Review by Booklist Review
When Drew, a newborn baby, wouldn't stop crying, a hospital nurse tucked him in beside Mia, another newborn, and he calmed right down. Twelve years later, Drew begins his summer with low expectations, since his best friend has moved away from Half Moon Bay. When Dad takes up running, he persuades Drew to join him on daily outings, training for an upcoming half-marathon. Before that event, a girl named Mia comes to stay with her grandmother and joins their running crew. Just when the summer seems brighter, Drew learns that his father is seriously ill, and Mia discovers that her family will be losing their home. Each is devastated initially, but they continue to run while supporting each other and making discoveries about themselves and their relationships with family members and friends. The book has a small cast of well-developed, mostly likable characters, whose interactions and reflections are at the heart of the novel. The author of Like Magic (2016) and Paper Chains (2017), Vickers tells the main characters' intertwined stories through alternating first-person narratives, with Drew writing in journal-entry style and Mia expressing herself in free verse. Each adds an interesting perspective, while both move the story forward. An involving, heartening novel of change and growing awareness.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Though they became instant pals as infants born on the same day in Half Moon Bay, Calif., 12-year-olds Drew and Mia haven't seen each other since Mia moved to Sacramento. But now, 12 years later, she's spending the summer with her Gram in Half Moon Bay while her father tends to a sick relative in Alaska. Since Drew's best friend recently moved away, and Mia doesn't know any other kids in town, the pair quickly fall into a routine of running each morning with Drew's father. As the summer unfurls, the duo bond over familial conflicts: Drew has been struggling to accept his father's amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis, while Mia worries about her family's financial and housing-related troubles. Together, they begin preparing for the town's half-marathon, and while it initially feels as if they're "running away from what scares us," they find that their training helps them make the most of every day in the face of uncertain futures. Via distinct dual perspectives that alternate between Drew's POV, told in compassionate prose, and Mia's, conveyed in rhythmic verse, Vickers (Like Magic) vividly captures one emotionally turbulent summer filled with a friendship's mutual trust and support. Characters cue as white. Ages 8--12. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (June)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Drew and Mia met as infants -- born on the same day in the same hospital, they stopped crying only when nurses put them in the same bassinet -- but grew up in different areas of California, meeting again only when Mia comes to stay with her Gram in Drew's hometown of Half Moon Bay for the summer before they turn thirteen. Mia's family is there while her father is in Alaska caring for his ailing mother. Drew's summer plans mainly involve avoiding work in his father's carpentry shop until the gift of a pair of Nikes gives him new purpose. Mia joins Drew and his dad on their morning runs, and they decide to enter a local half marathon. When Drew learns that his dad has been diagnosed with ALS, the race takes on a deeper meaning. Vickers does an excellent job of blending her two narrators' voices, with Drew's chapters written in prose and Mia's in verse. The book deals authentically with tween feelings, especially their complex reactions to death and loss, while also maintaining a solid pace through the dynamic plot, making it a great choice for upper-middle-grade readers looking for an emotionally intense story without a hint of romance. (c) Copyright 2024. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A bond formed in infancy is reestablished during a pivotal summer when two tweens each need a staunch friend by their side. Drew and Mia have an unusual origin story: They were born on the same day and in the same hospital in Half Moon Bay, California. One baby's presence comforted the other inconsolable one in their shared bassinet. While this story is familiar to each, they don't see each other again until life brings them together 12 years later when Mia returns to Half Moon Bay from Sacramento to visit her grandmother. The two young people feel a connection that blossoms into friendship, one that sustains each of them through some of the worst of life's difficulties. For Drew, it's his father's diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. For Mia, it's financial stress and the impending loss of her family's home. They take turns telling their individual stories: Drew's prose is direct and descriptive; Mia uses free verse to capture concise moments and feelings. They begin to go running together, and the way they start to open up is sensitively portrayed and rings true. Just as Drew and Mia fall into step during their runs as they train to enter a half-marathon, their stories begin to align as well, and they encourage and support each other through their challenges. It doesn't alter the road ahead, but it does influence how they handle what comes next. The cast is cued White. Uplifting. (Fiction. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
