Harbor Me

Starred review from May 21, 2018
Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming) celebrates all that is essential and good for humanity—compassion, understanding, security, and freedom—in this touching novel about six children with special needs. Sixth-grader Haley and her best friend, Holly, don’t know much about their four male classmates when they are placed in a self-contained classroom. They soon discover the things that they do and do not have in common when, on Friday afternoons, their teacher takes them to ARTT (a room to talk). Here, without adult supervision, the class can have conversations about anything. Usually the students use the time to unburden themselves of problems ranging from a parent’s deportation to bullying in the schoolyard. Haley is the last to spill her secrets, about her mother’s death and why her father is in prison, and afterwards she is rewarded with a feeling of lightness, “like so many bricks had been lifted off me,” she says. Woodson’s skills as poet and master storyteller shine brightly here as she economically uses language to express emotion and delve into the hearts of her characters. Showing how America’s political and social issues affect children on a daily basis, this novel will leave an indelible mark on readers’ minds. Ages 10–up.

N'Jameh Camara narrates the emotive narrative of biracial Haley, who describes increasingly honest conversations among six classmates along with her own undisclosed truths. In this unique audio, six narrators represent characters in shared dialogues. Toshi Widoff-Woodson, portraying an African-American girl, is defensive and a bit spoiled. Dean Flanagan is reticent Ashton, a bullied white boy. Mikelle Wright-Matos affects a near swagger as Ashton's confident African-American friend, Amari. Jose Carrera's deeper, lightly accented Latinx voice chimes in as Tiago, and Angel Romero is the worried Esteban, whose father has been taken away by ICE. The least strong portrayal is by the author, a fitting representation of the teacher who remains in the background so her students can speak freely. An interview between Woodson and her son, Jackson-Leroi, which serves as an afterword, is honest and powerful. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine