Ellen Hopkins has written a beautiful middle-grade novel.
Closer to Nowhere follows cousins, Cal and Hannah.
Both of them have been only children for a very long time, that is until Cal moves in with Hannah's family. Cal's had a rough go of it; his dad is in prison, his mother's cancer just killed her. So the closest relative he was placed with was Aunt Taryn, his mom's identical twin sister. Hannah wasn't ready to share her family, her home, her school, and her friends with Cal. He struggles with PTSD, so some of the other kids think it's funny to pick on him. His explosive episodes aren't something he can control. When things like this happens, his fight or flight kicks in.....so he's either screaming or running to the only safe place he can think of.
Hannah lived a pretty sweet life before Cal came along. School comes easy to her, but gymnastics is where she shines. She has two parents who love her. Friends she can confide in. But it seems like everything begins falling apart when Cal moves in. She knows her cousin has some quirks that he can't control but she doesn't understand why. It's hard to explain PTSD to a child, and even harder for that child to explain it to her friends.
In typical Ellen Hopkins fashion, she writes about what she knows.
Closer to Nowhere is loosely based on her grandson, whom she currently has custody of. If any of you have read her series, Crank, you know all about the struggle her daughter has had with drugs. "Cal" is one of her babies. I love that Ellen Hopkins doesn't shy away from tough subjects, even this middle-grade novel includes topics such as addiction, adoption, abuse, incarcerated parents, alcoholism, and gun violence.
Looking for other books by Ellen Hopkins?
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