FORSOOTH

Oh no! Theater kid Calvin’s bestie is abandoning him for a New York City performing arts school: Would a movie about her life convince her to stay?

Seventy-three days after hapless 13-year-old Calvin falls off the stage during Cinderella, he learns his best friend, Kennedy, is leaving. Plus, he sees her and Jonah, his other BFF and secret crush, kissing. Argh! Then new neighbor Blake starts knocking on Calvin’s window. While Calvin’s controlling, devoutly Catholic mother has concerns about Blake, who’s covered in hand-drawn tattoos, Calvin feels drawn to him, and Blake talks him through anxiety attacks. Between the Kennedy movie, church choir, confusing feelings for two boys, and keeping his parents in the dark about, well, everything, Calvin’s going to have a summer of drama—forsooth! Calvin’s life offers many laugh-out-loud moments, like when he accidentally sets the priest on fire. But the story’s core is Calvin’s learning how to be a good friend, repair relationships he’s broken, cope with anxiety, and be his best self. His anxiety struggles and worries over his parents’ discovering his sexuality are sensitively handled. The layered, complex characters struggle with similarly complicated and challenging friendships. A lack of closure about Calvin’s crushes may irritate readers, however, and the cover art reads deceptively young. Most main characters are cued white; Jonah is Black and Jewish.

A funny and thoughtful exploration of middle school relationships.