Record Breaker

January 21, 2013
It’s 1963, the world is in turmoil, and so is the life of 12-year-old Jack in small-town Canada. Ever since the sudden death of his newborn sister nearly a year ago, Jack has been starved for attention; he hopes to snap his parents out of mourning and make them proud by breaking a world record. “A few weeks ago I tried to eat twenty-four raw eggs in less than two minutes and eleven seconds but threw up after the first seven,” he says. “Eggs, not minutes.” Jack’s resilience and sense of humor prove to be crucial assets as his father builds a fallout shelter, his depressed mother stays in bed, and President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald are assassinated. When Jack meets an independent-minded new girl named Kate, it improves his iffy friendship with his irritating cousin Allan, who feeds Jack’s fears that his family might be cursed. Stevenson (Hummingbird Heart) gives Jack a straightforward yet sensitive narrative voice, constructing a believable portrait of the anxiety of this moment in history, as well as of how scary and lonely childhood can be. Ages 9–12.

February 1, 2013
It's 1963, and 12-year-old Jack struggles to cope with his mom's depression after his baby sister's sudden death. Jack was interested in The Guinness Book of Records even before he found his baby sister Annie dead in her crib, but since then, he's been determined to break a record, any record, in an effort to distract his mother from her severe depression. She spends most days in bed even though Annie died over a year ago, and his dad tries to keep the family going. Jack first decides to rock a rocking chair for three days, then to eat a record number of sausages far too quickly, failing both times. However, he meets Kate, a new girl in his small Ontario town, and starts working on a new project: With help from Kate's music-teacher mom, he'll sing his mom's favorite Perry Como song. Stevenson keeps the tone light but the story serious as Jack copes with his own grief and his family's distress. The recent historical setting, which includes newly introduced color television and the Kennedy assassination, helps to grant some distance to readers from the heavy emotions surrounding the baby's death. Jack's growth as he makes a new friend and works on his performance caps this sensitive exploration with charm. Perceptive and quite lovely. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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June 1, 2013

Gr 4-7-Jack desperately wants to break some sort of world record because he believes that by doing so he can restore his family to what it was before his sister died of SIDS. Stevenson vividly portrays how Annie's death affects the whole family. Jack's mom suffers from depression, barely getting out of bed each day. Jack and his father neglect all but the basic necessities, including the fallout shelter Jack's dad began before Annie died. It is when the 12-year-old finds Kate, a girl whose family has relocated from the United States to Canada, that he begins the healing process. Kate and her mother are like a balm to Jack and his mother, and the catalysts behind a positive turning point for the family. The author injects much-needed humor into the story through Jack's failed record-breaking attempts and Kate's inability to play the recorder or cook. Historical references, like the JFK assassination and the specter of the Cold War, ground the novel in the early 1960s. Jack's emotions, particularly the fear and guilt he feels, and his preoccupation with the family's situation, are realistic. This is a compelling novel, even with the weighty subject, and many of the characters are well rounded and believable. The author also brings hope to Jack's family and readers without giving the story a pat ending. A solid offering.-Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
Grades 4-6 A quiet novel that delves into difficult subjects, Stevenson's latest shines a warm light on both grief and friendship. Set in small-town Ontario in 1963, the book follows 12-year-old Jack as he copes with his mother's debilitating depression, his father's emotional distance, and his own sadness over the crib death of his baby sister a year earlier. One of Jack's ideas to lighten the mood is to break a Guinness World Record, but his attempts only get him into trouble. Stevenson skillfully shows how Jack compares his life before Annie's death to his bleak present: his best friend has moved away and his other friend, he realizes, can't help being a jerk. Kennedy's assassination and cold war fears only add to Jack's general distress. The book's main plot contrivance is a 12-year-old girl who befriends Jack and whose mother helps Jack's mother get off the numbing medications her doctor has prescribed. All in all, a thoughtful evocation of an uneasy time on both a personal and global level.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)