My Own World

Debut author Holmes accurately demonstrates a child’s profound loneliness in white nine-year-old Nathan’s journey into a pocket dimension. Though part of a large family with four kids, Nathan feels isolated when his older brother Ben reconnects with his teen friends after a sickness. Mourning his previously close relationship with Ben and terrified after running afoul of a frightening bully, Nathan—who’s portrayed as small enough to blend into any environment—discovers a secret world that’s stuck in time, hidden beneath a decrepit lighthouse. Doused in the same red hues as Nathan’s frequent dreams, this plane becomes a place where he can safely exist on his own, creating friends and playful constructs, such as cat-faced Meow and giant lizard Gordon, out of red orbs—until they start to become as out of control as the boy’s home life. Holmes’s expressive, energetic art renders Nathan’s excitement about his new world, one that readers can’t help but get lost in. Ages 8–12. [em](June) [/em]