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| Image: HarperCollins |
Eleven-year-old Cyrus Olson grapples with courage in this gentle, first-person narrative. Eleven years earlier, he was left at the door of the fire house as an infant. The fire chief found him, brought his to the hospital and decided to adopt him. Cyrus has grown up at the fire house and loves all the firemen, but worries because he knows he isn't brave enough to run into a fire. His dad was a star football player as a kid. Cyrus loved peewee football but now that it's tackle, he no longer does. He is afraid to disappoint his dad. On the day of his eleventh birthday, a stray dog is left at the firehouse, but Cyrus' dad says no to the dog - only Cyrus has already fallen in love.
If you are a fan of Ms. Stoddard's Just Like Jackie, you know that you're in for a treat. She excels at creating vivid, relatable characters. And, as in Just Like Jackie, there is an wonderful grandparent/ grandchild relationship. Cyrus' grandmother has recently had a stroke and lives in an assisted care facility. She took on much of Cyrus' care while his dad was at work. Now, though she can't speak due to the stroke, Cyrus tries to understand what she's saying in other ways.
Tween dynamics and dialogue are spot-on as well. She absolutely nailed the portrait of the emerging alpha athlete. Something happens between fifth and sixth grades that causes seismic friendship shifts. With boys, it's usually sports and with girls it's harder to define. Yet, it's classic fodder for middle grade novels because it's real and primal and hurts so much! You can't have too many of these books on the shelves because they are balm to injured souls, to those left behind.
While Brave Like That is a gentle coming-of-age story, there's some real suspense surrounding the web of Cyrus' lies as well as a dangerous fire and, of course, what's going to happen to the dog. Brave Like That hits all the right notes.
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