Boy 2.0 (Boy 2.0 #1)

After 13-year-old Coal Keegan’s foster father experiences a mental health crisis, Coal is sent to live with new foster family the McKays. Though the adults try to make Coal feel welcome, he doesn’t trust them yet, and is still smarting from the last time he thought he’d found a forever home. His new situation sours further when, during Coal’s trek to make a chalk memorial of Allana Hastings, a Black woman killed by law enforcement, he’s threatened at gunpoint and chased by police—and the only reason he escapes is by inexplicably turning invisible. After confiding in his best friend, the boys decide to investigate Coal’s newfound powers. Could their existence be linked to his absent family? And what role does the mysterious company Mirror Tech Industries play in all this? Baptiste (Jumbies) utilizes close third-person narration to sensitively explore Coal’s fears and frustrations surrounding his experiences in the foster care system as well as issues of racism, police brutality, and mental health. The inclusion of sympathetic and well-drawn supporting characters heightens the stakes of this tightly plotted sci-fi thriller. Most characters cue as Black or brown. Ages 10–up. Agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Oct.)