Halfway to Somewhere
by Jose Pimienta
RH Graphic, 2025. 250 pages.
Review written February 17, 2026, from a library book.
2026 Stonewall Award Winner, Children’s Literature
Halfway to Somewhere is about a nonbinary kid named Ave who moves with their mother and little brother from Mexicali to Lawrence, Kansas, where their mother is teaching at the university. Every night, they talk with their big sister, hoping she and their dad will come join them soon.
Ave isn’t happy to be in Kansas. They don’t like speaking English and sounding like a toddler. Their little brother makes a friend from the house across the street the very first day.
Ave liked hiking in Mexicali, so they start walking around Lawrence, learning the place with their feet. And once they start school, there are folks who try to be friendly.
It’s one of those adjusting to a new place and figuring out how you fit in books. The fact that Ave is nonbinary is refreshingly in the background and not a big problem in the book, though how their dad relates to them does contribute to some of their identity questions. I’ve always said that graphic novels are a good fit for the emotional highs and lows of middle school, and this book effectively uses pictures to tell most of the story.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/halfway_to_somewhere.html
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