WHEN GIANTS BURN

As they experience growing pains and family problems, loner middle school students in small-town Utah unknowingly support one another on unexpected journeys of self-discovery.

Eleven-year-old Gerty is proud. She knows exactly what she wants and has the grit to get it. She seeks refuge from her survivalist parents in her grandmother Nanny Pat’s barn, where she secretly builds an ultralight and dreams of one day being in the Civil Air Patrol. Gerty shares lunches in the school counselor’s office twice a week with fellow new student Hayes; both of them need support with social skills. While he struggles with rebuilding a relationship with his ex-con mother and suffers from severe self-doubt, Hayes has a strong inner fire that is one spark from igniting. When turmoil ensues in each of their home lives, Gerty and Hayes seek one another’s company. Vibrant depictions of the characters’ experiences paired with witty dialogue immerse readers in the main characters’ lives. Their heart-wrenching backstories and realistic experiences evoke a deep level of empathy. With chapters purposely shifting from character to character, readers slowly but satisfyingly become part of their lives and friendship and cannot help but root for them until the very end. Main characters are cued White; the school counselor is coded Black.

A heartwarming read with a powerful message: The lonely and jaded can heal with the love of an empathetic friend.