CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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Thanks a Lot, Universe
CCBC Review:
Brian, who is white, has social anxiety (which he calls SAWS: Super Awkward Weirdo Syndrome) and generally doesn’t spend a lot time with kids at school. At home, his parents are loving and supportive, though his mom understands his anxiety better than his dad. Biracial Ezra (Trinidadian Canadian/white) has three best friends with whom he often spends time in person; when not together they’re often texting in laugh-out-loud funny exchanges. Alternating chapters from Brian’s and Ezra’s points of view follow their stories as they intertwine. Brian’s life feels like it’s unraveling after his dad, in legal trouble, disappears, and his mentally ill mom overdoses on prescription pills. While his mom is hospitalized, Brian and his younger brother end up in foster care and run away. Meanwhile, Ezra is trying to navigate a changing friendship with Colby, one of his close friends, who is not only becoming girl-obsessed but has started making occasional racist comments. Ezra reaches out to Brian after noticing Brian seems stressed and unhappy. Adults step up to help Brian’s family, too, but the developing friendship and growing trust between these two middle-school-age boys are at the heart of this welcome story. While there are elements around Brian’s running away and its aftermath that stretch plot and secondary-character credibility, there is so much that is pitch perfect, including Brian’s anxiety and panic attacks, and Ezra, who is gay, beginning to come out to his friends. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 9-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Anxiety
Crime
Empathy and Compassion
Families
Foster Families
Friendship
Gays
LGBTQ+ Persons
Mental Health and Illness
Perspective/Point of View
Racism
Diversity subjects:
Black/African
Latine
LGBTQ Character/Topic
Psychiatric
On CCBC Booklist:
Feeling Anxious: Selected Books about Managing Worry and Fear for Children
Publishers:
Abrams, Amulet
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 279
ISBN: 9781419751028
CCBC Location: Fiction, Lucas
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.
Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.