The Puttermans Are in the House

A large Jewish family's personal relationships are put to the test when a natural disaster forces them into close proximity in this bustling tale by Feldman (Wishing upon the Same Stars). Star pitcher Matty Putterman and his twin sister Sammy, the solitary girl in their amateur league, credit their baseball-diamond domination and their family's love of the Houston Astros as the only things keeping the twins' father and their uncle Mike on good terms. Meanwhile, their cousin Becky resents the family's sports obsession, believing it's outshining her upcoming bat mitzvah. When Matty walks off the field mid-game without explanation, Sammy worries that their unshakable siblinghood is on the rocks. Soon thereafter, Hurricane Harvey hits Texas, flooding the twins' home and necessitating that they move in with Uncle Mike, Aunt Deb, and Becky. Past wounds jump to the fore as the family's clashing personalities and contentious relationships collide. Via the three tweens' earnest alternating perspectives, which are studded with baseball jargon, Feldman discerningly highlights one family's struggles navigating loss and learning to accept one another in this uplifting tale. Main characters read as white. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Creating a large cast of believable characters, Feldman does a particularly good job of balancing the three cousins' interwoven stories. The first-person narrative shifts from Sammy, adrift without her brother, to Matty, hiding a secret he's reluctant to share, and Becky, trying to change her resentful attitude. An involving novel in which individuals reach out to help one another and find unexpected rewards. 

This sweet, thoughtful novel is a home run for readers learning to develop empathy and resilience with their loved ones and communities. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A heartfelt home run for hope and healing, THE PUTTERMANS ARE IN THE HOUSE is a dynamic story that proves when families come together, they can truly weather any storm. Readers will be cheering in the stands for twins Sammy and Matty and their cousin Becky as they navigate first crushes, changing relationships, and a hurricane. Jacquetta Nammar Feldman's sophomore novel is out-of-this-park good. — Michael Leali, author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

A sad and sweet novel that takes a hurricane and turns it on its head: instead of leaving only destruction, this one becomes the crucible for restoration, when all the members of one family are forced to live together to survive the effects of Houston's Hurricane Harvey. Faced with past resentments, present insecurities, and future disappointments, these characters come together by helping each other find what they most truly love—and the surprising wholeness that results is a story worth telling — Gary D. Schmidt, bestselling author of National Book Award finalist Okay for Now and the Newbery Honor Books Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and The Wednesday Wars