Outside Nowhere

When Parker Kelbrook is fired on his first day as a junior lifeguard at his local Pittsburgh pool, having “managed to pour the… entire supply of Purple Madness Fruit Punch Mix off the high board,” he looks forward to having “a life-affirming amount of fun” by spending the summer at a friend’s Outer Banks beach house. After his father and a close family friend instead pack him off to a remote Topeka-area farm, and Parker manages to leave his belongings on the train, he finds the bunk house rustic and the cultivars curious: they’re “hope and second chances,” he’s told, plus radishes that the workers are forbidden to taste. While Parker learns how to work hard and take responsibility, he also begins to witness odd happenings: a goat floating in the air, and a cow on the bunkhouse roof. Building out Parker’s myriad affectations—formal speech, a freewheeling and privileged manner, and vintage style—Borba (The Midnight Brigade) conjures a sympathetic, brittle-feeling character primed for personal growth. Blended with a quirky, fable-like third-person narrative, the farm’s magical and mysterious elements build to an intriguing novel with a strong emotional core. Characters present as white. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Janine Kamouh, WME. (Oct.)