Crooked Lines - Rowdy Times, #1

Crooked Lines is about healing. The main character, Griff, gets shocking news before his ninth birthday when he finds out he has a rare disease with painful treatments. Griff's family doesn't know what to do between two working parents, a depressed grandmother, and an obnoxious older brother who can scarcely tolerate him. The family doctor doesn't tell him much either. The story moves in three segments from when he starts fourth grade with a change of class, lost friends, and an unsympathetic teacher. As he's trying hard to settle into his new situation, his steely teacher notices a problem with one of his eyes. He then ends up in the doctor's office where he gets a diagnosis of Bell's palsy. Anything with palsy in it scares kids—everyone knows this. After a month of regular shots that hurt and mark his body, Griff appears to recover. In the third act of his story, Griff's body has reacted unexpectedly to the medication he took: he goes into puberty at age nine when none of his classmates and friends are even near it. He gets even less explanation for this than he did for the Bell's palsy. Frustrated, he begins to hide and keep to his room. A sweltering summer makes things worse because he's so isolated. Then, he finds refuge at an air-conditioned public library. Until he heads for an explosive confrontation with a neighbor who is working there. Will he hold his ground? Or will she manage to stick him into a barrel of shame? And how will his family accept his changing body as a reality that can't be avoided? I was inspired to write this story by working with children dealing with serious illnesses who show strength and toughness when least expected. This book is well suited to middle grade readers as well as young adult readers. Crooked Lines has a psychological dimension that includes how a child dreams, uses humor, and looks for ways to express what feels intolerable.