Brian, who is white, has social anxiety (which he calls SAWS: Super Awkward Weirdo Syndrome) and generally doesn’t spend a lot time with kids at school. At home, his parents are loving and supportive, though his mom understands his anxiety better than his dad. Biracial Ezra (Trinidadian Canadian/white) has three best friends with whom he often spends time in person; when not together they’re often texting in laugh-out-loud funny exchanges. Alternating chapters from Brian’s and Ezra’s points of view follow their stories as they intertwine. Brian’s life feels like it’s unraveling after his dad, in legal trouble, disappears, and his mentally ill mom overdoses on prescription pills. While his mom is hospitalized, Brian and his younger brother end up in foster care and run away. Meanwhile, Ezra is trying to navigate a changing friendship with Colby, one of his close friends, who is not only becoming girl-obsessed but has started making occasional racist comments. Ezra reaches out to Brian after noticing Brian seems stressed and unhappy. Adults step up to help Brian’s family, too, but the developing friendship and growing trust between these two middle-school-age boys are at the heart of this welcome story. While there are elements around Brian’s running away and its aftermath that stretch plot and secondary-character credibility, there is so much that is pitch perfect, including Brian’s anxiety and panic attacks, and Ezra, who is gay, beginning to come out to his friends.
(Ages 9-13)