MAYDAY Paperback – 2 January 2018

Daughter is 12 and loves the book

Did you know that the emu is a flightless bird like an ostrich but is a fast runner and a strong swimmer? Did you know that the average tree consumes fifty to one hundred gallons of water a day? Did you know that the international distress signal “Mayday” comes from “m’aidez,” the French for “help me”?Seventh grader Wayne Kovok knows all of these facts and many more. He’s practically a walking encyclopedia. Random facts help him navigate the awkward, the painful, and the difficult situations in life. When he doesn’t know what to say, he throws out an interesting fact—to dispel uncomfortable silences, to make people laugh, and to forget troubling things.But after he and his mom survive a plane crash on the way home from his uncle’s military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, Wayne discovers that he has lost his voice. Without the ability to spout facts out loud, how will he distract his mom from her grief for her brother and the honor burial flag she lost in the plane crash? How will he stand up to his army drill sergeant grandpa, who never runs out of things to criticize Wayne for doing wrong? How will he tell his sort-of girlfriend Sandy that he still likes her? And how will he get his deadbeat dad to understand that empty promises hurt? It seems like Wayne’s life can’t get much worse.Little by little, though, rays of sunshine begin to peek through the clouds. Positive change happens. He makes a new friend, he learns to appreciate his family in a way he never has before, and he develops the courage to express what’s really on his mind, underneath all those random facts he loves to spout. There’s a lot of pain and sadness in Mayday, but there are also many bright and funny moments. Overall, Wayne’s story is a hopeful one about not only surviving life’s difficulties but, more importantly, growing stronger and braver as a result.I’ve been a fan of Karen Harrington since her middle-grade debut, Sure Signs of Crazy, and Mayday, her third book, is 3 for 3 in awesomeness! Harrington has the wonderful ability to tell a story that confronts very true-to-life pain and difficulties head-on but is also infused throughout with a generous dose of hope and humor about the little things people take for granted. And every main character she writes becomes a real person to me by the time I’ve finished reading the book. Wayne is my new favorite Revolutionary Nerd, and I say that with great affection.

This book is AWESOMEYou should totally read it because it has action and a lot of Self reliance! Anyone in middle school would love it

Amazing book; a little mature in subject matter (death and abuse) for my 11 year old girl, but we read it together and it opened up some great dialogues for us

Well, maybe it is a little bit about a plane crash.But it's also about a kid from a broken home, who doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere, really. It's about one door closing and another one opening. It's about finding friendship and love in the unlikeliest places. It's about putting one foot in front of the other, especially during the hardest times, and then finding out it was worth it to keep going after all. It's about growing up and finding strength.A sweet story that I almost didn't want to end. Doesn't get a lot better than that.