The deep friendship between Ross and Abby, too, is beautifully depicted – there is much said about the hugely positive impact that a strong, platonic relationship between a girl and a boy can have on both children. It is refreshing to see a central boy character with all his strengths presented as part of the story but there is also the sensitivity and fragility of masculinity to be observed here too – the anger, the frustration, the difficulty with emotional expression. All children, whether or not they have experienced anything of this terrible illness, will find that this book asks of them a lot of questions as well as offering guidance and insight. This is presented with the deepest confusion and anger and one feels this very strongly throughout. The voice of the main character telling the story lends the book emotional impact and, being read out loud, children would readily connect with Ross – there are problems in his life which every child will immediately recognize, from fitting in at school, to cyber-bullies, to embarrassing parents!īut then, of course, there is the story about cancer. Wink explores the journey of his treatment, the effect it has on him and his family and friends and presents the process of his healing, offering important messages about the profound effects of humour and music.Īpart from being a wonderful ‘solo’ read, Wink is one of those books that needs sharing with a whole class. With its breezy quippiness and exuberant comics, this is a brisk alternative to Palacio’s Wonder (BCCB 3/12) in destabilizing the notion of normal.Ross, a middle grader, learns that he has an exceptionally rare form of cancer that affects his tear duct. It’s utterly realistic that the peer drama mostly looms larger than the existential worry, and while a few character arcs are predictable, there’s an unexpected and intriguing direction in Ross’ learning the guitar, forming a band, and finding a satisfying way to leave his yearning for “normal” behind. In this narrative that draws on his own cancer experience, comic-strip artist Harrell creates a robust and believable voice for Ross, who breaks tension with fart jokes, chronicles his trials in occasional comics starring his alter ego, Batpig, and balances his suffering of nightmarishly awkward middle-school moments with his genuine fear of incapacity (he was originally told he’d end up blind) and death. On the physical front that means plummeting hair, oozing eyes, and cracked and bleeding facial skin, and on the social side, that means waning friendships and becoming the butt of a social media meme cycle that jokes about his possible death in addition, Ross’ mainstay best friend, Abby, is moving out of town. All seventh-grader Ross wants is to be normal, to slide “peacefully under the radar like a stealth bomber in a hoodie,” but instead he’s enduring middle school as a kid very visibly dealing with cancer after a rare tumor is found in his tear gland.
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