Mid-Air

I'd gotten in the habit of ordering my books through inter library loan. But last Tuesday I came in to find only four volumes waiting for me. And I sort of panicked because that wasn't enough for a whole week, especially one with a 3 day weekend that Eugene and I would spend at camp. He won't let me help with his projects. So reading is what I do there. Fortunately when I checked my own library's juvenile wing I found some really enticing volumes. Alicia D. Williams' juvenile novel in verse, Mid-Air, is one of them.
I think we can agree that the death of a best friend is one of the hardest experiences you can have at any life stage. Especially if you're there when it happens. Especially if you're left with regrets and what ifs, if you wonder if something you failed to do could have saved his life. That's the plight of Isaiah, Williams' protagonist, as he's about to finish eighth grade and make the big transition to high school.
Darius, Drew, and Isaiah were a set, spending their free time together. One day they're in a ritzy neighborhood riding bikes. Darius is about to make the first run. Drew is going to time him.
"Isaiah, you my eyes, Darius says.
No doubt. We
front hand slap, back hand slap, dap, dap, palm clasp.
And, yo, be like water, I tell him.
Always, he says."
At first everything's fine.
"And dude is going. Going! Going! GOING!"
But then a man comes out and starts yelling. Drew yells back. The man's neighbors are joining him, creating a mob scene, one from which Isaiah can't extricate himself from in time to warn Darius of the oncoming car in time.
Drew becomes withdrawn and distant. A field trip to the "monstrously huge" high school adds another source of anxiety.
"Come September,
we'll be guppies surrounded by sharks."
But that's not all that's going on in Isaiah's life. Years ago his father had caught him dancing with his mother, wearing her high heel shoes. Since then he's been trying to toughen him up. Isaiah knows he's not like the other boys. But can't people accept him for who he really is?
This engaging narrative is pitch perfect for its target audience—especially the many kids facing similar challenges.
Jules Hathaway