About the Book:
Fourteen-year-old Kirby Renton is a gifted theatre kid who wants to fix things: his dads’ marriage, his younger brother’s epilepsy. When ten-year-old Baxter’s seizures start involving visits from “the lightning people,” who descend from the sky and show him strange symbols, Kirby knows he needs to protect his brother, but how? He thinks he’s found the answer when the neurologist advises his family to consider a seizure-alert dog, but the cost is too much for his family to afford.
Determined to raise the money himself, Kirby enlists his best friends and a crew of brilliant teens from his theatre troupe to put on a play in his epic forest of a backyard. At first, the play brings its own pressures as the drama between Kirby’s dads worsens and his fears for his brother intensify. But little does Kirby know of the magic that awaits him and his friends-and the portals that will open-from his daring to make a difference.
From the award-winning author of Alice the Cat comes another intriguing tale set in the fictional town of Weirville, where more strange magic transforms the lives of the inimitable teens who live there.
*Review Contributed by Rachel Feeck, Staff Reviewer*
Eerie, heartfelt, mystical, and effortlessly modern, The Lightning People Play presents the struggle of family strife, the emotions of medical uncertainty, and the power of passion for a cause, infused with the author’s extensive experience in the theatre space. Summed up, the plot seems simple – Kirby Renton, high-schooler-to-be, rallies his theatre community to raise funds for a support dog to help with his younger brother’s epilepsy. Yet it’s everything that comes with it that makes this novel feel fully real and relatable, like Dad’s struggle to be there emotionally while dealing with his own problems, or the way it’s terrifying as a kid (or as an adult) to be confronted with a friend or family member’s medical condition that you can’t do anything to help.
Kirby, as the main narrator, give the story a strong voice. He’s casual, honest, and full of slang and pop references that sounds straight out of the mouth of your average kid down the street (can’t say I understood them all, but that’s certainly realistic). Kirby is generally a thoughtful, responsible older sibling, but some of the way he speaks (example, consistently referring to the neurologist as the doctor-of-the-brain) reminds us that he’s yet to enter high school, and overall the story feels comfortably early YA, or upper middle grade for readers who can handle heavy topics.
Of course, everything to do with theatre is a highlight. Kirby and co spend their summer not only acting on stage, but studying scripts, understanding the technique/impact of different texts, and developing their craft. There’s generally a cheering amount of support for Kirby’s project, and it’s an encouraging reminder of how an individual or group can use their skills to achieve something that seemed out of reach (in this case, getting a specialized dog).
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