The Ballad of a Broken Nose by Arne Svingen (review)

Bart Norum’s calm demeanor and good nature have most of his acquaintances fooled, but he’s masking a world of hurt and uncertainty—living in a drug-infested apartment building, unsure of when his alcoholic mother will come up with a paycheck or his next meal, and pondering whether finding his long-lost father would make a positive difference in his life. In the meantime he controls what he can, taking boxing lessons at his mother’s bequest (and someday he might even get up the gumption to throw a punch) and singing to himself in his best operatic voice, emulating his idol, Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel. Classmate Ava takes a sudden interest and plows right into his life, offering him friendship and a bit of hope, but also spreading the word of his situation among their peers and putting the pressure on him to sing at the end-of-year talent show. Unfortunately, every time he tries to sing before another living soul, he balks and croaks. As he musters the nerve to take a swing at a bullying classmate, to organize a building-wide cleanup, to pay a surprise visit to Terfel, and to possibly locate his father, maybe singing for an audience no longer looks like an impossible dream. Only a couple of fleeting references clue readers to the Norwegian setting, and American kids who miss them are unlikely to suspect they are anywhere other than in Middle School, USA. Rooting for a genuinely good kid is universal, and readers will warm to Bart’s quirkiness even as they cheer his well-earned success.