27 March 2022 THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK by Erin Entrada Kelly, HarperCollins/Greenwillow, March 2022, 336p., ISBN: 98-0-06-297035-0

“There must be some kind of way outta here

Said the joker to the thief

There's too much confusion

I can't get no relief”

– Bob Dylan (1967)

“I should think some of you could forget your everlasting Iowa stubbornness long enough to remember what this town was like before Harold Hill came. Do you?”

– Marian the Librarian from The Music Man (1962)

“In a small town like Fawn Creek–known as ‘Yawn Creek’ by most of them–you’d think they would have known a new student was on her way. But Orchid caught them all off guard. Mr. Agosto was the only one who wasn’t completely perplexed. When she knocked on the door, he waved her in and said, ‘Join us, join us!’ like they were in the midst of a grand adventure and not enduring a language arts lesson.

When Orchid Mason walked into the classroom, Dorothy thought: She is the girl in the fairy tale who drifts through a meadow and finds a prince.

Or a spindle.”

Attractive and sophisticated Orchid Mason suddenly appears in the small town of Fawn Creek, Louisiana, where the dozen seventh graders in Mr. Agosto’s classroom have known one another since they were all rugrats. Orchid arrives in their very-white, parochial burg by way of New York and Paris. 

The story is told primarily through the eyes of Greyson Broussard and Dorothy Doucet, long-time, super-close best friends who, nevertheless, don’t feel “that way” about one another. Dorothy is a quiet and shy only child with emotionally distant, older parents. Greyson has to endure a physically and verbally abusive older brother who, along with their father, regularly questions Greyson’s masculinity. These are two kids who are hoping there’s more to life than what Fawn Creek offers.

Grayson and Dorothy’s classmates fall into the usual cliques–the jocks; the girls who think they are all that; the kids that all the popular ones dump on; and the “God Squad” girls (as they call themselves). As the story progresses, we learn about the struggles and motivations of each of the students in the class. We also get to know about Renni, a former student who has recently moved to a larger neighboring town. Having enjoyed this tale’s many revelations and twists, I am intentionally being vague about the plot. This is my favorite by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly. Middle graders are going to eat it up. 

In addition to being a can’t-put-it-down book, THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK is an important story because of the manner in which it deals with bullying.

“Students who are bullied are around 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims. A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying. 10 to 14 year old teen girls are most likely to commit suicide based on this study. According to ABC News, nearly 30% of students are either victims of bullies or bullies themselves and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because they are scared of being bullied.”

– Wikipedia “Bullying and Suicide”

For me, the Hell of Seventh Grade was a period of verbal and physical abuse that I’ve never encountered before or since. It still hurts. For some unsuspecting tween today, who will soon be facing similar circumstances, experiencing fictional characters who are navigating these sorts of treacherous social situations can make all the difference in the world. That’s why I urge you to read and share THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK. I guarantee you that somewhere, in the coming years, getting this book into the right hands is going to save some kid’s life. 

Richie Partington, MLIS

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