Will on the Inside

Gr 4-7–Seventh grader Will McKeachie is a mid-field soccer player who has a tight-knit group of friends from the team. Despite having an acorn for a mascot, the team has made it to the championship tournament. After his doctor ordered a colonoscopy, Will is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s has had Will visiting the bathroom more often than he’d care to admit. Along with the diagnosis, comes the bad news that he may need to sit on the sidelines while his body is healing and adjusting to new medications. Modifying his schedule allows Will the opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate his friend group and find other activities that he enjoys. Mirror Realms, a fantasy video game, is exactly the diversion Will was looking for and, along with it, comes a new friend named Griffin Miller. Admitting that he’s made a friend of Griffin is not something Will is sure he wants to share with his friends, as they are abuzz because Griffin asked Will’s best friend, Henry, to the spring dance. Additionally, Will is confused about some things he’s heard from his church group, the Weekend Warriors. Relatable, real, and utterly engrossing, Eliopulos’s writing will have readers hooked from the get-go. Life in a middle school, a new disease diagnosis, and sexual identity are the common themes of this coming-of-age novel.