Isaiah Dunn is my Hero by Kelly J. Baptist - ADVISABLE

Isaiah Dunn is my Hero by Kelly J. Baptist, 191 pages. Crown (Random House), August 2020.  $17.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Isaiah Dunn, 10yo, his little sister, Charlie, and their Mom, are barely holding on.  Since Dad dies a few months ago, they live in a month to month apartment. And now Mama seems to be drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Isaiah is working with his best friend, Sneaky on a side hustle – but involves sneaking into gang territory and maybe getting into trouble at school.  He finds an after school job sweeping at a local barbershop.  But the only thing really holding Isaiah together is reading his dad’s notebooks, where he recorded his thoughts and his stories.

Baptist’s first short story about Isaiah Dunn is in the Flying Lessons story collection from #weneeddivesebooks. The death of a parent is hard enough for a child or spouse – but watching Isaiah’s safety net disappear is hard to read.  Luckily there are a few safety nets that might be able to catch this particular family.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS