All the Noise at Once

Gr 8 Up–Gr 8 Up–Santana wondrously captures the timely drama on an uneven playing field in Davis’s stupendous debut, spotlighting two brothers who just want to play football together. The novel’s core belongs to Aiden, an autistic Black teenager whose dream of joining his quarterback older brother Brandon’s team finally comes true. Their first shared victory ends in shocking horror as a teammate’s bullying of Aiden leads to police intervention, then Brandon’s wrongful arrest for allegedly assaulting an officer. Brandon’s always taken care of Aiden; it’s Aiden’s turn now to figure out how to free his brother. Santana resonantly infuses Aiden with an extraordinary balance of overwhelming discomfort and undeterrable tenacity; Brandon is considerably more fluid, socially deft, and personable. Santana transforms Mom’s “Do you know what it means when I say we’re Black?” into a wrenching cri du cœur. Also memorable are bubbly Isabella, churlish Carter, and conflicted Marsha.