The Shape of Thunder

By Jasmine Warga

New York: HarperCollins, 2021. Fiction. 288 pgs.

In the year since tragedy struck their community, former best friends Cora Hamed and Quinn McCauley haven't spoken. Cora, who lives with her Lebanese father and white American grandmother, is mourning the loss of her older sister Mabel who was killed by a school shooter. Meanwhile Quinn and her parents are still reeling from the unspeakable actions of her older brother. But Quinn has an idea, to fix everything that her brother put wrong by traveling back in time to stop him from hurting anyone. This ambitious plan will require Cora and Quinn to work together while navigating the messy grieving process.

This is an extremely powerful and utterly heartbreaking novel of two girls managing to heal in the aftermath of unbelievable tragedy. This novel succeeds in sharing both Quinn and Cora's voices in alternating chapters and offers a glimpse into a community attempting to heal after tragedy. Especially poignant are Quinn's letters to her older brother, at the beginning of each of her chapters, where she tries to understand how a person she knew and loved could turn so hateful and violent. Comments are made about the types of internet sites he visited, racial slurs he directed at Cora's family, and how he withdrew from life generally. At the same time, Cora is grappling with understanding her Lebanese-American heritage and pushing her father to open up more about their ancestry. This book is a timely and thoughtful response to a contemporary issue, that illustrates the emotional intricacies of school shootings at a kid appropriate level and is certain to spark meaningful conversations.

Comments

Display: Dino-mite Reads

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co

Review: The Enigma Girls

The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma

Review: The Hidden Dragon

The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog