{ "item_title" : "Yonder", "item_author" : [" Ali Standish "], "item_description" : "From Ali Standish, award-winning author of The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle, How to Disappear Completely, and The Mending Summer, comes a captivating historical fiction middle grade novel about a boy on the home front in World War II who must solve the mystery of the disappearance of his best friend. Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz and Lauren Wolk, this riveting adventure explores what true heroism means. Multilayered, moving, and tremendously powerful. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Standish's uplifting mystery tackles big themes of abuse, bullying, heroism, mental health, and prejudice.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)A heartfelt tale about what it means to be a hero and take a stand against injustice. --ALA Booklist (starred review)Danny Timmons has looked up to Jack Bailey ever since Jack saved two small children from drowning during the Great Flood of 1940. Now, with his father away fighting in World War II and his mother about to have a new baby, Danny relies on Jack's friendship and guidance more than ever.So when Jack goes missing without a trace from their small Appalachian town, Danny is determined to find him. He wonders if Jack's abusive father could be behind his disappearance or if it has anything to do with Yonder--a hidden magical town Jack once spoke of, where flocks of rainbow birds fly through the sky and they've never heard of war. As answers elude him, Danny begins to fear that he didn't know Jack as well as he thought.Ultimately, Danny's investigation forces him to reckon with even larger questions: What is America fighting for in this war? What role do each of us play in stopping injustices, big and small? And is there such thing as a true hero?A Jane Addams Book Award Honor Book A Cybils Award Middle Grade Finalist A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionA Bank Street Books Best Children's Book of the Year for ages 9-12 in Historical Fiction and noted for outstanding merit (2023)A 2024-2025 S.C Junior Book Award Nominee A Wyoming Book Award Winner Both timely and historical. An exploration of what it means to be brave and do good. --Tae Keller, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger A thoughtful, eloquent, and honest examination of prejudice, loyalty, and what it means to be brave. --Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Ground Zero A beautiful and important novel that explores what it means to be a hero and the role of each of us to stand up for what's right. --Karina Yan Glaser, New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeekers series", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/06/298/568/006298568X_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "19.99", "online_price" : "19.99", "our_price" : "19.99", "club_price" : "19.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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What makes someone a hero, 12-year-old Danny Timmons wonders, and what makes them a coward? It’s 1943 in Foggy Gap, a small town in western North Carolina. Danny’s father is away, fighting in Europe, and Danny’s mother has taken over his father’s role as editor of the town newspaper. She’s also due to give birth soon. As if all this wasn’t enough for one boy to handle, Danny’s friend, Jack Bailey, goes missing. 

Ali Standish’s Yonder follows Danny’s search for Jack, whom Danny has idolized ever since Jack jumped into a flooded river to rescue young twin girls. Jack’s mother is dead, and his World War I veteran father physically abuses him, so Jack has gotten by with help from Danny’s parents as well as from Lou Maguire, Danny’s former best friend. In happier times, Lou shared her love of Nancy Drew mysteries with Jack and Danny. Now, despite the difficulties between them, Danny and Lou team up to investigate Jack’s disappearance.

Yonder invites readers into a multilayered story that frames Danny's cares and concerns on the World War II homefront as a microcosm of much larger events happening in the world. The story moves back and forth in time as Danny’s memories illuminate past events as well as the tangled web of relationships among Foggy Gap’s residents. In addition to the Timmons, Bailey and Maguire families, readers also meet the wealthy Pittmans, whose son, is a cruel bully, and the Musgraves, Foggy Gap’s only Black family, who are driven out of town by Mr. Pittman.

Although the action ramps up as Danny and Lou’s search for Jack intensifies, the novel’s flashback scenes sometimes disrupt rather than enhance its narrative pace. Nonetheless, Standish manages the many threads of her story well, thoughtfully exploring a number of nuanced themes, including friendship, loyalty, prejudice and the horrors of war. Yonder is filled with ample period details, such as rationing, scrap metal drives and President Roosevelt’s “fireside chat” radio broadcasts. 

Danny is an introspective protagonist who poses provocative questions about fear and courage. “If I didn’t stand up for my best friend,” he reflects, “how could I hope to stand up for a neighbor, or a classmate, or a stranger when the time came? If I couldn’t confront the small injustices, how could I fight the bigger ones?” These timeless questions will resonate with readers as they realize that they have more in common with Danny than they might have initially thought.