  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 02/01/2018 It’s a bold step when 11-year-old Ben, reeling from the news that his parents plan to divorce, asks 12-year-old Charlotte if they can talk on the phone sometimes. Friendly rivals in an online Scrabble game for several months, they’ve never met and don’t realize what they have in common: each is intellectually gifted, lonely, and suddenly coping with troubles (Ben’s parents’ divorce and his ill-fated run for student council; Charlotte’s father’s heart attack, as well as rejection by her best friend). The story’s momentum never falters as, chapter by chapter, the disarming third-person text shuttles between Charlotte’s story, set in Pennsylvania, and Ben’s in Louisiana. Those phone conversations? Though realistically awkward and anything but candid, they still provide a lifeline for two vulnerable kids feeling suddenly adrift and alone. Each story develops independently over six days, but the link between the two main characters becomes a subtle bond that enables each one to make it through an emotionally challenging week and come out stronger. Readers drawn by the intriguing jacket art will enjoy the novel’s perceptive dual narrative. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. Loading...
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