Making Plans for Nigel Binty

Two middle schoolers coping with the unexpected find comfort in each other’s presence in this uplifting novel from Stout (Anatomy of Lost Things). Upon starting sixth grade, Nigel Binty and his best friend, Milo Birch, pledged to stick together no matter what. But now Milo is hanging out with the popular boys, who love to tease and harass quiet, anxious Nigel. On top of that, Nigel’s parents have separated, and his father has moved out. Meanwhile, new student Glory Bea Medford recently moved from Tennessee to Maryland to live with her aunt Pauline, who suggests that Glory Bea keep a journal, which the tween uses to record her observations and process her emotions. Despite her determination to keep her past a secret, as she grows closer to Nigel—whom she initially describes in her journal as “helpless”—she begins opening up about her history. Nigel is thrilled to have made a new friend, until a personal betrayal jeopardizes the pair’s relationship. Chapters alternate between Nigel’s measured, close third-person narration and Glory Bea’s journal entries, rendered in vibrant prose, sometimes as letters addressed to her absent father. Nigel’s anxiety and Glory Bea’s turbulent past are empathetically portrayed in this warm reflection on the power—and responsibility—of having and being a good friend. Main characters read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kristin Ostby, Salky Literary Management. (Feb.)