Middle school is rough for Max, who is the tallest kid in class and fields misunderstandings resulting from his ADHD. But it gets so much worse when his best friends, Joey and Will, stop talking to him, Will because he's in a coma and Joey for reasons yet unknown. How did they get to this point? Max, Joey, and Will he Three Brosters" nt into the woods one morning before school, and the last thing Max remembers is running away from something scary and leaving his friends behind. With the help of his sleuthing classmate and budding journalist Sam, the duo dives into the mystery of that night. The more they dig, the more things unravel until finally revealing the startling truth of how Will ended up in the hospital and who was responsible. Conklin expertly portrays Max's challenges, diving deeply into what it means to be accountable and not to carry guilt that isn't yours to own. Middle-grade realistic fiction and mystery lovers will gobble this one up.

Max is not in a good place at the beginning of sixth grade: his ADHD makes school a challenge; a recent growth spurt causes people to think he's an adult instead of an eleven-year-old; and -- thanks to an incident no one wants to talk about -- one of his friends is in a coma, and the others are avoiding him. Max worries that he's to blame for the injury that landed Will in the hospital, but as he starts to remember more about that night in the woods, he realizes someone is covering up the truth. With the help of his new friend Samantha, an aspiring journalist, Max follows clues to figure out what really happened. Max's life is also upended by a visit from his uncle Cal, a woodworker who lives out of his van. The two bond as Max helps Cal build a display case for Samantha's family's bakery, and Max gradually realizes that he might not be the only family member with ADHD -- and that his neurotypical sister and parents aren't as perfect as they seem. The mystery is pitched just right for a middle-grade audience, with high stakes and plausible developments. The plot is well paced, with a good balance between chasing down clues and moments of introspection. Max's ADHD is a constant presence, but one that doesn't overwhelm the story, and the book's many flawed but well-meaning adults add depth to the tween-driven action. Sarah Rettger

If only Max could remember the night that left his best friend in a coma.Max, an 11-year-old who's almost 6 feet tall, doesn't know how Will, one of his best friends, ended up unconscious by the side of the road-but it's probably his own fault. If only he hadn't encouraged Will to go into the nature preserve with Max and Joey! If only Max hadn't run away! It must be his fault, because Joey won't even speak to him now. Even before Will's injury, Max had been having a rough time coping with his newly diagnosed ADHD and the recent growth spurt that left adults unfairly treating him like an aggressor. Now he has a detective asking him questions, Joey's older brother making veiled threats, and his mom fighting with his weird-but-awesome Uncle Cal. With the help of budding student journalist Samantha, Max tries to solve the mystery of Will's injury. Luckily, he has an assist from the ADHD–management techniques he's learning from his insightful therapist: anger management, apologizing, emoting, exercise, and not procrastinating. While the novel, whose main characters are White, sometimes wobbles between "whodunit starring a neurodiverse detective" and "therapeutic book about ADHD against the backdrop of an ostensible mystery," the rising danger to Max keeps the story gripping.Mystery and just a little peril make an absorbing vehicle for an exploration of ADHD. (Mystery. 9-12)