The Dollar Kids

June 18, 2018
Jacobson (Paper Things) confronts loss and new beginnings in this potent and affirming novel. Lowen, a promising 11-year-old cartoonist, blames himself for the death of his friend Abe, who was killed in a convenience store shooting. When a former mill town offers dilapidated homes for one dollar, Abe sees the change of address as a perfect escape from the city and his guilt, and his family pins their hopes on the move. In the new town, Lowen’s British mother attempts to launch a Cornish pasty shop, and the whole family pitches in to make required repairs on their home. The narrative effectively portrays the clash between the family’s big dreams and the grim reality of the house, as well as tensions and resentments between the “dollar families” and the town residents. Jacobson memorably sketches Lowen’s family dynamics, particularly his complicated relationship with his older brother, and his journey offers a compelling portrait of community and rebirth. Andrews’s comics panels, which appear at several key intervals in the text, offer further insight into Lowen’s struggles, particularly his grief over Abe’s death. Ages 10–14.

July 15, 2018
A family relocates to a former mill town, lured by the opportunity to reset their lives by starting a business and purchasing a run-down house for $1.Budding middle school artist Lowen Grover is still full of grief and guilt over the random shooting of a friend when his family agrees to apply to an experimental program sponsored by the small, declining factory town of Millville. In exchange for a handful of dilapidated homes offered to young families for practically nothing, the town gets to add new students to their school and sports activities and new businesses to their economic base. Lowen, his siblings, and the cohort of other newcomers come to be known as "the Dollar Kids," as some of the Millvillian residents see them as impoverished "moochers." The Grovers are white, while Lowen's new friend, Sami, is Indian-American, and his minor love interest, Luna, is Latina. Jacobson insightfully examines the dynamics of small-town life and strategies for revitalization as well as the landscape of Lowen's complex grief and survivor's guilt. The story incorporates Lowen's graphic-novel panels contemplating his feelings about his deceased friend, Abe, whom he calls "the unseen force," including ecumenical references to heaven and hell. The story kicks into its rightful pace by midbook.A rich, thoughtful exploration of individual and community resilience. (Fiction. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2019
After the shooting death of his best friend, eleven-year-old aspiring cartooonist Lowen Grover ("his" comics are interspersed) convinces his family to move to Milltown. Hoping for revitalization, the down-on-its-luck town is giving away homes for one dollar, which proves too good to be true. Facing myriad financial and social challenges, the Grovers persevere in this emotionally resonant family drama featuring a diverse cast of likable characters.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from August 1, 2018

Gr 5-8-After the shooting death of his best friend, Lowen's family decides to move to a struggling town where they are selling houses for a dollar. Unfortunately, though dirt cheap, the houses are in terrible condition, and the townspeople treat the new residents as charity cases and are openly hostile. Meanwhile, Lowen tries to process his grief through the comic strips he draws, which are sprinkled throughout. He also helps his family work on repairs to bring their house up to the town's standards, helps support his mother's new business, and adjusts to his new school. At play in this book are a number of overlapping social issues: loss of manufacturing jobs, class divides, racial divides (many of the "dollar families" are the town's only non-white residents), and gun violence. Without resorting to stereotypes, Jacobson creates a rich cast of characters who are realistic and complex. The prose flows naturally and the pacing is swift. While not every question is answered and not every character becomes friends, the ending is a satisfying and emotional one. VERDICT A skillfully written and heartfelt novel about a family making a new home, recovering from grief, and the town full of people who join them on their journey.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.