Intergenerational friendship spurs second chances in Gayle Forman’s 'Not Nothing.'

On this episode of Fully Booked, Gayle Forman discusses her poignant and profound new middle-grade novel, Not Nothing (Aladdin, Aug. 27). Forman is the award-winning author of several bestselling novels for young adults, including the No. 1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which was adapted into a major motion picture in 2014, Where She Went, and the Just One series. Her middle-grade debut, Frankie & Bug, was a New York Times best children’s book of 2021.

Readers will find threads of Frankie & Bug woven into the fabric of Not Nothing, a novel narrated by a 107-year-old man who befriends a 12-year-old boy one momentous summer. Joseph “Josey” Kravitz is a resident of Shady Glen Retirement Home; Alex is working there, temporarily, as part of a penance for doing something truly bad.

Here’s a bit from our starred review of Not Nothing: “Alex’s mother has disappeared, and he lives with an aunt and uncle who don’t want him. His resentment, self-loathing, and all-consuming anger cause him to commit a violent act, “the Incident,” for which he’s arrested. His social worker arranges community service at Shady Glen Retirement Home, where he meets the narrator,Joseph ‘Josey’ Kravitz, who keeps to himself and hasn’t spoken in five years. But he’s drawn to Alex and decides to share his story. When Alex’s terrible Incident is finally disclosed, readers will grasp its gravity. Both storylines are filled with misunderstandings, tragedy, horrible acts of hatred, and selfless acts of bravery, which affect the protagonists in profound ways. As they realize that they have much in common, both Alex and Josey learn they can ‘rise to the occasion of [their] lives.’ Bestselling award winner Forman interweaves the tales carefully, with striking language and depth of feeling, allowing readers to understand the characters’ changing perspectivesas they learn more about themselves and open up to people around them, many of whom become advocates and friends. Powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful.”

Forman and I discuss the delightful surprise of a middle-grade novel narrated by a 107-year-old man, where Josey’s voice comes from, and where the idea for the story came from. She talks about researching hate groups—specifically, how people leave them—which segues into a discussion of Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. We contemplate the invitation Not Nothing makes to readers, what it means to invite people to rise to the occasion of their lives, and how cancel culture can prevent people from doing that. We talk about apologies, vocabulary, how tone communicates meaning beyond words, and whether Forman sees herself as writing the world as it is or how she’d like it to be.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

Not About a Boy by Myah Hollis (HarperTeen)

The Gale by Mo Yan, adapted by Guan Xiaoxiao, trans. by Ying-Hwau Hu, illus. by Zhu Chengliang (Simon & Schuster)

The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter (Hogarth)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Manufacture Local: How To Make America the Manufacturing Superpower of the World by John Gardner

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.