How to Stay Invisible

Rudd (I’ll Hold Your Hand) weaves an uplifting tale of connection and found family featuring an unhoused tween. Twelve-year-old, white-cued Raymond is used to his unreliable parents constantly moving house. So when he starts at yet another middle school—this time in River Mill, N.C.—he does what he does best: keeps his head down and tries to stay invisible. But when his parents abruptly leave, abandoning him and his dog Rosie outside their locked, rented trailer, Raymond takes to the woods to avoid state care. Thus begins months of living in a tree hollow, where he contends with wild animals and faces hunger, bitter cold, and sickness. Keeping his situation secret, Raymond continues attending school and makes new friends—classmates, adults, and animals alike—who inadvertently help Raymond come to terms with his harsh reality and prompt him to question the long-term effects of his solitude and secrecy. Via introspective third-person prose, Rudd juxtaposes a typical middle school milieu of crushes and school projects against Raymond’s harrowing position. A hearty dose of existentialism, depictions of necessary wilderness skills, and ruminations on the perseverance of the human spirit permeate this meditative survival read. Ages 10–14. Agent: Mary Cummings, Great River Literary. (June)