Nowhere Special
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- 105,00 kr
Publisher Description
Author Matt Wallace delivers a deeply moving story exploring that first formative friendship, navigating challenging family circumstances, and finding hope and strength in a forgotten desert town. Perfect for fans of Ernesto Cisneros and Julie Murphy.
The isolation and bullying Stan suffers at school are nothing compared to the war at home. After he tries and fails to defend his mom by standing up to his abusive father, Stan decides there is only one solution to finding a new self-confidence: he must learn how to fight.
Tragic events have split the two sides of Elpidia’s family into fighting factions. Every day she finds herself outnumbered by her cousins on the schoolyard. After the latest beatdown, her grandmother decides Elpidia must learn how to defend herself.
Stan and Elpidia seem like total opposites, but when they both wind up with the same reclusive trainer, they find an unexpected friendship as they work together to overcome their bullies. But when Stan gains the attention of a powerful gang leader, it threatens to pull him away from his new best friend. Will their dreams for the future be enough to get them out of this small town?
Unlikely Friendship: Stan is bullied for his size; Elpidia is targeted by her own cousins. When a reclusive mentor teaches them both to fight, they find they have more in common than they ever imagined.Overcoming Adversity: From an abusive father at home to warring family factions on the schoolyard, both kids must find the strength to stand up for themselves and each other.Found Family: In the heart of a forgotten desert town, Stan and Elpidia find more than a trainer in their mysterious mentor—they find a safe haven and someone who finally believes in them.Gritty Realistic Fiction: This powerful story for middle grade readers tackles difficult topics like domestic abuse and bullying with honesty and hope, making it perfect for sparking important conversations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Trauma brings together two 12-year-olds living in a financially compromised desert village in an unflinching novel by Wallace (The Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid). After Elpidia's family house burns down in a fire and her parents are incarcerated for illegal substance use, the events open a rift between the maternal Cahuillan and paternal Peruvian sides of her family. Elpidia is sent to live with her abuela at Lakeshore Estate in Southern California and attends a local school with her Cahuillan cousin, who constantly bullies her. Abuela insists that Elpidia learn to defend herself and signs her up for martial arts classes taught by Filipino American veteran Charlie. There, she meets and befriends schoolmate Stan, bullied for being "fat and white and slow," who wants to protect himself and his mother from his physically abusive father. Wallace's succinct middle grade drama considers heavy subjects such as systemic racism, substance reliance, intergenerational trauma, financial precarity, domestic violence, and anti-fat bias. Elpidia and Stan's affectionate and steadfast relationship, as well as their conversations surrounding wide-eyed dreams for their imagined future together, grants this viscerally told story both levity and hope. Ages 8–12.
