Gr 8 Up-MacLean's novel in verse has a hypnotic rhythm that pulls readers into the mind of 15-year-old Nix. Formerly known as "Fatty Humbolt," he is struggling with his crush on Loren Cody, the girlfriend of the best player on the hockey team, and his love-hate relationship with his older sister, Roxy. With her "Vampire Red" hair, endless stream of boyfriends, and rebellious energy, Roxy is the polar opposite of Nix, who likes to fade into the background and thinks it's hard to talk to anyone, let alone members of the opposite sex. Nix finds solace and self-expression in his woodworking. Then Roxy falls for Bryan Sykes, a popular but notorious cad and politician's son, and Nix is forced to come out of his shell and find his voice. The poems successfully capture the cadences of modern teenage speech and behavior in unadorned language. The spare verse also provides the perfect narrative voice to express Nix's taciturn strength. Readers used to a diet of cliche-ridden YA fiction will enjoy this refreshing take on the teenage plight, and, although the ending is particularly painful and poignant, the hard-won hopefulness of Nix's growth will linger with them long after the book ends.-Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Fifteen-year-old Nix Humbolt narrates his daily life in Bullbirds Cove, Newfound-land, where he and his family, one of only 23 remaining after the fishing industry collapsed, struggle to survive economic challenges, small-town politics, and adolescence. MacLean (The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy) writes in short free-verse chapters that read like prose stripped of all unnecessary words. An introvert, Nix watches in dismay as his tempestuous sister flirts with drugs, alcohol, older boys, and risky social scenes: "I thought the yellow sun/ rose over the mountains and set over the sea/ on my sister Roxanne./ Then she hit puberty./ Head-on collision." More observer than participant at home and school, Nix comes alive in his father's woodworking shop: "I pick up the dovetail saw,/ cut into the sockets, chisel out the waste.... and by now I've forgotten/ anyone's watching." Writing with careful, evocative language, MacLean explores love in myriad forms: Nix's concern for a neighbor's abused dog that he longs to rescue, his crush on one girl and budding friendship with another, Roxy's affection for her brother, and his family's grief over a devastating tragedy. Ages 12-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

MacLean's free verse style mirrors 15-year-old protagonist Nix Humbolt's quiet, unassuming nature: The first time / I came across the word / introversion / was the first time / I recognized myself. Like, / there was a category / for me. At the heart of the novel, which is set in a tiny Newfoundland village, is Nix's complex, push-pull relationship with his older, rebellious sister, Roxy, and the tender bond he forms with a neglected guard dog. To deal with the challenges of both, Nix takes refuge in his father's woodworking studio, channeling ragged emotions he can't verbally express into smooth boxes, picture frames, and tables. But when tragedy upends Nix's life, it takes a special girl named Blue and a special dog to help him confront reality. Nix's immediate first-person narration offers astute observations ( Is an adult just a teenager with a layer of veneer? ), and YAs who are drawn to contemporary fiction and verse novels won't want to miss this poignant Canadian import.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist

Writing in free verse from the perspective of 15-year-old Nixon "Nix" Humboldt, acclaimed Canadian author MacLean (Home Truths, 2010, etc.) presents an intriguing coming-of-age story set in rural Newfoundland and centered on the love-hate relationship between siblings. Quiet and a bit of a loner, Nix takes respite from the taunting of class bullies and from bearing the occasional brunt of his gregarious older sister Roxy's wrath by helping out in his father's woodworking shop, where the various boxes, frames and birdhouses he creates help to express the inner feelings he often has difficulty verbalizing. Sixteen-year-old Roxy, on the other hand, drives her teenage angst outward by pursuing the most popular (though shady) senior in high school, experimenting with alcohol and repeatedly defying her parents' wishes. Where Nix admits "The first time / I came across the word / introversion / was the first time / I recognized myself," Roxy struggles to come to terms with who she is, appearing at one point in Nix's estimation both "overfed and ravenous / cranky and smug / hyper and exhausted" after blowing her curfew one night. And yet the siblings' deep-seated love for each other cannot be denied when tested by their overprotective parents, immature classmates or in the wake of grave tragedy. Well-crafted and intense, an engrossing family drama in which both young and old learn what it means to grow up. (Verse novel. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.