Forman, Gayle. Not Nothing. Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 08/2024. 269 [+10]pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-1-6659-4327-7. GRADES 5–8. ADDITIONAL.
Not Nothing explores the healing power of connection as Josey, a solitary 107-year-old Holocaust survivor, forges an unexpected bond with Alex, a twelve-year-old boy volunteering in his nursing home as part of a court-ordered mandate. As Josey shares his life story, Alex processes his own traumatic past; both are transformed as they come to understand the importance of compassion and forgiveness. Flowing seamlessly between past and present, Josey serves as omniscient narrator as he tells both his own story as well as Alex’s. While this gentle, consistent voice helps maintain a sense of flow and balance throughout the novel, Forman’s use of a highly educated older man as narrator gives a more mature tone to a book that may already be too advanced for younger readers. Young readers may also have difficulty relating to Alex and his friend Maya-Jade, who read more realistically as young high school students. Josey is an elderly Polish American Jewish man; Alex and his family read as white, although not explicitly identified. Forman employs a widely diverse cast of supporting characters in the present-day story to further her juxtaposition between the horrors of the Holocaust and the prejudices and difficulties faced by people of many different races, faiths, and identities today.
Jennifer Taylor—Palo Alto City Library