This was a fascinating book and I am surprised I have not read it sooner. A great book for 4th or 5th graders (which I think I will read next year in class).

A boy named Steve, who has ticks and odd things about him already, has a baby brother who is born “deformed.” His parents are constantly at the hospital and are afraid his brother won’t survive. Steve, already an anxious kid, doesn’t know what to do. He dreams one night and thinks angels came to visit him. They apparently tell him they can fix his brother to be like new; to be perfect. Little does he know that the “angels” are up to something not quiet right and not quiet good.

This book will get children thinking about what it means to be deformed or be disabled and it will get them thinking about how society views the handicapped or disabled body vs those who are more capable physically and mentally. A thought-provoking book for 9-12 year olds.

Click on the image to visit the author’s Amazon page to find more books written by Oppel.

Oppel, Kenneth (2015). The nest. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.