Discrimination: Racial Insensitivity/Racism,Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Reference or Discussion,Language: Mild Language,Language: Racial or Ethnic Epithet/Slur,Violence: General
A boy from the hood in Brooklyn travels to a STEM camp in an Appalachian holler for one epic, life-changing summer.
A brilliant new novel from the award-winning author of The Stars Beneath Our Feet.
Javari knew that West Virginia would be different from his home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. But his first day at STEM Camp in a little Appalachian town is still a shock. Though run-ins with the police are just the same here. Not good.
Javari will learn a lot about science, tech, engineering, and math at camp. And also about rich people, racism, and hidden agendas. But it’s Cricket, a local boy, budding activist, and occasional thief, who will show him a different side of the holler—and blow his mind wide open.
Javari is about to have that summer. Where everything gets messy and complicated and confusing . . . and you wouldn’t want it any other way.
Topics Summer camp. Friendship. Family life. Prejudice and racism. Poverty and homelessness. African Americans. Black people. Appalachia. New York City.
Lexile 670L
Trim Size 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
JLG Span Winter
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2022-09-26
JLG Release Date Nov 2022
Minimum grade 6
Maximum grade 8
Reading level Middle
Format Print
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
For Grades 6-8
This collection features fiction titles selected for older middle school readers who are ready for longer, more layered stories that explore growing independence and changing perspective. Selections include realistic and speculative fiction with increased emotional and narrative complexity, offering stories that look beyond immediate experience and invite readers to engage with broader questions about identity, belonging, and the world around them.