Allen Davis moves to Newcomb in northern New York State, from the bigger and busier Syracuse. Allan’s eleven years old and doesn’t have any real friends, but he hopes to change that in the new town. When he’s not concentrating, Allen likes to HUM. As yet, he doesn’t know why.
The book cover shows Allen with a llama, but it’s a while before we meet her. To start, Allen settles into a simple house with his grandmother, who has parented him since his mom and dad died eight years ago. This town is where his mom grew up, and Allen keeps learning about her. For instance, she was a mountaineer. Bridie and Zach welcome him to the small school, and since Allen really enjoys baseball, he starts having fun. But there’s a cloud on the horizon. A big lout of a lad takes against the newcomer and starts bullying him. Max, a senior female student, is assigned to mentor Allen. She’s the one person the bully fears.
The town is brought to life with the calm of fall days and the excitement of a winter festival. That’s where Allen meets the llama, in an exotic animal pen, and it seems he has something in common with llamas; they both like humming.
A survival story occupies much of the second half, with deep snow, lakes of ice, steep wooded mountains and navigation skills. I expect any young readers trying this for real would be grounded for a year. This is fiction, and so we go along with the adventure, which is thrilling, and sad at times, and shows us how a bully, or a family of bullies, can wreck life for everyone around them.
HUM is the first novel by accomplished non-fic author William David Thomas, who has previously covered topics like the work of cabin crew, veterinarians and marine biologists. Young adult readers who enjoy HUM may be interested in learning what a career involves. While the story is about a boy, girls and boys can dive in and have fun. I think it’s a splendid read for anyone from ten to sixteen years of age, and for adults who like books with a touch of fantasy.
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