Words Apart

Word-obsessed 11-year-old Olive Spitz describes her 13-year-old artist sister Mattie as her sororal twin; they have no friends but each other. Because Mattie repeated kindergarten, the siblings have long been in the same class, and now navigate sixth grade together. But their relationship begins to fracture when Mattie—who often endures bullying about her intelligence and love for art—warns overly trusting Olive to stay away from Olive’s crush, Max Tucker, and his newspaper crew (“If no one can see you, Olive/ then no one can laugh at you!”). Simultaneously, Mattie’s poor grades imperil her attending a much-anticipated summer art program, and life at home feels incomplete with the girls’ father away on weekdays at a new job. Short chapters by Lucido (Recipe for Disaster) make for a swift read, particularly as tensions at school and home mount. Olive’s sections open with dictionary definitions and detail her emotional strife in verse, while Mattie’s are rendered by the Corcutts (Too Much Clatter) via simple grayscale comics reminiscent of Raina Telgemeier’s work. Olive and Mattie’s skin tones match the white of the page. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrators’ agent: Georgia Tournay, Bright Agency. (Sept.)