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Lost in the Sun | April 6, 2016

by Lisa Graff (Philomel Books/Penguin Young Readers Group, May 2015)

On top of all the typical anxieties about starting middle school, Trent Zimmerman is coping with guilt surrounding a hockey accident that resulted in a classmate’s death. Fallon Little is a mysterious outsider; a twelve-year-old girl who invents fantastic stories of how she got the prominent scar on her face. While everyone in school knows Trent’s story ー and avoids him because of it ー no one knows the true story behind Fallon. The two strike up an unlikely friendship centered on sports and film, helping one another forge an identity separate from tragedy.

Lisa Graff handles issues of loss and guilt with grace and humor, putting a fresh spin on the coming of age narrative. Fallon is one of the most dynamic heroines I’ve encountered in recent children’s lit. I loved the specificity of her character, from her talent for spotting continuity errors in movies, to her resilient way of reinventing herself through stories. This is memorable middle grade that leaves a lasting emotional impression even while it entertains. Have tissues handy.

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