An new novel for middle school readers features a boy and a llama who make a desperate winter trek across the Adirondacks. Our book reviewer, Betsy Kepes, talked with Northern Light co-host Monica Sandreczki about HUM by William David Thomas.
BETSY KEPES: It’s set in Newcomb, a place that 11-year-old Allen couldn’t find on a map. He says, “We’re moving to a place that isn’t even there.” Allen lives in Syracuse with his grandmother until she decides to relocate them to her house in the Adirondacks.
MONICA SANDRECZKI: Does Allen want to go?
KEPES: He’s ambivalent. He’s not a happy kid. He has a recurring nightmare with explosions and screaming and he hasn’t made many friends in his Syracuse school.
SANDRECZKI: Does Allen like living in Newcomb?
KEPES: He is shocked to discover the Newcomb school is so small that third through fifth graders share the same classroom. He makes friends on the first day of school, but there’s also a terrible high school bully, a boy who mocks Allen because he hums.
SANDRECZKI: He hums?
KEPES: Strange, huh?
SANDRECZKI: Maybe a little bit. Why would he do that? That’s going to make the situation worse.
KEPES: Oh, it does. This novel was written to have excitement on every page. It’s what is called a “high-low” book by reading teachers.
SANDRECZKI: What’s a “high-low” book?
KEPES: High-low books are meant for reluctant middle school readers. They have high-interest plots with a low reading level. HUM has chapters that are never longer than a couple of pages and lots of action.
SANDRECZKI: Wait, isn’t high action plus a not-that-difficult reading level kind of the definition of a children’s book?
KEPES: Not always. Did you ever read Anne of Green Gables? Or Wind in the Willows? They are hundreds of pages long, with complicated sentence structure. You’re right though, newer books for middle school kids tend to be short with lots of action and excitement. Children’s book publishers now have to compete with screen time to get kids’ attention.
SANDRECZKI: OK, I see. How about a sample from HUM?
KEPES: Sure, here’s a scene on the school bus with Allen and the high school bully, Lennie Busendorf.
Lennie crowded into the seat. He put a big hand on Allen’s shoulder and squeezed. Even through his thick ski jacket, it hurt. It really hurt. // Lennie leaned over and hissed, “I remember you from the beach, newbie. You got me in trouble with that carrot-headed kid’s parents.”// The pressure on Allen’s shoulder increased. He winced and gritted his teeth. // “You were humming then. I want to hear you hum now!”// Humming sounds rose up inside Allen’s head, sounds that seemed to tell him what to do. Allen turned his head, looked into Lennie’s eyes, and then…// Ptew!// Allen spat a mouthful of saliva right into Lennie’s face. // The big kid stood up, roaring like an angry bear, wiping his coat sleeve across his face. And then his fists came pounding down.
SANDRECZKI: That is exciting! Spitting on the bully seems like not the right move!
KEPES: I know, but later in the book, readers find out that Allen has a strong connection to llamas and we all know llamas like to spit. The book departs from reality when Allan is at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. When he sees llamas at a traveling petting zoo he is irresistibly drawn toward a llama named Yanna. He realizes he can understand and speak llama language.
SANDRECZKI: So this novel is a fantasy?
KEPES: Not really, everything else in it is realistic. It turns out that llamas have something to do with the recurring nightmare and the death of Allen’s parents. More excitement happens when Allen steals Yanna from the zoo. They flee from their pursuers to the High Peaks, trying to get back to Newcomb. If you take the paper cover off the book, the inside has a map of their route, which I thought was cool, because I know those trails.
SANDRECZKI: Does anyone help Allen along his journey?
KEPES: He’s alone in the woods with Yanna, but he has many friends who go out searching for him. It is, of course, very cold and snowy, a dangerous time to be in the wild. The fictional community at Newcomb gets a gold star for being kind, welcoming and ready to help a lonely eleven-year-old.
SANDRECZKI: So Betsy, you are not a reluctant middle school reader, but it seems like you enjoyed this book.
KEPES: I did. I liked the local setting, the kind characters, the fast action, even the magic of the llama language. The Adirondacks help heal Allen, as they have for so many people.
SANDRECZKI: Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Betsy.
KEPES: My pleasure, Monica.
