Not Nothing

I saw Not Nothing by Gayle Forman on a list of Newbery contenders for next year, and it looked like the type of book I'd like. The book description says, "Alex is twelve, and he did something very, very bad. A judge sentences him to spend his summer volunteering at a retirement home where he’s bossed around by an annoying and self-important do-gooder named Maya-Jade. He hasn’t seen his mom in a year, his aunt and uncle don’t want him, and Shady Glen’s geriatric residents seem like zombies to him. Josey is 107 and ready for his life to be over. He has evaded death many times, having survived ghettos, dragnets, and a concentration camp—all thanks to the heroism of a woman named Olka and his own ability to sew. But now he spends his days in room 206 at Shady Glen, refusing to speak and waiting (and waiting and waiting) to die. Until Alex knocks on Josey’s door…and Josey begins to tell Alex his story. As Alex comes back again and again to hear more, an unlikely bond grows between them. Soon a new possibility opens up for Alex: Can he rise to the occasion of his life, even if it means confronting the worst thing that he’s ever done?"

This was such a great read. I got through it in just a couple days (partially because the kids and I had a readathon so I had some uninterrupted, dedicated reading time at my disposal). The story was super engaging with characters I loved. I really liked the messages in there about rising to the occasion, about a person's capacity to change, about the power of stories. The story got me teary-eyed at the end, and I think it was just a meaningful read.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)