This affirming narrative begins in the wake of a Horrible Day. As well-meaning grown-ups suggest just how fortunate the protagonist is to have survived the ordeal, our elementary-aged narrator balks, cloaked in an anxiety that clings like a sticky second skin. The child feels safest with pal Alex, another Horrible Day survivor. Together, they occupy a space free from talk of luck or silver linings, processing the experience without pressure and remembering those lost to the catastrophic violence. When the protagonist hears tell of another Horrible Day, the family attends a protest where they join countless, similarly affected Others, united in the fight for action. In their company, the youngster makes a liberating discovery—that a community wrought from Horrible Days is a community nonetheless and that solidarity can make the days that follow tragedy a little more tenable. Adelman’s text celebrates resilience without diminishing its power with pity nor demanding that young people rush the recovery process, while Corrigan’s cerulean-hued art softens the sharpness of the subject. And though gun violence is heavily implied throughout, the Horrible Day’s precipitating event is never explicitly named, an elision that offers readers breathing room to understand their own formative traumas. An afterword from Sam Fuentes, who survived the 2018 Parkland shooting, offers additional information; the protagonist is brown-skinned, while supporting characters vary in skin tone.
