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Nowhere Special
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Overview
Author Matt Wallace delivers a deeply moving story exploring that first formative friendship, navigating challenging family circumstances, and finding hope and strength in a forgotten desert town. Perfect for fans of Ernesto Cisneros and Julie Murphy.
The isolation and bullying Stan suffers at school are nothing compared to the war at home. After he tries and fails to defend his mom by standing up to his abusive father, Stan decides there is only one solution to finding a new self-confidence: he must learn how to fight.
Tragic events have split the two sides of Elpidia's family into fighting factions. Every day she finds herself outnumbered by her cousins on the schoolyard. After the latest beatdown, her grandmother decides Elpidia must learn how to defend herself.
Stan and Elpidia seem like total opposites, but when they both wind up with the same reclusive trainer, they find an unexpected friendship as they work together to overcome their bullies. But when Stan gains the attention of a powerful gang leader, it threatens to pull him away from his new best friend. Will their dreams for the future be enough to get them out of this small town?
- Coming of Age Story: Two kids from opposite sides of the tracks--one facing a war at home, the other fighting her own family in the schoolyard--must learn who they are and what they're made of.
- Found Family: In a town where they both feel alone, Stan and Elpidia find an unexpected ally in each other and a mysterious mentor who teaches them more than just how to fight.
- Filipino Martial Arts: Features authentic depictions of Escrima, as Stan and Elpidia learn to defend themselves with stick fighting techniques from their reclusive teacher, a man with his own secrets.
- Heartfelt Emotional Read: A powerful and honest look at domestic violence, bullying, and poverty, balanced with the hope and resilience found in true friendship.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780063254008
- ISBN-10: 006325400X
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- Publish Date: October 2023
- Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.7 pounds
- Page Count: 256
- Reading Level: Ages 8-12
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- 1
“A thin and scrawny thing,” Elpidia has been repeatedly attacked by her female cousins in a family feud that extends to the family’s youngest members. She lives with her Abuela in a trailer and helps out at Abuela’s cantina while dreaming of someday owning a food truck and escaping the barren Southern California desert. Her parents burned down their home and are in prison for drug-related convictions. Her classmate Stan—the only white kid in their sixth-grade class—is dealing with bullying as well, and is unable to protect himself against his father’s drunken rages. Stan’s mother and Elpidia’s grandmother independently decide that their charges need to learn how to defend themselves, so they take them into the deep desert to learn from Charlie Ramos, a legendary local figure known as “El Escorpion” who teaches a style of Filipino fighting. Nowhere Special will engross readers from start to finish. Before turning to writing, author Matt Wallace was a professional wrestler and instructor in unarmed combat and self-defense. He notes in a content advisory that the book addresses “heavy issues with very personal meanings to me, and I’ve done my absolute best to write about them in a way that will be appropriate for preteen readers.” Characters throughout the novel’s memorable scenes struggle to develop the responsibility and judgment needed to escape a destructive, unending cycle of violence. Wallace excels at depicting realistic family scenarios, complex moral dilemmas, and good-hearted, but flawed, adults. Nowhere Special offers moments of hope and redemption amidst poverty and great tragedy. Although there are no tidy resolutions, Stan and Elpidia grow empowered and discover the salvation that close friendships can provide. Despite the seemingly insurmountable difficulty of their family and social situations, these protagonists’ dreams feel possible by the end of the book.
“A thin and scrawny thing,” Elpidia has been repeatedly attacked by her female cousins in a family feud that extends to the family’s youngest members. She lives with her Abuela in a trailer and helps out at Abuela’s cantina while dreaming of someday owning a food truck and escaping the barren Southern California desert. Her parents burned down their home and are in prison for drug-related convictions. Her classmate Stan—the only white kid in their sixth-grade class—is dealing with bullying as well, and is unable to protect himself against his father’s drunken rages. Stan’s mother and Elpidia’s grandmother independently decide that their charges need to learn how to defend themselves, so they take them into the deep desert to learn from Charlie Ramos, a legendary local figure known as “El Escorpion” who teaches a style of Filipino fighting. Nowhere Special will engross readers from start to finish. Before turning to writing, author Matt Wallace was a professional wrestler and instructor in unarmed combat and self-defense. He notes in a content advisory that the book addresses “heavy issues with very personal meanings to me, and I’ve done my absolute best to write about them in a way that will be appropriate for preteen readers.” Characters throughout the novel’s memorable scenes struggle to develop the responsibility and judgment needed to escape a destructive, unending cycle of violence. Wallace excels at depicting realistic family scenarios, complex moral dilemmas, and good-hearted, but flawed, adults. Nowhere Special offers moments of hope and redemption amidst poverty and great tragedy. Although there are no tidy resolutions, Stan and Elpidia grow empowered and discover the salvation that close friendships can provide. Despite the seemingly insurmountable difficulty of their family and social situations, these protagonists’ dreams feel possible by the end of the book.