Worst-Case Collin

Gr 5 Up–Written in verse, Caprara’s latest centers heartbreaking main character Collin, plus trusty and loving sidekicks Liam and Georgia. Collin has more challenges than most middle schoolers. After the tragic death of his mother in a car accident, Collin is terrified of things going wrong, and his father begins to collect more and more junk that fills up the house. Collin must come up with all kinds of excuses not to have his friends over because of the state of his home. Readers learn about The Hoard—what Collin calls these piles of junk that make for extremely unsafe living conditions. As part of his anxiety about bad things happening, Collin creates a self-guide to emergency situations. These how-to guides are sprinkled throughout the book, which some children might find very helpful. When a prank involving a bully turns into an emergency situation, Collin’s preparedness makes him the hero. He has to rescue his father from a house fire that rages out of control because of The Hoard. Collin’s unique situation is realistically depicted alongside common middle school moments including pranks, bullying, endearing friendships, and self-examination.