Mid-Air
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Longlisted for the National Book Award
A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning illustrated middle grade novel in verse “full of vulnerability and hope” (Booklist, starred review) from the Newbery Honor–winning author of Genesis Begins Again.
It’s the last few months of eighth grade, and Isaiah feels lost. He thought his summer was going to be him and his boys Drew and Darius, hanging out, doing wheelies, watching martial arts movies, and breaking tons of Guinness World Records before high school. But now, more and more, Drew seems to be fading from their friendship, and though he won’t admit it, Isaiah knows exactly why. Because Darius is…gone.
A hit and run killed Darius in the midst of a record-breaking long wheelie when Isaiah should have been keeping watch, ready to warn: “CAR!” Now, Drew can barely look at Isaiah. But Isaiah, already quaking with ache and guilt, can’t lose two friends. So, he comes up with a plan to keep Drew and him together—they can spend the summer breaking records, for Darius.
But Drew’s not the same Drew since Darius was killed, and Isaiah being Isaiah isn’t enough for Drew anymore. Not his taste in clothes, his love for rock music, or his aversion to jumping off rooftops. And one day something unspeakable happens to Isaiah that makes him think Drew’s right. If only he could be less sensitive, more tough, less weird, more cool, less him, things would be easier. But how much can Isaiah keep inside until he shatters wide open?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Black eighth grader Isaiah and his best friends Drew and Darius enjoy skate-boarding and trying to break Guinness world records. His comfortable world is soon torn apart when, during an attempt to break the record for the longest wheelie on a bike, Darius is hit by a car and dies, leaving Drew and Isaiah to contemplate their upcoming summer and subsequent move to high school without him. Wracked with grief and guilt, Isaiah feels a fissure forming between him and Drew, stemming partially from Isaiah hiding parts of himself—such as his love of classic rock and comics, and his exploration of nail polish and emo fashion—for fear of being called a "wannabe-white-boy-rock-star." To reconnect with Drew, Isaiah suggests that they try to break the world record for the longest wheelie to honor Darius. But when his desperate scheme inadvertently leads to more heartbreak, Isaiah is sent to his aunt and uncle's house in the country for respite. Pastoral features such as expressive b&w illustrations by Novgorodoff (Long Way Down) and clear, accessible verse by Williams (Genesis Begins Again) skillfully juxtapose larger, heavier examinations of grief, identity, mental health, and racism, making for a heartfelt novel about an unmoored child seeking strength and self-forgiveness. Ages 10–up.
