What About Will?
- Authors: Ellen Hopkins
- Series:
- Type: Novel
- Genres: Children's Fiction
- Rank:
- Rating: 4.7 based on 204 reviews
- Release Date: September 14, 2021
- Print length: 384 pages (Hardcover)
About the book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins comes a new heartbreakingly tender middle grade novel in verse about the bonds between two brothers and the love they share.
Twelve-year-old Trace Reynolds has always looked up to his brother, mostly because Will, who's five years older, has never looked down on him. It was Will who taught Trace to ride a bike, would watch sports on TV with him, and cheer him on at Little League. But when Will was knocked out cold during a football game, resulting in a brain injury--everything changed. Now, seventeen months later, their family is still living under the weight of "the incident," that left Will with a facial tic, depression, and an anger he cannot always control, culminating in their parents' divorce. Afraid of further fracturing his family, Trace begins to cover for Will who, struggling with addiction to pain medication, becomes someone Trace doesn't recognize. But when the brother he loves so much becomes more and more withdrawn, and escalates to stealing money and ditching school, Trace realizes some secrets cannot be kept if we ever hope to heal.
Accolades
Praise for What About Will?
There's a new crowd of Ellen Hopkins fans on the horizon! Hopkins tackles tough subjects with honesty and compassion, woven in brilliant verse as always, now in a novel for younger readers. This beautifully written book about the strength of family shows us that even someone who doesn't feel at home anywhere can find a place to belong.
Written in her recognizable free-verse style, Hopkins conveys the raw and realistic emotions of a broken family. The book covers multiple tough subjects... in a manner that is digestible for a younger audience. What about Will is a story about family, love, loss, hope, and understanding that you don’t have to go through hardships alone.
Heartfelt novel in verse.
The fears of stable, straight-arrow athlete Trace are clarified in lovely sparks of concrete poetry among Hopkins’ free verse, as he learns to tell adults when he sees his beloved brother acting dangerously. Compassionate optimism for a boy who can’t control the chaos around him.
In effective verse, Hopkins (Closer to Nowhere) tells an honest and moving portrait of a family in flux as they navigate newfound emotional and physical distance…Hopkins tenderly portrays a younger brother learning to advocate for himself and those he loves by speaking up and asking for help.
Hopkins’s heartrending novel in verse evocatively conveys Trace’s attempts to call attention to Will’s dangerous behavior and his yearning to “fix” his broken family. Standout supporting characters include Mr. Cobb, Trace’s Vietnam veteran neighbor, and Catalina, a new girl on his baseball team... the verse format suits Trace’s first-person narrative; its brevity cuts to the heart of Trace’s raw feelings of isolation and powerlessness... A realistic, emotionally charged portrait of a family divided and their fragile steps toward a shared future. Recommended for middle grade collections.
A gentle, but honest, look at depression and addiction that also models positive responses and community support. For fans of Ghost by Jason Reynolds and Before the Ever After by Jaqueline Woodson, What About Will is important and moving.
About the author
