The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Philomel Books
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy, Poetry
ISBN: 978-0399172892
Source: Library (Will Buy My Copy Soon!)
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When your only friend is your own endless imagination, how do you escape your mind and connect to the world around you?

With parents too busy to pay her attention, an older brother and sister who would rather spend their time with friends, and peers who oscillate between picking on her and simply ignoring her, it’s no wonder that Fain spends most of her time in a world of her own making. During the day, Fain takes solace in crafting her own fantastical adventures in writing, but in the darkness of night, these adventures come to life as Fain lives and breathes alongside a legion of imaginary creatures. Whether floating through space or under the sea, climbing mountains or traipsing through forests, Fain becomes queen beyond–and in spite of–the walls of her bedroom.

In time, Fain begins to see possibilities and friendships emerge in her day-to-day reality . . . yet when she is let down by the one relationship she thought she could trust, Fain must decide: remain queen of the imaginary creatures, or risk the pain that comes with opening herself up to the fragile connections that exist only in the real world? Told in breathless and visual verse, THE LONELY ONES takes readers through the intricate inner workings of a girl who struggles to navigate isolation and finds friendship where she least expects it.

***

The Lonely Ones was magnificent. It hit me right at the center of my heart and spread all over just as quickly and deeply as I anticipated it would. This is Kelsey Sutton’s first middle grade novel and first novel in verse and she has done such a phenomenal job with her words, with her youngest protagonist to date.

She captures the truth so well, those feelings we have when we’re so young which often times never goes away as we grow older and she captures so wonderfully this moment in time when we first come to face certain realities, when and how we cope with what’s not real in order to get to the height of what is.

I loved following Fain’s journey; her home life, her school life, her life of loneliness and coping and hope and growing was so beautiful. So compelling and engaging in every way, this book will stay with you long after reading.

I loved that in so few words there’s so much complexity that shines through in the dynamics of child and parent of siblings of child and monsters…of peers in school, all strangers, really, even though we often spend more time with them than our own families. The new boy, the mean girl, the distant neighbor. All of these dynamics, the cause and effect of all of these three dimensional, realistic, raw relationships simply existing and revolving in the world, in Fain’s world brought such a tug to my heart and I know it will do the same for you.

This book spoke to me on so many different levels. For me, this book was a collection of affirmations on silence and listening, on being invisible and making a mark in this world, on knowing people and the disappointment in realizing we didn’t know them all along or they didn’t know us, on finding wonder and relishing in that place where nothing and no one can touch you or bring you down, on finding wholeness and peace in the most unexpected places.

The Lonely Ones is so rich in all that it captures on every page, in every line. It’s so vivid and true. The reality and the fantasy. It was such a delight, such a comfort reading these words of a lonely one knowing that grade school me wasn’t alone, that I’m not alone, that I never was. What a painful yet equally settling experience.

I knew that I would enjoy this as I have loved Kelsey’s previous work before. Her writing is so gorgeous. Her stories, so heart deep. Yet again, I must say that this latest work is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. A must read, I say. Pick this up at your local book store, request it at your library, put it in your online shopping cart, get this book in your hands and be prepare to be blown away.

Favorite Chapters
Noticed
Freak
Stories
Perishable
The Lonely Ones
Strings and Cans
Warrior
The Rink

 

The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton is available today.