Lights, Camera, Disaster

January 1, 2018
Grades 5-7 Hester is a hot mess. An eighth-grader with executive function disorder, she just can't seem to get it together, despite the support of her family and her school counselor. Papers, her locker, and her schedule are impossibly hard to manage. She excels, though, at filming things, and her video camera seems like an extension of her arm and brain. When a tough English teacher threatens to hold her back, her parents take the camera away, and without it, Hester spirals further, finding herself distanced from friends and classmates. An encounter with an immigrant girl who lends her graphic novels, and the encouragement of a documentary filmmaker open new paths for her. A bit disjointed at times, the book will nevertheless hit home with readers who can empathize with Hester's disorganization. Things look up as Hester learns to play to her interests, and her film about her classmates strikes a chordmaking the point that kids are much more than their classwork and grades.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)