but truthful look at poverty and homelessness." - starred review, School Library Journal
"Messner delivers a sensitive and realistic portrayal of financial stress, the realities of living in a shelter, and how both take a toll. Zig’s crush on Gianna and the mystery surrounding Zig’s father will keep readers hooked, but it’s his bonds with his mother and friends that will stay with them." - Publishers Weekly
"Messner gently overturns some stereotypes about homeless shelters and their residents." - Booklist
"Laced with humor and heart . . . an insightful and affecting read." - Booklist on THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z
"An engaging saga." - Kirkus Reviews on THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z
"Plot twists keep readers engaged, and Messner's warm and humorous tone will capture even reluctant readers." - School Library Journal on THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z
"An empathetic, beautiful, magical, fiercely necessary book that stares unflinchingly at the very real challenges contemporary kids face and gently assures them they are not alone. Kate Messner gives her readers a story to cherish." - Anne Ursu, author of BREADCRUMBS on THE SEVENTH WISH
"Hopeful, empathetic, and unusually enlightening." - starred review, Kirkus Reviews on THE SEVENTH WISH
"It's no surprise that Kate Messner’s magic pen could write a charming, moving, funny, and ultimately very surprising story about a magic pencil!" - Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling author of 11 BIRTHDAYS on ALL THE ANSWERS
★ 07/01/2017
Gr 5–7—Thirteen-year-old science and electronics enthusiast Zig hasn't had a visit from his father in more than a year. Zig's mother won't explain why, so he begins looking for clues in local geocaches. Meanwhile, Zig's mother fails to pay the rent and they move into a homeless shelter after a short stay with Zig's aunt Becka, who lives with an abusive husband. Messner describes the mundane details of hard realities. The shelter is perfectly safe, but there are no school supplies. Zig shows up for his school's free breakfast and finds out that his friend Ruby regularly attends. His teacher lectures the class about "the less fortunate," as if poverty and homelessness are issues that no child she knows has to handle. The author offers realistic but hopeful resolutions to many of Zig's problems. The geocache trail doesn't locate Zig's father, but it does lead to a job for his mother. Aunt Becka doesn't leave her husband, but she knows that Zig's mother is there for support. There is no question that life will bring problems, but it's just as certain that friends and family can help. Vivid characters and situations, along with clear, simple writing and plotting, make this an accessible and enlightening read. VERDICT A gentle but truthful look at poverty and homelessness for fans of realistic middle grade novels, such as Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now and Messner's The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., in which Zig is a secondary character.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library
★ 2017-08-07
Following the precise coordinates of geocaching doesn't yield the treasure Kirby Zagonski Jr. seeks: his missing father. Geeky eighth-grader Kirby can't understand why his mother won't call his dad after their generous landlady dies and they're evicted for nonpayment of rent. Though his parents have been divorced for several years and his father, a wealthy developer, has been unreliable, Kirby is sure he could help. Instead he and his mother move to the Community Hospitality Center, a place "for the poor. The unfortunate. The homeless." Suddenly A-student Kirby doesn't have a quiet place to do his schoolwork or even a working pencil. They share a "family room" with a mother and young son fleeing abuse. Trying to hide this from his best friends, Gianna and Ruby, is a struggle, especially as they spend after-school hours together. The girls help him look for the geocaches visited by "Senior Searcher," a geocacher Kirby is sure is his father. There are ordinary eighth-grade complications in this contemporary friendship tale, too; Gianna just might be a girlfriend, and there's a dance coming up. Kirby's first-person voice is authentic, his friends believable, and the adults both sometimes helpful and sometimes unthinkingly cruel. The setting is the largely white state of Vermont, but the circumstances could be anywhere. Middle school worries and social issues skillfully woven into a moving, hopeful, STEM-related tale. (Fiction. 10-14)
