Fort

Gr 4–7—Two best friends build a fort in the woods and defend it from bullies in this fun, old-fashioned story that manages to be fresh and familiar. Wyatt is enjoying the freedom of a summer with his dad in upstate New York. His friend Augie lives there year-round and has many useful skills that include killing squirrels with a slingshot and cooking them over a fire. There are the expected bullies, two older boys named J.R. and Morrie, and an unexpected friend named Gerard, a socially isolated teenager with developmental disabilities. The two friends spend rapturous days building their fort, looking at a car company's girlie calendar, and other country-boy activities unimpeded by smartphones or YouTube, since Wyatt's father doesn't want him plugged into a screen all day. In a low-stakes climax, the two bullies try to destroy the boys' fort but are foiled by an ingenious series of booby-traps. The moral center of the novel revolves around Wyatt and Augie discovering how J.R. and Morrie are mistreating Gerard and how after some hesitation, they find in him a valuable ally. There is a touch of burgeoning sexuality, mostly as Wyatt notices and appreciates Augie's aunt's figure, but otherwise the tone of the novel is remarkably innocent without being cloying or unrealistic. There is a good balance of action and description and well-developed characters, though the bullies are a tad two-dimensional.