Recent Reading: Popcorn

Rob Harrell's Popcorn is a middle grade novel about a boy who is trying to live with the challenges of anxiety. Popcorn is a metaphor. In the ancient world of Aristotle metaphor meant to transfer or carry over. In this case, the meaning of a popcorn kernel that can explode when exposed to too much heat is transferred to anxieties that explode when the character in the novel is under too much stress or pressure. If you are looking for a novel told in a combination of words and pictures with a laugh every other page, then you are better off reading a wimpy kid book. However, if you enjoy reading a middle grade novel, told partly in drawings that has heart, then I recommend Rob Harrell's Popcorn.