Nobody." Readers will be torn like Steve about what to believe is real and who's really on his side. And a toy telephone the little sister answers to talk to "Mr. And a scary knife sharpener with missing fingers who goes door to door. But then there are Steve's dreams about the wasps that are way too real. That in itself would be a compelling story in Oppel's hands. He's anxious enough to see a therapist, washes his hands too often, and is afraid to even say the name of the family's new baby who's come into the house and may not live. Author Kenneth Oppel, who wrote the equally enthralling The Boundless only a year before THE NEST - he's really on a roll - presents a family struggling with the stress of a sick baby through the eyes of Steve, a boy whose age isn't given (but he's probably in middle school). With expert pacing, hopeful messages of accepting faults and struggles, and creepy tension, it's hard to decide what to like best about this tiny but significant novel. I'll definitely share this with my oldest daughter. That may be a plus for deterring kids too young for some subject matter. I don't find the cover, inside jacket, or opening chapter compelling at first, especially for younger readers. his sneaking into his parents' office, snooping in drawers, and finding something dangerous. the narrator's parents leaving him home alone with the sickly newborn for several hours the narrator blackmailing his babysitter into lying to his parents Some other more mature subject matter includes: Seeing and telling are balanced really well - which is a great way to help me not judge the characters. I am also impressed by what the narrator sees and tells of his parents and other adults - mistakes, neglect, love. As scared as he ever is, he doesn't call for help. The narrator, for a long time, never says his brother's name. I love his voice!Įspecially impressive by the author was what he holds back from the narrator. I trust the narrator long before he trusts himself. But the candor and emotional intensity of the narrator's self-talk really carries me through those times. Once or twice, the novel risks losing my suspension of disbelief. The narrator doesn't have many friends and is too embarrassed to share his vivid and troubling dreams, thoughts, and self-talk (interior monologue, I suppose). While his parents suffer days and weeks of questions without answers, emergency room visits, specialists, bills, etc., his younger sister seems oblivious to the trouble. His parents have just had a new baby with some kind of birth defect. An 11-ish-year-old boy experiences the PTSD-like effects of a slow-motion family emergency.
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