Onyx & Beyond
by Amber McBride
Middle School    Feiwel    224 pp.
10/24    9781250908780    $17.99
e-book ed.  9781250908773    $9.99

“I guess magic ran out / or the city burned too bright / or maybe, I guess the ancestors / in the sky had a different plan.” Onyx, who is Black, carries the weight of the world on his young shoulders. At twelve, he is coping with the loss of his grandmother and is now caring for his mother, who has early-onset dementia. Onyx lives each day fearful and anxious that he will be separated from his mom and feels he has to keep her illness a secret. It’s a lonely and difficult period for the boy; however, his mind is also in the clouds—more specifically, in the stars, as his fascination with space and flying offers him a place of respite and a possible solution to his dilemma. Before her passing, Onyx’s grandmother had encouraged his vivid imagination and his dreams of becoming an astronaut. Written in verse, this tender story is set in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the subsequent uprisings, which leave an indelible impression upon the protagonist, adding to his unease and his need for safety. Onyx proves a resourceful, compassionate character whose village shows up for him and his mother and relieves him of the burdens that he has carried alone for too long. As Onyx’s departed grandmother shares with him in a dream: “Kids shouldn’t have to do what adults should be doing.”

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.