A theater kid finds inner strength after a series of mishaps and navigates changing friendships and crushes.
The summer after seventh grade, 13-year-old Calvin is trying to live down the embarrassment of falling off the stage while delivering the line, “Forsooth!” during the school play. His best friend Kennedy, the diva of the drama department, tries to offer support, but then springs a surprise—she’s moving away to attend theater school. Not only that, but shortly before she leaves, Calvin sees her kissing Jonah, his other best friend, on whom he has a crush.
Calvin’s mother is a devout Catholic and overly concerned with the family’s image in the community; his strict dad is rarely around, and neither really understands his interest in theater. Kennedy’s absence removes a key piece of Calvin’s support, so he puts all his effort into convincing her to come back. He decides to create a movie that will show her what she means to him and the community, roping in Jonah, friend Maia, and new neighbor Blake to help. Calvin soon develops a crush on spiky-haired, pen-tattooed Blake, though, even as another character might have a crush on Calvin, further complicating matters.
Calvin is earnest but anxious; his social awkwardness leads to further misadventures, such as accidentally setting his priest on fire. He increasingly feels like he’s letting people down, and while he does need to repair some of his mistakes, he must also learn not to beat himself up about them. Author Jimmy Matejek-Morris thoughtfully shows us Calvin’s evolution against the moving targets of middle school social currents and multiple crushes. Calvin’s wry and humorous observations are often funny and sometimes bittersweet, and his eventual coming out is affirmed in unexpected ways. There’s one major thread left unresolved, which I hope gets readers to think more carefully about the story and how they might resolve it—but I also hope it means a possible sequel. Calvin is an engaging character whom I’d love to see get a second act.
Calvin is White; Jonah is Black and Jewish (offering rare and needed non-White Jewish representation); Maia is Latina. Most other characters read as White.
