Eric G., South River High School
This story follows seventh grader Ross Maloy who is diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer, causing Ross’s eye to close in a permanent wink and requiring him to constantly wear a cowboy hat to protect his eyes. The story revolves around Ross’s anger and frustration with his struggles and with kids making hurtful memes about him and with the feeling of abandonment by his best friend Isacc. Eventually Ross learns to channel his anger into learning how to play guitar, hoping to prove himself at the school’s talent show and meeting an important mentor character in his teacher and fellow cancer patient Jerry.
In my opinion, Wink is both a funny and well written novel similar to Wonder by RJ Palacio. The anger and frustration expressed by Ross feels very realistic and moving. This may be in part because the book is semi-autobiographical as the author suffered the same cancer as Ross. I will say that the story follows the many clichés and tropes expressed in other books of this type, with their being a misguided bully, a punk, and a popular romantic interest. However, I do not feel that it takes away from the book and the message it is trying to send. I would recommend this book to the middle grade range.
Click here to check out Wink by Rob Harrell.