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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book broke my heart and I will say trigger warning for drug abuse, parent leaving, and Overdosing, maybe suicide. in this book we follow trace as he goes about his life after his big brother major accident ( this happens before the book even starts). Trace being 12 years old and trying to figure out a way to fix his family and bring everyone together and become the family they once was. Trace's story broke my heart simply because A child should never have to feel like they should fix the problems with in the family. Now I will go in to a spoiler here and that is trace finds his brother after he has Overdosed lucky trace found his brother in time but this broke my heart even more I almost could get myself to finish the book after this scene because even though this book is fiction this is somebodies real life in today's world and a child even at the preteen age should have to see that. really no one should and with that I'm going to wrap up this review because just thinking about it is s breaking my heart. So with that remember to be kind to yourself and read what you love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Abandonment
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ellen Hopkins is on a lot of banned book lists and doesn’t belong on a single one. Her books are a great way to help you teens understand the reality of so many things we hope they never have to experience.
Another fantastic middle grade novel. Can’t wait to share it with students.
Trace is twelve years old. After his older brother,Will is involved in a football accident Will suffers a severe traumatic brain injury. This causes personality changes and other issues. Trace is suddenly in the middle of all these changes in his life including his mother leaving, his dad starts dating, and a girl joins his little league team. Then Will starts stealing money from Trace. This book covers some heavy topics and would be great for book club or class discussions.
What About Will focuses on Trace whose older brother Will is suffering from depression and is dealing with that through the use of opioids. Trace is twelve and the majority of his focus is on baseball and his robot that he is building for school, but his family life is in turmoil with his brother, his dad dating again, and his mom who left the family so she could go on tour. Trace is dealing with a lot and he feels that he has to keep it all together for his family. He feels that he has to protect Will even when Will steals Trace’s money and baseball mitt, so Will won’t get in trouble with their dad. It is difficult to imagine a child having to deal with these kinds of issues, but it does happen. The story is written in verse making it very easy and quick to read, but it is also easy enough to understand what is happening. I think it is well written and shows the emotions of Trace well. It also shows a lot of growth on Trace’s end throughout the novel. I think young adults should read this, but be aware that it deals with some tough subjects.