Reviews

This is such a beautiful story about the love that exists in families, between brothers, and how family and community can all come together to help each other when everything has fallen apart.

The only thing that keeps this from being 5 stars for me is

when Ice steals his dad's truck. Him doing that, and his father's reaction to it, were unrealistic and dangerous in a way that made it unbelievable that Ice would do that.

I could suspend disbelief for everything in this story but that.

I was really afraid that this book would make everything perfect in the end and give kids false hope if they are in this situation, but thankfully this book remained hopeful without falling into that trap. It's a heartfelt, heartbreaking, yet hopeful story and I'm so glad I stuck with it through the end.

Content Warnings

erinrebecca922's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a great middle grades novel. I'm not the intended audience, as a white woman in her 30s, but I really enjoyed it.

syd_webb's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense

5.0

thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-paced

3.5

A MG book is about perseverance, even when things get hard, even when you think you have nothing left to give.
👦🏾
Ice Abernathy has always looked up to his big brother, who is five years older than him. Seth is headed to college soon so Ice is soaking up as much time with him as possible, even signing up for a brothers basketball competition when Ice is not much of an athlete like his cross country star brother. But when Seth decides to leave for college early, missing the competition, the brothers have the biggest fight they’ve ever had. It’s afterwards that Ice learns his brother was in a horrific car accident, leaving him changed forever. Can he get his brother to forgive him?
👦🏾
This novel was slow to get into for me, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Allen is able to draw on real life events, while also keeping the story as fictional as possible. The bond of brotherhood is apparent on every page here. Ice is a main character readers will root for and love.

CW: job loss, car accident, hospitalization, violence, blood

3.5 ⭐️

bruhnette's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

Isaiah (aka Ice) and his older brother have always been extremely close despite their 5-year age difference. Seth is a star cross-country runner about to graduate and head to nearby Texas A&M University on a scholarship. 13-year-old Ice is already fretting about his brother leaving so he plans to make their last year at home together one to remember.

When Ice finds out that Seth plans to accept early college admission, he's devastated. Now he and Seth have even less time together before Seth has to leave for school! Just when Ice thinks things can't get any worse, Seth is involved in a life-changing car accident. Ice is determined to bring his best friend/brother back from the new world he's living in, trapped inside his own body.

This story is sweet and touching. I needed several tissues while reading it. Highly recommended for middle-grade readers and everyone who loves middle-grade fiction!

Huge thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray, and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this wonderful book!

liannakiwi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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