And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps (review)

Reviewed by: And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps Cassidy Russell Fipps, Lisa And Then, Boom! Paulsen/Penguin, 2024 256p Trade ed. ISBN 9780593406328 17. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780593406335 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 Abandoned by his mother, sixth-grader Joseph is living with his Grandmum in their car, "poorer than poor, " until generous strangers and friends give them a leg up, and they move into a mobile home. Though they too often go without, they have each other, until Grandmum gets sick and suddenly dies. Joseph tries to hide the fact that he's living alone with no access to food or money, and the plan sort of works until a tornado touches down in his neighborhood, launching him into the air "like Superman. " His resulting injuries lead to a stay in the hospital, where he admits that he needs help, and, once in foster care, he finally finds a safe place to End Page 279 be a kid. This verse novel's conversational tone, linear timeline, and dialogue-heavy writing will ease readers nervous about poetry, and the first-person narration shows Joseph's intelligence and joyful creativity. What Joseph goes through is horrible (scenes where he forces himself to eat dog food to stay alive or gets trapped under rotting garbage while dumpster diving are particularly visceral), but not completely without hope. Joseph is surrounded by a wonderful secondary cast, from his teacher who attempts to support kids living in poverty by changing unfair school systems to a neighbor who models generosity and healthy community building. While the didacticism is sometimes clunky, Fipps' indictment of how society treats and ignores people who need help ("It's amazing / how long you can live / without anyone realizing / how you live") paves the way for compassionate discussion about how cyclical poverty affects kids. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois