Bat Summer Book

Twelve-year-old Terence faces some tough choices. His best friend, Tom, has gone away to camp, and the summer seems to stretch endlessly in front of him. What should he do? Hang out with a creep like Rico, an overgrown, hormonally challenged kid whose idea of fun is calling the lifeguard Boobacious? Or try to make friends with the old chess player (nicknamed "The Pervert" by Rico) who hangs out in the park? Terence finds that he keeps thinking about a weird but oddly compelling girl who goes around wearing a blue cape and hangs by her feet like a bat from the jungle gym. But ever present in his consciousness is the thought: "What would Tom think?" Bat Summer is a beautifully written and engaging novel about a boy caught between two possible ways to be and the people who embody these choices. By the end of the story, he has thrown off his fear of being "uncool," been true to himself, and befriended a person who needs and values him for who he is.

VOYA

Withrow's first novel for young adults excels at revealing the complexities undergirding seemingly small and simple lives. Terence's summer stretches and gapes before him when his only friend leaves for camp. Looking to fill his lonely hours, he hangs out with Rico (a virtual delinquent), learns to play chess with Russell (a park regular), and befriends the troubled Lucy (a thirteen-year-old with a deep affinity for bats). Each of these new friends forces Terence to reexamine his vision of himself, but none more so than Lucy. After she runs away, Terence finds himself unable to decide whether helping her hide or helping her home is the best way to demonstrate his friendship. Both Terence and Lucy are overlooked by the adults in their lives who mistakenly equate the free time of childhood with ease. Each day is a maze of questions and decisions, and Withrow convincingly captures the moments in which her characters balance on the cusp between childhood and adulthood as they struggle with their problems. Terence both sneaks a smoke with Rico and gets upset when the butts melt the plastic on his toy Viper Station. Similarly, he worries whether Lucy is his girlfriend one minute and jumps, giggles, and talks with her in bat cheeps and clicks--wholly unselfconsciously--the next. Lucy fights the gaps and emptiness in her life in a very different fashion. She has convinced herself that she is a bat and has fashioned a new identity for herself that is both provocative and frightening. Middle school readers will be likely to sympathize with Withrow's characters. Who among us has never felt lonely and friendless like Terence, or struggled to escape ourselves like Lucy? VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8).