Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi and The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

DOWN AND ACROSS by Arvin Ahmadi will be appearing on our shelves soon. No doubt there will be student readers who relate to 16 year-old Scott Ferdowsi, the main character who cannot seem to hold a thought for much more than a paragraph.  At first, that trait was endearing, but it became old quickly.

The son of Iranian immigrants who are travelling back to see relatives, Scott (Saaket) takes off to visit a professor at Georgetown to learn about grit, meets a young woman named Fiora and … well, has some misadventures. Although underage drinking, drug use and depression all are mentioned in this debut novel, I would say that this rather immature character will likely find more fans among relatively younger readers.  

DOWN AND ACROSS had starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal (specifying grades 8 and up).
 

 

Personally, I was more drawn to the young men who appeared in a new novel from an award-winning Australian author.THE SIDEKICKS by Will Kostakis is a character study written in three parts from the perspective of  the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd – that’s Ryan, Harley and Miles – who are grieving the loss of their good friend Isaac. 

Ryan takes refuge in swimming and contemplates telling his Mom (a teacher at the school) that he is gay. Harley seemingly wants to turn his life around and develops a bond while comforting Isaac’s Mom. And while Miles is smart, he, too, struggles with personal relationships and obsesses about watching the hours of film he took of Isaac. 

Each misses the friendship, listening and acceptance that Isaac provided and that grief is pervasive, though experienced differently. THE SIDEKICKS received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA).