Control Freaks

A driven Black middle schooler attending Denver’s prestigious Benjamin Banneker College Prep must become a team player in Thomas’s debut, a witty competition drama. Frederick Douglass Zezzmer has a 57-step plan to become the World’s Greatest Inventor, but Doug’s birth father—a former Denver Broncos player who recently reentered his life—has a different vision for him: attending the Elite Juniors sports camp. Doug believes that participating in, and winning, a weeklong STEAM and sports tournament will persuade his father into letting Doug pursue his own dreams. But to succeed, Doug must collaborate with classmates from varying disciplines, including art and athletics, something that forces him out of his comfort zone and challenges him in new ways. As Doug navigates budding friendships, dynamic rivalries, and tense familial relationships, he realizes that he doesn’t have to do everything on his own, and that not everyone is as they seem. By utilizing multiple POVs, including that of Doug’s stepbrother, Thomas lays the groundwork for a telling that prioritizes characters’ interiority as well as their impact on each other’s lives. While Doug’s determined voice is the primary focus, the rotating narratives showcase each of the racially diverse characters’ individual stressors, delivering a well-rounded accounting that is better for its multiplicity. Ages 8–12. (June)