The Art of Saving the World

July 15, 2020
Hazel Stanczak is tasked with saving the world, but she's not alone. Hazel has always been stuck in place, unable to leave home due to a strange link to an interdimensional rift. Then, on her 16th birthday, the rift spits out copies of her. The Powers That Be have chosen her to save the world from an unknown threat. Accompanied by her doppelg�ngers and the almost-clich�d sarcastic dragon Neven, Hazel struggles with a deck that's been stacked against her. All the while she is faced with the question of her own identity and worth in the face of so many duplicate versions of herself. Queer issues, mental health, and race are all discussed through Hazel's lens of an anxious, questioning, White teen. Multiple characters of color show up, both in important roles, such as Hazel's biracial half sister, Carolyn, and Chinese adoptive father, and as background characters, like some of Hazel's classmates. The representation of mental health issues is at times so painfully accurate that the novel becomes difficult to read but at the same time, impossible to put down. Refreshingly, Duyvis finds time to discuss painful periods and what an endometriosis diagnosis means for a teenager. A midnovel twist takes the standard chosen-one plot formula and tips it on its head, then wrings what's left for all the angst and existential crises it's worth. A compelling narrative based around the subversion of generic fantasy and science fiction fodder. (Science fiction. 15-18)

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August 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 On her sixteenth birthday, Hazel is ripped away from her party and tasked with saving the world?along with three other versions of herself, who appear through the interdimensional rift near her home. Since her birth, she has needed to stay near the rift to keep it from causing chaos in the universe. Now, shy, anxious Hazel must team up with Red-Dress Hazel, Rainbow Hazel, and Hazel Four to learn more about her connection to the rift and how to close it?if she even should. With the help of an interdimensional dragon, they discover what saving the world actually means and whether or not they can trust the government agents who have been keeping Hazel within her bubble all these years. While the plot and world building sometimes suffer, Duyvis' rich, layered character development?grounded in Hazel's raw, first-person perspective?offers an authentic exploration of questioning sexuality and asexuality, what makes us who we are, and what our responsibilities are to ourselves and to others.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-A fantasy adventure blended with a coming-of-age story. Hazel Stanczak, who is white, has never left her small Pennsylvania town due to the interdimensional rift that appeared near her home the day she was born. She struggles with finding herself and questions her sexuality. On her 16th birthday, everything changes when Hazel is called to save the world from an apparent apocalypse. Hazel is joined by other versions of herself with varying character traits from different dimensions, and is forced to overcome her fears by exploring her world and the various versions of her personality, all while closing this rift. Along the way, Hazel and her doppelg�ngers, along with a team of government researchers and a wise old dragon, battle trolls, defy authority, and believe they can save the world. Throughout the story, Hazel grows from an insecure teen to a confident hero, more comfortable in her own skin and in expressing herself. The main characters are unique and empowering, and sure to entertain. Duyvis is a cofounder of the website Disability in Kidlit and the creator of the #OwnVoices hashtag. VERDICT This is a fast-paced adventure story with the perfect mix of fantasy and coming-of-age realistic fiction.-Christina Pesiri, Island Trees H.S., Levittown, NY

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 7, 2020
For the past 16 years, Hazel Stanczak has been tied to the interdimensional rift that materialized on her family’s farm in West Asherton, Pa., when she was born, restricting her movements to a mile-and-a-half radius lest the rift spit out anomalies. Under strict government control, she’s unable to experience normality. But then the rift “ loose” and “ away.” In its wake, Hazel encounters alternate-dimension “skewed versions” of herself, plus an exasperated dragon named Neven, who says that Hazel has been chosen to save the world, with her other selves as “last-minute support.” Now the Hazels must defeat the dangerous forces unleashed by the rift and thwart destiny, since to succeed, a specific Hazel must die. Duyvis (On the Edge of the World) subverts the Chosen One trope, with a hero thoroughly unprepared for her
burden. Hazel’s depiction as an anxious, sheltered protagonist is expanded by the other Hazels’ reflections of her personality. One is “gay as Hell,” allowing the original Hazel to realize her nascent asexuality, while another, who has endometriosis, represents a real-world alternative. Though the plot and cast feel overstuffed, the story
offers a provocative, genre-bending look at exploring identity. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary.