Simon Sort of Says: Newbery Honor Award Winner

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

NEWBERY HONOR AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD HONOR • FINALIST FOR THE AUDIE AWARD FOR BEST MIDDLE GRADE AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR

“Funny, poignant and—most important—hopeful.” —New York Times

Simon O’Keeffe’s biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. Or maybe the alpaca disaster that went viral on YouTube. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he’d do anything to forget: the one starring Simon as a famous survivor of gun violence at school.

Two years after the infamous event, twelve-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone—the only place in America where the internet is banned. Instead of talking about Simon, the astronomers who flock to the area are busy listening for signs of life in space. And when Simon makes a friend who’s determined to give the scientists what they’re looking for, he’ll finally have the chance to spin a new story for the world to tell.

Simon Sort of Says, the Newbery Honor-winning novel by Erin Bow, is a breathtaking testament to the lasting echoes of trauma, the redemptive power of humor, and the courage it takes to move forward without forgetting the past.

This paperback includes discussion questions and an interview with the author.

Story Locale:Small-town Nebraska

About the Author

Erin Bow grew up wanting to be an astronomer, trained as a particle physicist . . . and then took a left turn into writing poetry and children's fiction. Her books—which include Stand on the Sky, Plain Kate, Sorrow’s Knot, and the science fiction duology The Scorpion Rules and The Swan Riders—have won a fistful of awards, including a Newbery Honor. Born in Iowa and raised in Nebraska, Erin now writes in a shed in her messy but beloved garden in Ontario, Canada. Visit her online at ErinBow.com and @ErinBowBooks.

Author Residence: Ontario, Canada

Author Hometown: Nebraska; Iowa