What’s behind the “ nunya bidness door”? And is that a gun sticking out from Grandpop’s waistband? Reynolds’ middle-grade debut meanders like the best kind of summer vacation but never loses sense of its throughline. And he and Ernie will have to do chores, like picking peas and scooping dog poop. Then, he breaks the model truck that’s one of the only things Grandma still has of his deceased uncle. Next, there’s no Internet, so the questions he keeps track of in his notebook (over 400 so far) will have to go un-Googled. Millie is half Japanese (her other half is not specified) other characters’ ethnicities are cued by their surnames, and Ashley is nonbinary.Ī sincere story about being true to oneself and others.Įleven-year-old Brooklynite Genie has “worry issues,” so when he and his older brother, Ernie, are sent to Virginia to spend a month with their estranged grandparents while their parents “try to figure it all out,” he goes into overdrive.įirst, he discovers that Grandpop is blind.

At times the characters’ voices sound too mature for sixth grade, but everyone in this well-paced story grows emotionally, showing what loyal, courageous, and humanly imperfect relationships look like. Their decision to enter a school show as a Generation Love cover act complicates matters figuring everything out involves self-awareness and genuine contrition. But it’s not smooth sailing: Zuki is hiding serious problems at home, Ashley and Luna have an obviously tense history, Luna keeps her participation secret from her queen bee friends who viciously bully vegan Rainbow, and Millie lies to her parents about her failing grades and forbidden extracurricular activity. The club of two grows to five as social misfits Ashley Seo and Rainbow Chan and popular girl Luna Acevedo find their way in. Then she meets Tina “Zuki” Suzuki through after-school J-Club. Socially adrift, she finds solace in her passion for Japanese pop quintet Generation Love. They finally allow her to enroll at an arts academy, where she is overwhelmed by teachers’ unstated expectations.

Lonely Oregon 11-year-old Millie Nakakura has been home-schooled by intense parents who pressure her to excel at the flute, something she has grown to hate. Fandom and interpersonal struggles combine in this story of middle schoolers who form an unlikely bond.

Akemi bowman