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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
A beautifully written book about healing from trauma and the friends that you meet along the way. Simon is dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting in which he was the only survivor. Trying to get away from all the media attention, him and his parents move to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska--a National Quiet Zone where the internet is banned. Here, Simon is determined to not let anyone know about his past.
The tone of the book fits perfectly for a middle grade audience, despite the slightly darker undertone of trauma. Simon and his friends get up to some ridiculous hijinks (some of them include emus), and I think it works so well for the target audience.
All of the characters are also fully developed, including Simon's parents. Their interactions are just lovely, and it's clear that Simon's parents care a lot for him.
I can definitely see why this was one of the longlist books for the National Book Award!
The tone of the book fits perfectly for a middle grade audience, despite the slightly darker undertone of trauma. Simon and his friends get up to some ridiculous hijinks (some of them include emus), and I think it works so well for the target audience.
All of the characters are also fully developed, including Simon's parents. Their interactions are just lovely, and it's clear that Simon's parents care a lot for him.
I can definitely see why this was one of the longlist books for the National Book Award!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Fatphobia
poati's review
emotional
sad
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit
tlpaladijczuk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mass/school shootings
ladysmoke's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Sometimes a book finds you at the perfect point in your life. It falls into your hands at just the right moment to have maximum impact, and I think that's what happened for me with this book. This story features Simon, sole survivor of his 5th grade class after a school shooting, trying to start over in a town with no internet, cell phones, tv, or anything else that may interfere with the Very Large Radio Telescope, and therefore, with no way of anyone in town finding out who he is and what he's been through. We follow Simon through some pretty silly situations that had me laughing out loud, and also some really tense moments of PTSD that had me sobbing. All the characters in this book were so alive; I loved them all.
As someone who works in the school system, and who is the mother of a 5th grader, I have plenty of experience coping the fear of a potential active shooter situation, and those parts of the story definitely hit me hard. But that impact was so purposeful, and it's clear the intended result was genuine compassion for families like Simon's. If ever there was a juvenile book that I think adults needed to read more than kids, this would be it. The chance of finding stories like this one is why I still shop the juvenile section at my library.
As someone who works in the school system, and who is the mother of a 5th grader, I have plenty of experience coping the fear of a potential active shooter situation, and those parts of the story definitely hit me hard. But that impact was so purposeful, and it's clear the intended result was genuine compassion for families like Simon's. If ever there was a juvenile book that I think adults needed to read more than kids, this would be it. The chance of finding stories like this one is why I still shop the juvenile section at my library.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Fatphobia
This book is a tough read to be sure, but the content is handled expertly. The point is not shock value, horror, or disgust, but rather hope and perseverance, and friendships. The focus is not about what happened during the shooting, which is only described in brief flashes, but rather about what happens after, when they are trying to move on.nairam1173's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I wish I hadn't lost the momentum of reading this by my audiobook loan ending and it taking awhile for me to get to the physical book for the final 30 or so pages--this was extremely well done, and I wish I had cohesive Thoughts for a review. One thing that occurred to me is that very fancy Newbery medal criteria term "delineation of characters."
Everyone in this story has their own life and issues outside of their relationship to Simon. You could believe these people had their own goals and were off doing their own things. I especially loved his mom and dad--flawed, but earnest and engaged and believable as human beings. It was also really cool to see a Christian (Simon's dad is Catholic, with Simon seeming somewhere in the middle) character portrayed where Christianity is just a part of their life, and something that interacts with the other things they are dealing with, and it is allowed to have both personal depth and jokes.The whole Jesus-squirrel subplot was SO FUNNY to me. There not needing to be a particular Point to his dad's religion beyond the fact that it is something that is part of his life was refreshing.
Also, of course, a moving and honest portrayal of trauma--I especially liked the little details like how often Simon does on-page coping mechanisms like breathing exercises. That kind of representation--and EXAMPLE--was really special to me.
Occasionally Agate seemed a little Too Perfect as a friend, but as someone writing about a traumatizing person myself, I get this impulse--we want our main character to have someone who is tuned in and almost always makes the right choices. There's one major event that goes wrong, but it is actually Simon who takes most of the blame for it. That said, I also loved Agate, as she is also a well-developed character. So it's something I can forgive--a kind gentleness to the story.
One last disconnected note, Simon's narrative voice is authentic and engaging. The overall understanding of this book that people who have traumatic experiences DO forever deal with those experiences, but they also have entire other parts of their lives, and friends, and humor, is exactly the kind of mental health fiction we need.
Then to, there's the whole commentary on the media spectacle involved in tragedy and how it can just make everything worse. And how the traumatic experience of one person WILL effect those who love them in other, traumatic ways, even if it wasn't "their" trauma. Again, just really appreciated the extreme humanization of Simon's parents and the fact that they also went through something.
There's just a lot to this book. Extremely solid. I, for once, get the hype.
Everyone in this story has their own life and issues outside of their relationship to Simon. You could believe these people had their own goals and were off doing their own things. I especially loved his mom and dad--flawed, but earnest and engaged and believable as human beings. It was also really cool to see a Christian (Simon's dad is Catholic, with Simon seeming somewhere in the middle) character portrayed where Christianity is just a part of their life, and something that interacts with the other things they are dealing with, and it is allowed to have both personal depth and jokes.
Also, of course, a moving and honest portrayal of trauma--I especially liked the little details like how often Simon does on-page coping mechanisms like breathing exercises. That kind of representation--and EXAMPLE--was really special to me.
Occasionally Agate seemed a little Too Perfect as a friend, but as someone writing about a traumatizing person myself, I get this impulse--we want our main character to have someone who is tuned in and almost always makes the right choices. There's one major event that goes wrong, but it is actually Simon who takes most of the blame for it. That said, I also loved Agate, as she is also a well-developed character. So it's something I can forgive--a kind gentleness to the story.
One last disconnected note, Simon's narrative voice is authentic and engaging. The overall understanding of this book that people who have traumatic experiences DO forever deal with those experiences, but they also have entire other parts of their lives, and friends, and humor, is exactly the kind of mental health fiction we need.
Then to, there's the whole commentary on the media spectacle involved in tragedy and how it can just make everything worse. And how the traumatic experience of one person WILL effect those who love them in other, traumatic ways, even if it wasn't "their" trauma. Again, just really appreciated the extreme humanization of Simon's parents and the fact that they also went through something.
There's just a lot to this book. Extremely solid. I, for once, get the hype.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, and Mass/school shootings
amber_t's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
An important story is being told in this book. The devastation that is left in the wake of a school shooting is explored through Simon and his family. Their experiences are unfortunately paralleled by so many, yet the lasting effects of the trauma of mass shootings are often overlooked and forgotten after the media attention wanes. At its core this is a book about friendship, bravery, family and the importance of microwaves!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
antimony's review
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
i cried a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders
The main character has PTSD from surviving a school shootingchildoflight's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Confinement
makeminemonsters's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I thought this was a really well-written, sensitive story (while also being extremely funny) about processing trauma. Simon and his two best friends Agate and Kevin are extremely easy characters to like and root for while also feeling like real middle schoolers. I loved the setting and the quirkiness of the book which never felt like it overrode the seriousness of what Simon's gone through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Fatphobia
juliaegreene's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
an honest and well-written story about the impact of a school shooting on a middle schooler and his family, simon sort of says took me by surprise. i really enjoyed this story, but i will say that it might not be for everyone and that readers should take care of themselves. erin bow is a great writer and i loved how she developed her characters throughout this story. raw and upsetting and hopeful and funny (jesus squirrel made me crack up) and overall an amazing story of growing up, trauma and the power of supportive friends and family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Child death