Sweet and meaningful. ( )

diverse children's middlegrade fiction (magical realism, 10/11-year old boy who likes boys in South Carolina #ownvoices). The trauma of the death of his mother (cancer) leads Riley to believe she is still out there, and that the Whispers (will-o-the-wisps) can help him find her and bring her back.
He makes friends along the way with Dylan, an older boy whose abusive father has caused him to run away, and a grizzly outcast that lives in the woods away from the townsfolk (who believe him responsible for a small boy's disappearance many years ago), and also comes to terms with his own self (when he suddenly remembers that his mom didn't die because he is queer, that she told him she loved him unconditionally).

nice vocab sprinkled throughout--the 'word of the day' calendar was something he used to do with his mom. ( )

Riley, the main character of the story believes in this fairy tale known as whispers from these magical fairies, in the story we found out that they also grant wishes if you give them tributes. Riley makes wishes in the story to stop being bullied, wishes his crush liked him, and wishes he would stop wetting the bed, and for his mom to come home who disappeared. As riley starts to want to investigate further what is going on and where his mother is he takes matters into his own hands and embarks on a journey to figure this out. In doing this his life changes forever. This book is a good book to implement into an ELAR classroom because one it is a chapter book that it is a good read, but it also is very relatable for the students. Students go through bullying, wanting their crush to like them, and wish weird things like wetting the bed won’t happen to them. This is a fun read and would be very relatable for any 4-8 student. ( )

Everyone should read this novel. It’s a beautiful story about Riley, a young boy whose Mama has gone missing. He remembers a story about the whispers that his mama told him and sets out to find them, and hopefully her.

I won’t spoil the lot for you. This should be read with an open heart and the imagination of an 11 year old (which I think is hidden in all of us)

Thank you for sharing your hear with us Greg Howard. ( )

Riley’s Mama has gone missing for four months. God hasn’t answered his prayers to find her and Frank the detective is useless in his investigation. Riley grew up on Mama’s stories about the Whispers, fairy-like creatures that grant the heart’s desires. He believes that if he can find the Whispers, they will help him find Mama. Unwinds as a bit of a mystery, the reader is caught up in wondering what really happened. Riley turns out to be an unreliable narrator because of his trauma. Riley’s voice is folksy, southern, humorous, lulls the reader into his friendliness. ( )