Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

In New York and Appalachia, a shy, gentle, Black boy must find a way to honor his gifts and his truths.Twelve-year-old Javari Harris, who is short for his age and has strabismus, lives with his family in Bushwick, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn. After the family returns home from a rally protesting the killing of an unarmed Black man by the police, they find a lease termination notice on their door, threatening what has been the family's home for three generations. The opportunity to spend two weeks in West Virginia at a STEM summer camp couldn't come at a better time for Javari: It offers relief from the pressures of home, particularly ongoing conflicts with his mother, who seems to project her fears about raising a Black son onto him. At camp, a mysterious interloper offers an unlikely friendship, an opportunity to learn about Appalachia beyond the confines of the camp, an education into the region's rich history and challenges, and growing self-awareness for Javari. Though surrounded by racially diverse campers, Javari cannot escape racism. Complex characters and authentic conversations, particularly between Javari and his former Amtrak porter grandfather, provide rich content for exploring the enduring trauma of White supremacy. Thoughtful explorations of issues such as corporate greed, the opioid crisis, water rights, and the little-known history of Affrilachians abound in this outstanding novel.An emotionally resonant narrative skillfully connecting the past, present, and future. (Fiction. 10-13)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 5 Up— In a life-changing summer, Javari, a shy Black talented math-whiz tween, travels from Brooklyn to attend Futureneers STEM Camp located at Appalachian Ridge Christian College in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia. Moore skillfully shapes an intimate portrait and immersive experience of the camp and the town beyond by telling the story from the perspective of Javari. Guided by Cricket, a local Appalachian age-peer, Javari achieves personal growth and an expanding understanding of the community. Moore addresses far-reaching issues such as the profound damage that coal mining creates over generations, police violence, opioid addiction, gentrification, overt racial discrimination, microaggressions, linguistic code switching, and more. Vivid characters, including minor players, provide a rich texture to the novel, exposing the ambiguities and complexities of human nature. Through interspersed brief episodes, Javari's deep connection with his family in Brooklyn and the pressures back at home create the connective tissue that binds the whole story. The serious exploration of weightier issues is balanced by humorous vignettes and summer outdoor adventures, including night hikes, magical secret swimming spots, music haunts, and lively community gatherings. The joy and resilience of two kids on the cusp of coming into their own when given the freedom to roam and discover their relationship to the world around them is a satisfying outcome, though there is no ultimate neat resolution. VERDICT A highly recommended important purchase for tween book collections everywhere; both timely and timeless.— Eva Thaler-Sroussi

ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)

Javari Harris, a 12-year-old Black boy, is short for his age, has strabismus (or crossed eyes), and is self-conscious about his appearance. He lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn with his younger sister, parents, and ailing grandfather. Their neighborhood is gentrifying, and there is police brutality. Javari has never missed school and loves math and the sciences. He is accepted to the summer STEM camp at Appalachian Ridge Christian College. As he leaves for camp, Javari's family gets an eviction notice. Javari, who hopes to help out, desperately wants to win the STEM prize money for best final project. Unfortunately, while at camp, Javari faces constant racism, including from a fellow teammate. He befriends a Black boy named Cricket, from whom he learns about the local culture and need for clean water. Told through Javari's first-person perspective, this gentle and informative story seamlessly weaves together topics of racism, white supremacy, and police brutality, and factors in the opioid crisis and environmental issues. Javari's voice combines humor, vulnerability, pain, and joy, creating a compelling and timely read.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Twelve-year-old Javari Harris "felt like I had landed on an alien world" upon arrival at STEM camp in Horsewhip Hollow, West Virginia. He's "a thousand miles from home" (Bushwick, Brooklyn) and facing two weeks at Appalachian Ridge Christian College. Gifted at math, he's one of the few Black students at the camp and has already experienced a racist encounter on day one. When he befriends Cricket, a local Black boy ("light-skinned, kinda gold, with brown freckles on his face and hazel-colored eyes"), Javari is introduced to a community of Black people -- Affrilachians -- who have lived in the mountains for generations. Moore (The Stars Beneath Our Feet, rev. 11/17) packs his narrative with themes of racism, wealth and privilege, environmental degradation, opioid addiction, homelessness, and cancer, and he carries it all off with well-rounded characters, lively dialogue and action, and often beautiful sensory prose: "A hundred, no thousands, of tiny yellow and orange lights were winking on and off... It was like being planted in the middle of a silent fireworks show."

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In New York and Appalachia, a shy, gentle, Black boy must find a way to honor his gifts and his truths.Twelve-year-old Javari Harris, who is short for his age and has strabismus, lives with his family in Bushwick, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn. After the family returns home from a rally protesting the killing of an unarmed Black man by the police, they find a lease termination notice on their door, threatening what has been the family's home for three generations. The opportunity to spend two weeks in West Virginia at a STEM summer camp couldn't come at a better time for Javari: It offers relief from the pressures of home, particularly ongoing conflicts with his mother, who seems to project her fears about raising a Black son onto him. At camp, a mysterious interloper offers an unlikely friendship, an opportunity to learn about Appalachia beyond the confines of the camp, an education into the region's rich history and challenges, and growing self-awareness for Javari. Though surrounded by racially diverse campers, Javari cannot escape racism. Complex characters and authentic conversations, particularly between Javari and his former Amtrak porter grandfather, provide rich content for exploring the enduring trauma of White supremacy. Thoughtful explorations of issues such as corporate greed, the opioid crisis, water rights, and the little-known history of Affrilachians abound in this outstanding novel.An emotionally resonant narrative skillfully connecting the past, present, and future. (Fiction. 10-13)

Publishers Weekly (Wed Oct 30 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Moore (The Stars Beneath Our Feet) covers timely social issues in this richly wrought fish-out-of-water story that takes a 12-year-old Brooklynite gamer to Appalachia. After Javari Harris’s family returns from protesting a local event of police brutality, an eviction notice all but seals the family’s ejection from their long-term home in rapidly gentrifying Bushwick. The opportunity to attend a STEM camp at a West Virginia Christian college becomes more appealing when Javari sees an opportunity to win the camp competition’s cash prize and help with back rent. Upon arrival, quiet Javari—who doesn’t like meeting new people and has an unspecified eye condition—meets an assortment of richly limned characters. But it’s Cricket, a light-skinned Black 13-year-old local, who impacts his summer most significantly. Between experiencing Affrilachian culture alongside Cricket and navigating racism at the ethnically diverse camp, Javari encounters ways in which the region’s history intersects with his own. Relational segments engage with Javari’s former Amtrak porter grandfather and the Appalachian town’s local residents, interweaving realities around colorism and racism, corporate ethics and pollution, generational trauma, and opioids in a complex novel that effectively highlights how long-standing histories can connect and divide. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)