Justin and his family are struggling to adjust to life now that his father has died in an accidentor was it suicide?One winter day in 1989, Justin's father, a Vietnam War veteran who was obviously struggling with the aftereffects of his military service, stepped out for a moment. A little while later he was killed by a trolley in their Minnesota town. Justin is haunted by the loss of his father and the way it has twisted their lives. To keep them afloat, his older brother, Murphy, has selflessly given up baseball to work at the KFC, and his mother, too, is working long hours. At school, Justin can feel everyone's eyes following him, making it hard to regain any sense of normalcy. But there are many bright moments. Cute girl Jenni has taken a deep interest in him, and she's not the only one. Justin's best friend, Phuc, bus driver Rodney, and an almost-homeless man named Benny H. also gently provide needed support. With delicious, evocative writing, each character is lovingly depicted, and even a brash classmate that Justin misjudges has an illuminating backstory. As he navigates the days that follow his father's death, it's the goodness in all of these caring people that fills his heart. Historyboth his father's and the Dakota nation's, on whose land their town is builtbecomes a way for Justin to make sense of the present. Phuc is the only Vietnamese kid at their school; other characters assume a white default.Filled to the brim with optimism, friendship, and the joyous wonder of innate goodnessfabulous. (Historical fiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 5--8--Blejwas's new novel takes readers to the early 1990s in small-town Minnesota, through the eyes of 12-year-old Justin. Justin's life has changed dramatically since the unexpected death of his father in a trolley accident. Now his mom and older brother work long hours to make ends meet. Justin is trying to keep a low profile at school, which is not easy when everyone knows him as "the boy whose father was killed in a weird accident," while not being a burden to his mom. He is a thoughtful and observant kid who is trying to make sense of life after the death of a parent--which isn't made any easier by the circumstances of his father's death which raise more questions than they answer. When Justin is assigned a school project on a historical conflict, he chooses to do his project on the history of his town. Despite the teacher's warning that the topic didn't have enough conflict for the assignment, Justin presses on, discovering a past involving the Dakota that had been unknown to him. The narrative's pacing is slow and full of information that Justin uncovers in his research, which may deter some readers, but those who appreciate a character-driven, coming-of-age story will find much to love here. VERDICT A poignant story that addresses serious topics, including suicide and PTSD, in a way that is ultimately hopeful.--Mindy Rhiger, Hennepin County Library, MN

Seventh grader Justin struggles to cope with the ambiguous circumstances surrounding his Vietnam War veteran father's death and ultimately the unknowability of his intentions. Relying on a small circle of support, including his older brother, his best friend, his bus driver, and a local homeless man, Justin slowly comes to terms with his grief and begins to move toward healing. Chapters are a collection of unconnected but chronologically unfolding scenes, most of which bring the reader directly into the events without preamble. This deliberately disconcerting style conveys a perpetual and profound disequilibrium that mimics the protagonist's inability to cope with his daily life, school, friendships, and family while he grieves internally. Deeper themes of war, conflict, and religion, with quantum physics and local small-town Minnesota history factoring in, add depth to Justin's journey. Eric Carpenter May/June 2020 p.119(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

It's been six weeks since Justin's dad, a war vet with PTSD, came home and got himself killed on the trolley tracks. Things are different now for the 12-year-old, his older brother (Murphy), and their mom. Both Mom and Murphy are working extra, leaving Justin to come home to an empty house. Will normalcy return? Justin ponders what normal even means now, but he's thankful that Phuc remains his loyal friend and that Jenni seems to likes him. Picking up the pieces of his life is hard, especially when many of Justin's questions don't have answers. Blejwas (Once You Know This, 2017) has equipped her sophomore novel with realistic main characters who experience varying emotional upheavals. Her small-town setting--Wicapi, Minnesota--is so frigid in February that readers will feel it, and it's filled with nosy but caring folks. As the plot develops, Justin, Murphy, and Mom settle into a new routine, still with sadness but also punctuated with joy and laughter. A quiet look at death, loss, and recovery.