Reading this book took me straight back to reading Starfish, my first encounter with Lisa Fipps' remarkable storytelling. It's hard to find the right words to tell you about it. So, as I did then, I
will include a few of the passages that made me gasp. I started reading, and could not put it down.
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Joseph Oak's life is filled with sudden and inexplicable change. He immediately introduces the people in his life who make it bearable, for the most part.
"I do have one thing in common
with superheroes.
I have an origin story.
So does Grandma, who's from England,
Mom, who gets The Itch,
my best friends, Hakeem and Nick,
Uncle Frankie, who's not really my uncle,
and my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Swan.
Each of us has an origin story,
the story of how we became who we are."
Meeting them, but for Mom, will fill your heart. What a phenomenal community they provide for each other. Joe's life with Grandmum is happy, if not easy. Grandmum cleans houses and offices, owns the home she lived in with Grandpa, and manages to feed the two with food stamps. All that changes when Joe's often-absent mother is arrested, and Grandmum uses the house to pay her bail. When Mom jumps bail and leaves without warning, they lose the house and end up living in their old car, which has seen its best days.
"We all have at least
one day,
One day,
I'm gonna be the world's best chef
at my very own restaurant, and
the food's gonna be so good
that when Michelin reviews it,
it'll create a fourth star just for me,
Hakeem says.
One day,
I'm going to find a cure for depression,
Nick says.
One day,
I'm going back to my beloved old England.
Everybody longs for home,
Grandmum says.
One day is
a hope,
a wish,
a dream that gets you through
ordinary days,
hard days,
the worst days.
One day,
I'll never be filled with
the ache of hunger again."
With help from the generous, creative and kind Uncle Frankie, they are able to find an old mobile home to rent. Life is turned upside down when Grandmum dies, Mom returns, and then soon leaves. Joe is now fully on his own, and not wanting anyone to know. His best friends are always there for him, but don't know the depth of his poverty or the true nature of the life he is living.
Being able to find the perfect words to tell this story in verse with emotion, humor and hope is Ms. Fipps' superpower. I will forever remember every character, every scene, every bit of courage displayed by Joe as he navigates unsteady ground at every turn. Using his journals and the lessons he has learned from his superheroes gives him a way to keep his head above water. AND THEN BOOM ... a tornado!
"It's amazing
how long you can live
without anyone realizing
how you live"
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