The Blue Wings, a realistic-fiction novel by Jef Aerts, centers around a boy named Josh and his older brother Jadran. Jadran has a cognitive condition that presents itself in the form of obsessive thoughts and outbursts, which are sometimes violent, so his mom relies on Josh to take care of him. At Jadran’s school, The Space, his teachers tell him that he can do anything he sets his mind to, so when he and Josh find an injured crane that had been left behind by its family, Jadran is determined to teach it to fly and get back home to its family at any cost. As you follow the story, you get to see Josh’s and Jadran’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the close bond between them. Josh and Jadran share a very interesting relationship, because although Josh is Jadran’s little brother, younger than Jadran by five years, he still treats Jadran like his little brother, and Jadran treats Josh like an older brother. Josh keeps Jadran out of trouble, he humors Jadran and his sometimes irrational ideas, and in general, makes sure Jadran has the perfect balance between fun and safety in his life. Josh’s mom puts it perfectly when she says “ ‘You’re his guardian angel’, ” to Josh. Josh will go extremely far to ensure Jadran’s happiness. Although he doesn’t want to, he finds bugs to feed the crane, he makes sure the crane’s injured wing is healing properly, and he helps Jadran take care of the crane. When Jadran wants to teach the crane how to fly, Josh helps him, even once it becomes risky. And when Jadran and Josh face a daunting challenge, Josh agrees to help Jadran carry out his spur-of-the-moment, vague plan, although it suddenly seems impossible to accomplish. Josh loves his brother, but he also often feels exasperated and even nervous around Jadran. At one point, Josh thinks to himself, “ ‘Jadran can’t explode. Not here, not three stories above the ground.’ ” He is scared that Jadran will get angry and he’ll throw a fit, which would be very dangerous that high up. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The plot is unique and intriguing, complete with compelling characters that are vividly brought to life for a one-of-a-kind moving read. Through Josh’s eyes, Jef Aerts immerses you in a tale of brotherhood, friendship, and family you will never forget. Fans of Wonder and A Mango-Shaped Space will relish The Blue Wings. The Blue Wings by Jef Aerts. Levine Querido, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Young Bloggers
Together, a poem by Ethan Van, 10
Ethan Van, 10Irvine, CA Together Ethan Van, 10 Talking together. Chatting together. Homework together. Playing together. Running together. Left school. Can’t go outside. Talking no more. Chatting no more. Homework no more. Playing no more. Running no more. Or… Video calls. Distance chatting. Wired homework. Playing online. Running inside. Figured out ways, To stay Together.
Back to School in the Pandemic
“You must be…” the principal said. Through my nervousness I said, “Lauren,” even though my friends at my old school knew me as Eunice. Seems to me that I still can’t believe I just moved to Chicago from my life in California. It was my second time moving to a whole new place, and I had mixed feelings about it. This was all so sudden: me, going to a new school and starting as a sixth grader. The way people looked at me and the tall glass building where kids were pouring in—I was excited, nervous, and happy. I took a glimpse at my schedule, smiled at the girl standing next to me, and walked into the building with my feet heavy as a house. As soon as I walked to my homeroom, I started to regret being so confident. I saw my teacher and gave a nervous look. She told me to sit down and I obeyed her without a second thought. Then a girl looked at the girl behind me and shouted, “Hey! Wanna hang out after school today?” The girl behind me simply nodded and smiled. I wished I was the girl behind me. I wished I wasn’t feeling so nervous and the butterflies would calm down. Our teacher gave a short simple look at each and one of us and she told us to write down our schedule. Our teacher had short brown hair with a T-shirt and shorts. Sporty look. I wrote down my schedule and tried to look at the bright side. A few weeks passed by and I started to get used to the school. The classes, my friends, and even the system. It was hard and itchy when I wore my white mask to school for seven hours straight. Even though we had breaks, it wasn’t long enough. I also hated that I have to stay six feet away from each other. I wish I could hug my friends, be near them, and even share food with them. Here comes the worst part of all: lunch time. Usually, lunch would be full of dancing, gossiping, laughing, playing, or reading: without a mask. But now, lunch is like, “You eat fast, and put your mask on!” It’s the worst. Masks hurt, make your breath slow, and make my glasses fog up. I miss the old days when I would sit inches away from my best friend, gossiping about boys. It seems like it’s never going to happen again, never. Even though it’s really hard to be in-person and get used to everything, I would rather risk my life than do remote learning. I’ve done remote learning before. It was the worst. Okay, I have to admit that I was being a bit lazy about my work when we started to do remote learning in March. But there were other difficulties like poor connection, not being able to see and understand clearly, or even make any friends. My friends do remote learning and they said that they miss the old days–when they played with their friends. I, for one, feel thankful that I am going in-person. There were a handful of kids who were in remote learning who didn’t understand how to do their work so they nearly didn’t do anything for class. Also, when it comes to friends, once again, I am thankful. I made a bunch of friends. They are nice, kind, and friendly. I think that if I was in remote learning, I wouldn’t even know them by now. And I would have felt absolutely lonely. So, maybe, I am lucky that I am in-person after all. Right now, we have remote students and in-person students. Maybe friends are separated from seeing each other and I miss my old lunch time when I would gossip, hug each other, and share sweets! I think that when Covid-19 is over, I can be inches apart from my friend sharing sweets and gossiping about boys and girls, and I would even hug her when we meet each other in school or before leaving school. And most importantly, I wouldn’t have to sanitize every period or even wear the itchy, white, disgusting mask. I would probably get to see a smile on everyone’s face and I think I would be glad to see it. Even outside of school, I would probably get to travel with my friends and I hope for that day to come even if it would take 10 years for it to be over.
