Drifters - Kevin Emerson BLOG TOUR

 

Jovie is adrift. She’d been feeling alone ever since her best friend, Micah, left her behind for a new group of friends—but when Micah went missing last fall, Jovie felt truly lost.

Now, months later, the search parties have been called off, and the news alerts have dried up. There’s only Jovie, biking around Far Haven, Washington, putting up posters with Micah’s face on them, feeling like she’s the only one who remembers her friend at all.

This feeling may be far closer to the truth than Jovie knows. As strange storms beset Far Haven, she is shocked to discover that Micah isn’t just missing—she’s been forgotten completely by everyone in town. And Micah isn’t the only one: there are others, roaming the beaches, camped in the old bunkers, who have somehow been lost from the world.

When Jovie and her new friend Sylvan dig deeper, they learn that the town’s history is far stranger and more deadly than anyone knows. Something disastrous is heading for Far Haven, and Jovie and Sylvan soon realize that it is up to them to save not only Micah, but everyone else who has been lost to the world and set adrift—now, in the past, and in the future.

I wish I could say I love sci-fi, buuuuut - The big thing I can say with Kevin Emerson, is that he always pulls me in. I have thoroughly enjoyed every title he has put out even if I'm unsure until I dive in. Middle grade science fiction with a Stranger Things vibe - with a focus on friendships, but the whole plot line and solution are entirely different. 

Jovie and Micah are best friends that live in Far Haven. When Micah disappears after they’ve been estranged she doesn’t understand why no one seems to remember her. She’s determined to figure out what happened, and then other odd things begin happening. 

I love how there's a correlation between being adrift or becoming a drifter and loneliness. How often do kids feel like they're not seen or heard? This theme will strike a chord with readers. We see how family and friends are so important as well as how we're all connected in a community. I also love a book with mysteries or secrets to unravel—and this story is full of them.

Recommended for students who find themselves loving anything MPH, watches Stranger Things, plays anything sci-fi, but also students need to have the focus and commitment because this book is THICK. (if they seem unsure, hook them on to his Last Day on Mars series and then this after the series!)

Themes: friendship, connection, childhood, determination, feeling lost/getting found, grief, mystery 

Teaching points: Recreating scenes, using the mysteries to curate endings, researching (grade appropriate) conspiracy theories - curating a story to tell the theory, visual representation (one pagers, POV eye, setting activities), analyze multiple POV/perspectives/alternating times,  

TW: child disappearance, trauma, grief, memory loss

DRIFTERS Blog Tour

5/9/22 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub

5/10/22 Bluestocking Thinking @bluesockgirl

5/11/22 Charlotte's Library @charlotteslibrary

5/13/22 Maria's Mélange @mariaselke

5/16/22 Teachers Who Read @teachers_read

5/23/22 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers @grgenius

5/27/22 A Library Mama @alibrarymama

5/31/22 Unleashing Readers @unleashreaders