Worser by Jennifer Ziegler

Abstract

Reviewed by: Worser by Jennifer Ziegler April Spisak Ziegler , Jennifer Worser . Ferguson/Holiday House , 2022 [ 256 p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780823449569 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780823452835 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-7 Seventh grader William didn't have a choice when he was nicknamed Worser, and he's similarly powerless now against far more devastating circumstances: his mother just had a serious stroke and all the stabilizing elements that made his orderly and practical brain feel more comfortable in the world are suddenly upended. Most disorienting is the fact that his intellectual, brilliant mother has not only lost her speech and independence but has also changed in less expected ways; she is more open to joy, art, silliness, and affection than Worser has ever experienced (or, in most cases, wanted). Although he does find community at school and refuge in a used bookstore with a cantankerous owner, none of this is an instant fix. Worser still feels angry, disillusioned with the world, and unwilling (perhaps unable) to accept that life almost never proceeds as planned: sometimes the longed-for neighbor girl is going to like someone else, your exceptional mother may never again fit your just-so memory of her, and your mistakes really do have lasting consequences even if you wish they didn't. It's that discomfort with reality that renders Worser surprisingly sympathetic—he's so baffled by the world and so alone in his own rigid orbit that readers will likely be far more accommodating to and willing to forgive him than he is for himself and everyone around him. [End Page 206] Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois