Review Detail

This book features themes of compassion that are similar to , so this might be a more fitting book for high school students (it does have a little bad language). Julian is that weird quiet kid who stays invisible--every school has this kid. Nobody can quite remember who he is and they don't really see him. The reader knows that Julian is being abused badly and I, for one, kept turning pages and yelling at the characters in the book to get a clue. Adam befriends Julian and tries to include him in his life, but Adam's friends, the cool kids, initially make fun of Julian for being dorky. What made the book resonate with me was that once the other teens realize what is going on, once they really see him, they drop the bullying and develop deep sympathy and compassion for him. As a high school librarian, I have seen this in my school. Teenagers are not truly bullies, but will step up and do what is right once they understand a person more fully. is ultimately a book full of hope that will inspire you to look more compassionately at your classmates.