MMGM: Squint by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown
ABOUT THE BOOK
Flint loves to draw. In fact, he’s furiously trying to finish his comic book so he can be the youngest winner of the “Find a Comic Star” contest. He’s also rushing to finish because he has keratoconus—an eye disease that could eventually make him blind.
McKell is the new girl at school and immediately hangs with the popular kids. Except McKell’s not a fan of the way her friends treat this boy named Squint. He seems nice and really talented. He draws awesome pictures of superheroes. McKell wants to get to know him, but is it worth the risk? What if her friends catch her hanging with the kid who squints all the time?
McKell has a hidden talent of her own but doesn’t share it for fear of being judged. Her terminally ill brother, Danny, challenges McKell to share her love of poetry and songwriting. Flint seems like someone she could trust. Someone who would never laugh at her. Someone who is as good and brave as the superhero in Flint’s comic book named Squint.
Squint is the inspiring story of two new friends dealing with their own challenges, who learn to trust each other, believe in themselves, and begin to truly see what matters most.
REVIEW
With all the nastiness in the world today, it's refreshing to read a story that focuses on kindness, compassion, and friendship. Flint, isn't comfortable around people, mostly because he can't see them very well and it's hard to read people you can't see well. Plus, he's obsessed with the comic book he is creating to enter in a contest. When McKell, one of the popular crowd, sits with him at lunch one day, he isn't sure what to think. He wonders if it's a joke or if she's there to make fun of him like the rest of her friends do. But it turns out she's there as a result of a YouTube challenge issued by her brother. But neither Flint nor McKell is sure if they can trust the other, McKell hides her visits with Flint, and Flint doesn't know how to respond. But as the two continue to spend time together, they start to see the real in each other. And as difficulties come, their friendship may be the one thing that gets them through it. I'll admit, this one brought tears to my eyes. The struggles of the two main characters are touching, and their relationship struggles as their relationship develops led to feelings of empathy from me. The story feels real in the uncertainties and worries that Flint and McKell must face and in the strengths and weaknesses of all the characters. There is a refreshing amount of depth here that many contemporary stories lack.
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