The Order of Things
by Kaija Langley (Author)
A heart-rending novel-in-verse about a girl beginning to learn it is possible to go on even after a great loss.
Eleven-year-old April Jackson loves playing the drums, almost as much as she loves her best friend, Zee, a violin prodigy. They both dream of becoming professional musicians one day. When Zee starts attending a new school that will nurture his talent, April decides it's time for her to pursue her dreams, too, and finally take drum lessons. She knows she isn't very good to start, but with Zee's support, she also knows someday she can be just as good as her hero, Sheila E., and travel all around the world with a pair of drumsticks in her hand.
When the unthinkable happens and Zee suddenly passes away, April is crushed by grief. Without Zee, nothing is the way it's supposed to be. Zee's Dad isn't delivering the mail for his postal route like he should. April's Mom is suddenly dating someone new who is occupying too much space in their lives. And every time April tries to play the drums, all she can think about is Zee. April isn't sure how to move on from the awful feeling of being without Zee. Desperate to help Papa Zee, she decides to secretly deliver the mail he's been neglecting. But when on her route she discovers a classmate in trouble, she doesn't second guess what she knows is the right thing to do.
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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Langley (When Langston Dances) explores communal grieving and found family in this middle grade debut, a layered novel in verse. With her "best and only true friend" Zee Ellis admitted to study violin at a Boston STEAM charter school, 11-year-old April Jackson enters sixth grade determined to fulfill her own musical dreams by taking drum lessons with Zee's dad. Music and her deepening bond with Papa Zee ground April as she clashes with a nosy, talkative classmate, takes in her queer single mom's new romance, and worries about increasingly distant Zee, who experiences a possibly stress-induced health scare. After April reluctantly promises to keep Zee's cardiac symptoms secret, his sudden death leaves her feeling regretful and "dreaming solo," and when Papa Zee's grief reaches new heights, April must reach out to her community to compose her new normal. Declarative lines paint a spare picture of interpersonal bonds and grief, while April's resilience and desire to uplift loved ones guides a narrative that's invested in themes of loss, ethics, and empathy. Most characters cue as Black. An author's note provides background on sudden cardiac arrest. Ages 10-14. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary. (June)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
★ "Langley explores communal grieving and found family in this middle grade debut, a layered novel in verse. . . Declarative lines paint a spare picture of interpersonal bonds and grief, while . . . resilience and desire to uplift loved ones guide a narrative that's invested in themes of loss, ethics, and empathy." —Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "This novel-in-verse is a steady roll that powerfully builds, like a satisfying drum solo, and Langley creates a beautiful (if tragic) symphony. . . allowing for tender, heartrending expressions of intergenerational and found family caring in times of deep loss. . . Fans of Kwame Alexander's emotionally charged and character-driven verse novels will have no problem dancing to the beat of this drum." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"Langley has crafted a lovely, beautifully written, and well-plotted novel in verse, populated with memorable, empathetic characters who come alive on the page. Give her a standing O." —Booklist
JUV039030 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Death & Dying
JUV031040 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Music
African Americans
City and town life
Music
Novels in verse
Single-parent families
Best friends
Grief
Lesbian mothers
