Nowhere Boy (Roaring Brook Press, 2018) by Katherine Marsh is a fascinating tale of two boys whose lives intersect in Brussels, Belgium. Ahmed is fourteen and from Syria, and all alone. Max is thirteen and from America. From different cultures and struggling with both sides of the refugee question, the boys form a bond of friendship.
Don’t pass this book up. It’s a 2019 Bank Street Best Children’s Book and a 2019 American Library Association Notable. See other praise here.
Read about author Katherine Marsh here. Katherine is not afraid to venture into difficult subjects in her books. I recommended one here. I need to read her other middle grade books, too.
Sophomore Adam Ziegler has been hiding in the dark of the high school theater. Of course, he runs the lights so that’s one reason he’s hidden. But there’s more to it than that. Like his father dying 2 years ago. And the feud between the actors and the techs. But then he’s attracted by an actress named Summer and crosses the line.
His book Since You Left Me is coming out in August. And in summer of 2013, Allen has a thriller series called Boy Nobody coming. Woo Hoo!