Bubble

March 1, 2017
A white, orphaned British boy whose rare disease confines him to a hospital room dreams of escaping. "I wish my real world was as big as the one in my head," 11-year-old Joe says, with good reason. He suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, which means that stepping outside his sterile environment could kill him. Aside from his older sister, Beth, medical staff are his only company. Beth is leaving for medical school, but he's got a new, Indian nurse. Eccentric and generous, Amir insists that UFO landings are imminent, and, bizarrely, he provides Joe with a dozen TV screens, installed in Joe's room without apparent resistance from hospital staff. Skype is a lifeline to Joe's best friend, Henry, a white, American SCID sufferer. Their chats offer some pointed contrasts of U.K. and U.S. culture along with links to real news articles. When Henry, aided by NASA, receives the opportunity to venture briefly from his room, Joe despairs of ever doing the same. But Amir has an escape plan, which somehow escapes the doctors' notice. Amir's outlandish scheme provides poignant, life-affirming moments, but the enormous suspension of disbelief his plan requires is jarring against the occasionally harsh reality of the kids' conditions, their loneliness, and their families' pain. However, the feel-good effects may outweigh the implausibilities. Joe's room may be small, but his optimistic voice and a cast of supportive characters suggest that his world does not end there. (Fiction. 9-13)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-Eleven-year-old Joe Grant has lived in a sterile "bubble" within a London hospital since babyhood, afflicted with a rare genetic autoimmune disease. His sister Beth, a medical student, and the hospital staff are his only human contact, and he spends his time watching TV, reading on his iPad, taking lessons online, and communicating via computer with Henry, a boy with a similar condition who is quarantined in a Philadelphia hospital. Henry is anticipating a walk outside in a special suit developed by NASA, and Joe longs for the same opportunity. He keeps his spirits up by indulging in a superhero fantasy, imagining himself soaring through the city as Spider-Man. When a new night nurse, Amir, is assigned to him, Joe is at first put off by Amir's strange ideas-including his belief in alien beings from other planets-but he is soon won over when Amir offers him hope of a temporary escape from his confinement. Joe's first-person narrative details the minutiae of his condition and care and effectively conveys the monotony of his daily existence. His conflicting feelings of fear for his life and longing for adventure are poignantly depicted, and while some plot elements strain credibility, readers will empathize with Joe's situation and be drawn into the story. References to British sports and popular culture, though unfamiliar, make sense in context. VERDICT Presenting a difficult subject with hope, this is an accessible option for most middle grade readers and likely to spark discussion.-Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Joe Grant has no recollection of being outside of his specially monitored hospital room. A rare genetic disorder, severe combined immunodeficiency, keeps him within the same four walls because the smallest thing can kill him. Joe's world revolves around monitor beeps and daily bruise checks in the shower, and the only people he sees are doctors, nurses, his Skype pal Henry, and Beth, his sister and only living family member. Though he's a rabid fan of Arsenal Football Club and Spider-Man, Joe only has limited exposure to the outside world, via one window and technologyhis TV, laptop, and phone. His imagination creates involved scenarios of what his life could be outside of the hospital, and when a new nurse, Amir, shows up, Joe's life changes dramatically in ways he'd only dreamed of. Joe's hopeful and unaffected voice gently reminds readers not to take even mundane things for granted and that he understands his lot in life even if he doesn't fully accept it. Alternating between lighthearted and heart-wrenching scenes and emotions, Bubble's star power lies in Joe himself. His uplifting relationships with Amir and Beth, who never lets the demands of medical school come between her and her brother, meaningfully unfold as Joe experiences the world from the inside looking out. A perfect pick for readers who loved R. J. Palacio's Wonder (2012).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)