{"product_id":"closer-to-nowhere-isbn-9780593108635","title":"Closer to Nowhere","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Ellen Hopkins's poignant middle grade novel in verse about coming to terms with indelible truths of family and belonging--now in paperback!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the most part, Hannah's life is just how she wants it. She has two supportive parents, she's popular at school, and she's been killing it at gymnastics. But when her cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes. Cal tells half-truths and tall tales, pranks Hannah constantly, and seems to be the reason her parents are fighting more and more. Nothing is how it used to be. She knows that Cal went through a lot after his mom died and she is trying to be patient, but most days Hannah just wishes Cal never moved in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor his part, Cal is trying his hardest to fit in, but not everyone is as appreciative of his unique sense of humor and storytelling gifts as he is. Humor and stories might be his defense mechanism, but if Cal doesn't let his walls down soon, he might push away the very people who are trying their best to love him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold in verse from the alternating perspectives of Hannah and Cal, this is a story of two cousins who are more alike than they realize and the family they both want to save.\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eCloser to Nowhere\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA 2022-2023 Truman Readers Book Award Nominee (MO)\u003cbr\u003e A 2022-2023 South Carolina Book Award Nominee\u003cbr\u003eA 2021 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003eA 2021 NCTE Notable Novel in Verse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Amazon Best Book of the Month\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ “\u003cb\u003eReaders will root\u003c\/b\u003e for these\u003cb\u003e realistic characters\u003c\/b\u003e, and will cheer for the growth they experience. \u003cb\u003eHighly recommended\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003cb\u003e starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hopkins’ use of free verse provides a canvas for \u003cb\u003esure-handed\u003c\/b\u003e, brush-stroke development of the backstory and plot and emotional investment and identification with the characters. . . \u003cb\u003eCompassionate and compelling\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“There’s a new crowd of Ellen Hopkins fans on the horizon! Hopkins \u003cb\u003etackles tough subjects with honesty and compassion\u003c\/b\u003e, woven in \u003cb\u003ebrilliant verse\u003c\/b\u003e as always, now in a novel for younger readers. This \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e book about the strength of family shows us that even someone who doesn’t feel at home anywhere can find a place to belong.” —\u003cb\u003eLynne Kelly\u003c\/b\u003e, author of the Schneider Family Book Award–winning \u003ci\u003eSong for a Whale\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hopkins uses her familiar verse to \u003cb\u003etake readers on an emotional rollercoaster\u003c\/b\u003e. . . The author’s note about her own family experiences with addiction and behavioral challenges is almost as \u003cb\u003epoignant\u003c\/b\u003e as the text, and \u003cb\u003ethe quick pace makes it easy to devour, enticing fans to check out the rest of Hopkins’ oeuvre\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hopkins creates \u003cb\u003erealistic\u003c\/b\u003e portrayals of two kids trying to do their best even when it’s not easy.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the biggest challenges a middle-grade author faces is the middle-grade reader. This is the age when childhood and young adulthood so violently clash within you, even YOU aren’t sure how to find your voice. With Cal and Hannah, Ellen Hopkins tells middle-grade readers: I see you. I hear you. And your voice is powerful . . . even as it evolves. \u003ci\u003eCloser to Nowhere\u003c\/i\u003e is raw, but real. It’s love, but tough. It IS middle grade, and it is \u003cb\u003ea gift for readers everywhere\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003cb\u003eK. A. Holt\u003c\/b\u003e, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eHouse Arrest\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The queen of gritty YA novels-in-verse enters the realm of middle-grade literature with this story of a family fracturing under myriad pressures yet \u003cb\u003erefusing to be broken\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Hopkins paints \u003cb\u003ea realistic picture\u003c\/b\u003e of a family undergoing upheaval and learning to better care for one another.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003eEllen Hopkins is a former journalist and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction books for young readers, fourteen bestselling young-adult novels, and four novels for adult readers. With this book, she is honored to enter the realm of middle-grade fiction. Ellen lives with her extended family, one brilliant German shepherd, a retired rescue cat, and two ponds (not pounds) of koi in the eastern shadow of the Northern Nevada Sierra.\u003cb\u003eDefinition of Resent:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeel Bothered By\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCal moved in \u003cbr\u003ea little more than a year ago. \u003cbr\u003eHe wasn’t exactly a stranger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAunt Caryn was his mom, \u003cbr\u003eand she and my mom were more than sisters.\u003cbr\u003eThey were identical twins.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eTwo halves of a whole,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMom called them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey were close, but they \u003cbr\u003edidn’t live near each other. \u003cbr\u003eAunt Caryn moved to Arizona \u003cbr\u003ebefore Cal was born.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe visited once in a while \u003cbr\u003eand came to a couple of family \u003cbr\u003ereunions. Talk about trouble!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI guess when Aunt Caryn met \u003cbr\u003eCal’s dad and dropped out \u003cbr\u003eof college, it made Grandma mad.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey hardly talk at all anymore,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMom told me once. \u003ci\u003eAnd when\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethey do, they end up shouting.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So why does Aunt Caryn \u003cbr\u003ego to the reunions?” I asked. \u003cbr\u003e“Grandma’s always there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCaryn still wants to be part \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eof the family, and she wants\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCal to know his relatives.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“I think Grandma should\u003cbr\u003eforgive her,” I said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eI think so, too. But my mother\u003cbr\u003ehas a hard time with forgiveness.\u003cbr\u003eShe thinks it’s a sign of weakness.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrandma still hadn’t forgiven\u003cbr\u003eher when Aunt Caryn died.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI’ll never forget that day.\u003cbr\u003eMom cried and cried.\u003cbr\u003eWhen she finally stopped,\u003cbr\u003eher face was so puffed up,\u003cbr\u003eI could barely see her eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eI lost a piece of myself\u003c\/i\u003e, she said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaybe Cal living with us\u003cbr\u003eis like getting that piece back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaybe that’s why Mom lets him\u003cbr\u003eget away with everything,\u003cbr\u003efrom pranks to meltdowns to lies.\u003cbr\u003eI’m sorry, but I resent that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eTry to find a little sympathy,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMom urges. \u003ci\u003eAfter Caryn passed,\u003cbr\u003ethings got pretty rough for Cal.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis dad took him after\u003cbr\u003ethe funeral, but the details\u003cbr\u003eof the next two years are a mystery.\u003cbr\u003eAnd no one’s giving out clues.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eYou’ll have to wait for Cal to tell\u003cbr\u003eyou, \u003c\/i\u003eMom says.\u003ci\u003e It’s not up to me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhatever happened, I feel sorry\u003cbr\u003efor Cal. If my mom died, I’d be lost.\u003cbr\u003eCal must feel lost sometimes, too.\u003cbr\u003eSo, yeah, I want to forgive his quirks.","brand":"Nancy Paulsen Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302210818277,"sku":"NP9780593108635","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593108635.jpg?v=1767723854","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/closer-to-nowhere-isbn-9780593108635","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}