What About Will - Hardcover

Hopkins, Ellen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593108647 ISBN 13: 9780593108642

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021

Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins comes a new heartbreakingly tender middle grade novel in verse about the bonds between two brothers and the love they share.

Twelve-year-old Trace Reynolds has always looked up to his brother, mostly because Will, who's five years older, has never looked down on him. It was Will who taught Trace to ride a bike, would watch sports on TV with him, and cheer him on at Little League. But when Will was knocked out cold during a football game, resulting in a brain injury--everything changed. Now, seventeen months later, their family is still living under the weight of "the incident," that left Will with a facial tic, depression, and an anger he cannot always control, culminating in their parents' divorce. Afraid of further fracturing his family, Trace begins to cover for Will who, struggling with addiction to pain medication, becomes someone Trace doesn’t recognize. But when the brother he loves so much becomes more and more withdrawn, and escalates to stealing money and ditching school, Trace realizes some secrets cannot be kept if we ever hope to heal.

About this title

About the Author

Ellen Hopkins is a poet, former journalist, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction books for young readers, fourteen bestselling young-adult novels (including The Crank Trilogy, Burned, Impulse, and Tricks series), and four novels for adult readers. This is her second middle-grade novel. Ellen lives with her extended family, two brilliant German shepherds, and a couple of ponds (not pounds) of koi in the eastern shadow of the Northern Nevada Sierra.
 

 

Reviews

Gr 5 Up—Twelve-year-old Trace's family is shattered when beloved older brother Will suffers a traumatic brain injury during a high school football game. His parents divorce and his mother leaves town, while his father works constantly. Will, struggling with pain and depression, takes up with a rough crowd and starts stealing from Trace. Hopkins's heartrending novel in verse evocatively conveys Trace's attempts to call attention to Will's dangerous behavior and his yearning to "fix" his broken family. Standout supporting characters include Mr. Cobb, Trace's Vietnam veteran neighbor, and Catalina, a new girl on his baseball team. They help Trace come to terms with how he can—or cannot—help those closest to him. Details of Will's struggle with opioid addiction provide warning signs that readers can use in their own lives. The verse format suits Trace's first-person narrative; its brevity cuts to the heart of Trace's raw feelings of isolation and powerlessness. Trace is described as having his Puerto Rican father's "curly brown hair and speckled eyes," while Will has "sun-toasted skin and black hair." VERDICT A realistic, emotionally charged portrait of a family divided and their fragile steps toward a shared future. Recommended for middle grade collections.—Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

My Big Brother
Always
had a
short
fuse
but now
it’s permanently lit.
 
Okay, it was never
hard to set Will off.
 
It used to be a game
I played, mostly
just for kicks.
It was funny, watching
the blood throb
in his temples.
 
But sometimes,
when trouble
was staring at me
and I wanted to aim
it in a different direction,
I’d rile Will up
until he blew.
 
Then, when Mom
or Dad started griping
about my behavior,
I’d point at my brother,
all red-faced and cussing,
and ask, “What about Will?”
 
I never thought
I’d get sick
of that question.

 
Check It Out
It’s been a long time
since I’ve said it straight
to my brother’s face,
but I love him, wicked
bad temper and all.
 
We used to be best-
friend brothers.
 
Will’s seventeen, which
makes him five years
older, and I’ve always
looked up to him.
 
Mostly because
he never looked
down on me.
 
When I was like
four, and most other
kids still rode tricycles,
Will took the training wheels
off my little blue bike
and taught me to ride it.
 
You can’t keep up on four
wheels, Trace, he said.
 
Even on two, it took a while,
but eventually, I did.
At least, I came close.

Edition details

• Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593108647
• ISBN 13: 9780593108642
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384