Those Kids from Fawn Creek
Author(s): Erin Entrada Kelly
Every day in Fawn Creek, Louisiana, is exactly the same—until Orchid Mason arrives. From Erin Entrada Kelly, the winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this contemporary school story set in small-town Louisiana is about friendship, family, deception, and being true to yourself and your dreams.
There are twelve kids in the seventh grade at Fawn Creek Middle School. They’ve been together all their lives. And in this small factory town where everyone knows everything about everyone, that’s not necessarily a great thing.
There are thirteen desks in the seventh-grade classroom. That’s because Renni Dean’s father got a promotion, and the family moved to Grand Saintlodge, the nearest big town. Renni’s desk is empty, but Renni still knows their secrets; is still pulling their strings.
When Orchid Mason arrives and slips gracefully into Renni’s chair, the other seventh graders don’t know what to think. Orchid—who was born in New York City but just moved to Fawn Creek from Paris—seems to float. Her dress skims the floor. She’s wearing a flower behind her ear.
Fawn Creek Middle might be small, but it has its tightly knit groups—the self-proclaimed “God Squad,” the jocks, the outsiders—just like anyplace else. Who will claim Orchid Mason? Who will save Orchid Mason? Or will Orchid Mason save them?
Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor winner Erin Entrada Kelly explores complex themes centered on family, friendships, and staying true to yourself. Those Kids from Fawn Creek will enchant fans of Thanhhà Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again and Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things That Will Not Change.
Review(s):
“Small-town life for the twelve seventh graders of Fawn Creek, Louisiana, gets turned upside down . . . when new student Orchid Mason arrives . . . Kelly has created a strong ensemble cast of students . . . with realistic problems rooted in family life, friendship, and school. Having grown up pigeonholed into expected roles, how can they fit in while following their own passions? . . . An emotionally resonant story about authenticity and belonging.”
“In this uplifting small-town novel about friendship and identity, Newbery winner Entrada Kelly realistically captures the complex hierarchies of middle school. . . . Told by alternating narrators who each confess to feeling confined by unrealistic expectations and preconceived roles, this contemporary novel, timely in themes of self-acceptance and bullying, builds on the experiences of the author’s childhood to create a raw, real exploration of belonging that’s also sweetly hopeful.”
“Fawn Creek, Louisiana, is such a small town that there are only twelve students in seventh grade. . . . These dynamics are shaken up, however, with the arrival of Orchid. . . . Kelly does a brilliant job . . . . Carefully constructed protective public shields fall away as the various characters pop into fully realized 3-D and realign themselves with family and friends. . . . Orchid is the . . . a borderline magical character who appears in town and effects startling change. The novel’s hopeful denouement is entirely earned.”
ISBN: 9780063241916