NOT NOTHING by Gayle Forman
Alex did a very bad thing. Because of that bad thing, he must complete volunteer hours at Shady Glen Retirement Home, which he is not happy about. On his first day, he is assigned to work with Mya-Jade, a bossy (according to Alex) volunteer and granddaughter of a resident. During one of his meal deliveries, he visits Josey Kravitz, a 107-year old Holocaust survivor who has stopped speaking. As he leaves the room, he accidentally knocks over an oil portrait of a woman. The old man speaks for the first time in a long time to tell the boy her name. This act sets the stage for Gayle Forman’s newest novel Not Nothing and changes Alex’s life.
Readers don’t know what the “bad thing” is that Alex did, and that’s intentional. Readers are left to come to their own conclusions about the type of person Alex is and could be, and the human capacity for change and growth. In spite of this, Alex feels like an authentic tween rather than a vessel in which the author can impart a lesson to her readers.
Alex is only twelve years old, and has experienced significant challenges. His mom has mental health struggles, and the two never stay in one place for long. He is a smart kid, but the constant moves mean that he falls behind in school. He used to try and make friends, but he gave up on that, too. When his mom is hospitalized, Alex is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who seem annoyed with and burdened by his presence. Coupled with the pending court date for the bad thing he did, Alex feels lost, scared, and angry.
He’s resistant to well-meaning but impersonal efforts by an ever-changing collection of adults to provide him with opportunities (a word he hates, by the way). But Alex still has hope. He wants what any kid–any human–wants: acceptance, love, belonging. He is also aware of the reputation he has, which makes it hard to open up and make new friends. Will their feelings about him change when they find out what he did? The relationship he builds with Mr. Kravitz changes things. The older man, perhaps sensing something in Alex, begins to tell him the story of the love of his life Olka, and how he lost her.
Although Mr. Kravitz does not speak to anyone except Alex, readers get his perspective on life from snippets at the beginning of each chapter in which he speaks to an unnamed “you” who is not revealed until the end of the book. Through these sections of the book, readers are able to see Alex as a whole person and not just someone who did a bad thing.
Day by day, Mr. Kravitz tells him a little bit more about growing up in Poland, falling in love, being captured by the Nazis, and getting sent to a concentration camp. Hearing and processing these stories gives Alex a sense of responsibility and respectability. Maybe he is not as much of a lost cause as he thought. This confidence allows him to open up to others, including his new friend Maya-Jade, her parents, and his social worker. Alex’s character growth is particularly affecting, but Foreman crafts well-developed ancillary characters with whom readers will connect just as strongly.
Despite delving into some weightier topics, Forman’s novel is also funny. Readers find some comic relief in Maya-Jade, some of the Shady Glen residents, and even Alex’s wry sense of humor. Not Nothing is technically a middle-grade novel but it is one of those rare books that transcends age. Readers of all ages will love and be affected by Forman’s story of redemption and of human goodness.
