Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff (review)

When Albie isn’t able to keep his grades up at his prestigious prep school despite his best efforts, he has to leave his fifth-grade classroom and his best pal Erlan to attend local public school. Despite Albie’s parents’ insistence that he just isn’t working hard enough and his Korean grandfather’s belittling, however, his new nanny, Calista, believes in his ability to do well,. The new school turns out to be a good fit, with an understanding teacher for math club, chances to read Captain Underpants, and new friend in Betsy, who gets teased for her stutter. With his upcoming appearance in a reality show featuring Erlan’s family, Albie gets a brief pass into the cool kids’ clique at school and drops Betsy, but he’s quickly abandoned by his fair-weather friends after his bit in the show gets cut. Calista gets sacked by his parents for allowing Albie to stay home to avoid dealing with the fallout, and he’s left to mend relationships with his parents, Erlan, and Betsy on his own. Graff (The Thing about Georgie, BCCB 4/07) again draws on her ability to create rich lifeworlds for her characters to present a boy who is gifted in many ways—just not the ways that people around him value—and who is just beginning to realize that the adults in his life are fallible. Though Albie’s difficulties in school aren’t completely explained (his difficulty with social cues and love of detailed rules possibly place him on the spectrum), it’s a realistic portrait for kids with learning difficulties. As with Sloan’s Counting by 7s (BCCB 9/13), this is a sharp portrait of an outsider’s inner perspective, and Albie’s coming to terms with himself will be cheered by many.