Here in the Real World
Written by Sara Pennypacker
Narrated by Noah Galvin
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
From the author of the highly acclaimed, New York Times bestselling novel Pax comes a gorgeous and moving middle grade novel that is an ode to introverts, dreamers, and misfits everywhere.
Ware can’t wait to spend summer “off in his own world”—dreaming of knights in the Middle Ages and generally being left alone. But then his parents sign him up for dreaded Rec camp, where he must endure Meaningful Social Interaction and whatever activities so-called “normal” kids do.
On his first day Ware meets Jolene, a tough, secretive girl planting a garden in the rubble of an abandoned church next to the camp. Soon he starts skipping Rec, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot.
Jolene scoffs, calling him a dreamer—he doesn’t live in the “real world” like she does. As different as Ware and Jolene are, though, they have one thing in common: for them, the lot is a refuge.
But when their sanctuary is threatened, Ware looks to the knights’ Code of Chivalry: Thou shalt do battle against unfairness wherever faced with it. Thou shalt be always the champion of the Right and Good—and vows to save the lot.
But what does a hero look like in real life? And what can two misfit kids do?
Sara Pennypacker
Sara Pennypacker is the author of the bestselling Pax, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Clementine series, the novel Summer of the Gypsy Moths, and the picture books Pierre in Love, Sparrow Girl, and Meet the Dullards. She lives in the US. You can visit her online at www.sarapennypacker.com.
More audiobooks from Sara Pennypacker
Pax Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pax, Journey Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Here in the Real World
Related audiobooks
You Go First Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orphan Island Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Dream of Space: A Newbery Honor Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Jasper June Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lalani of the Distant Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Granted Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Winslow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Wolf Called Wander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hello, Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5August Isle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Journey Beyond the Burrow Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breadcrumbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Listen, Slowly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chasing Redbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loyalty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Underneath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Whale of the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moo: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Land of Forgotten Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Over the Moon (Scholastic Gold) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Miraculous Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scary Stories for Young Foxes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Snicker of Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Children's Imagination & Play For You
Silverlicious Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escape Goat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice the Fairy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harold & The Purple Crayon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book That No One Wanted to Read Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Need My Monster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shady Baby Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5More About Paddington Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voyage To the Bunny Planet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dory Fantasmagory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/513 Words Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Way Champs Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonard the Terrible Monster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lambslide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Too Much Glue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The North Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In The Night Kitchen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Save the Dudes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Inner Child's Guide to the Multiverse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marge in Charge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dory Fantasmagory: Can't Live Without You Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dory Fantasmagory: Dory Dory Black Sheep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dory Fantasmagory: Head in the Clouds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pinkalicious: Dragon to the Rescue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anne Collection: Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Comes Next: Collected and New Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Return to the Rabbit Hutch: Adventures of Peter Rabbit's Friends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Here in the Real World
50 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Misfits finding their place through an abandoned lot and unlikely friends. I wish there had been more help for both kids in the end. Narration was great.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It could use a little more adventure. Overall, it was a pretty good book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a story for all those who have ever felt left of center. This is a tale for all those that followed the beat of their own drummer, often times to the dismay of friends/family, and with mixed results. This is a fictional rendering of many people's lives told with care, compassion, truth...that results in just the right amount of magic for readers of all ages.
I felt SO MUCH for Ware, even when I myself was just learning to love him, and when Uncle Cy arrived, it was like a light bulb just ignited, shining as bright as the sun. With everything going on in his and his family's lives, it was easy for him to get lost along the way...but thanks to a certain precocious and determined young lay, he won't be able to lose his way. True, he won't know exactly where to start, but once he gets on the right path, there'll be no stopping. Same goes for Jolene, actually. She's a complex little lady who only shows as much as she's willing and has big dreams for her own predicament. Their unexpected friendship, their unanticipated project will bring more than a focus on something other than their family problems, but a chance to see themselves as something more than they ever thought they could be; people (albeit children) that can affect change in not only themselves, but the world around them.
**ARC received for review; opinions are my own - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What does a knight look like "here in the real world"—a quiet, introspective one who lives by a code of chivalry and whose own heart hurts if someone else is sad? Meet 11-and-a-half-year-old Ware. He's desperate to turn into the "normal" child he thinks his parents want but also determined to help a new friend with her problem. And that involves deceiving his parents about where he's spending his days all summer when they think he's at the Rec "having meaningful social interactions." It's one of the sweetest middle grade books I've read in some time. While it touches on some intense topics, Ware's innocence and genuine desire to make the world a more equitable place keep the story from becoming too dark. Perfect for grades 4 to 8.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I was originally going to give this 3 1/2 stars because (in my opinion) I thought the beginning was a little slow. But, once I kept reading I realized how nice of a story it was and the "realistic-ness" of the book. The message that "the world is a real place and it isn't always fair" is something to keep in mind always.Overall, a cute story indeed.