The Shape of Thunder - by Jasmine Warga (Hardcover)

About the Book

Cora hasn't spoken to her best friend, Quinn, in a year. Despite living next door to each other, they exist in separate worlds of grief. Cora is still grappling with the death of her beloved sister in a school shooting, and Quinn is carrying the guilt of what her brother did. On the day of Cora's twelfth birthday, Quinn leaves a box on her doorstep with a note. She has decided that the only way to fix things is to go back in time to the moment before her brother changed all their lives forever--and stop him. In spite of herself, Cora wants to believe. And so the two former friends begin working together to open a wormhole in the fabric of the universe. But as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of time travel to save their siblings, they learn that the magic of their friendship may actually be the key to saving themselves.

Book Synopsis

An extraordinary new novel from Jasmine Warga, Newbery Honor-winning author of Other Words for Home, about loss and healing--and how friendship can be magical.

Cora hasn't spoken to her best friend, Quinn, in a year.

Despite living next door to each other, they exist in separate worlds of grief. Cora is still grappling with the death of her beloved sister in a school shooting, and Quinn is carrying the guilt of what her brother did.

On the day of Cora's twelfth birthday, Quinn leaves a box on her doorstep with a note. She has decided that the only way to fix things is to go back in time to the moment before her brother changed all their lives forever--and stop him.

In spite of herself, Cora wants to believe. And so the two former friends begin working together to open a wormhole in the fabric of the universe. But as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of time travel to save their siblings, they learn that the magic of their friendship may actually be the key to saving themselves.

The Shape of Thunder is a deeply moving story, told with exceptional grace, about friendship and loss--and how believing in impossible things can help us heal.

This beautiful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story explores the loneliness of grief--and the magic of finding your way back to the one person who understands.

• A Heartbreaking Dual Perspective: Told in alternating chapters from the viewpoints of Cora and Quinn, two girls struggling with the same tragedy from opposite sides.
• A Story of Friendship and Healing: As Cora and Quinn work together to change the past, they start to mend the powerful bond that has grown between them, finding solace in their shared history.
• A Touch of Magical Realism: A compelling exploration of loss that blends a realistic, contemporary setting with the impossible quest to open a wormhole and travel through time.
• Grappling with Guilt and Grief: Perfect for young readers, this novel tackles heavy themes like guilt, loss, and the aftermath of gun violence with immense grace and sensitivity.

Review Quotes

"[Cora and Quinn] are well developed, and Warga skillfully handles both their delicate, emotional friendship and larger subjects of grief and gun violence. Powerful and emotionally complex." - Kirkus Reviews

"The story builds steadily toward a moving conclusion; Warga's lyrical language and credible rendering of both middle school life and of the tensions of two families coping differently with personal devastation make for a perceptive, sensitively told novel about the effects of gun violence." - Publishers Weekly

"Warga skillfully develops unique voices for her narrators, and the novel's alternating-perspective structure works well. Emotions run high throughout the book without dragging down the plot, and the portrayal of middle-school life is utterly authentic." - Horn Book Magazine

"Warga limns a tale that downplays sensationalism while acknowledging the deep fear that many readers may carry regarding school shootings." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"With taut pacing, nuanced characters, and compassionate depictions of grief and trauma, Warga's novel is both timely and transcendent; a must-purchase for all collections." - School Library Journal (starred review)

"A beautiful story about the love that is possible even when the worst has already happened." - Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medalist

"Eureka! My heart and mind received a workout while reading The Shape of Thunder. I underlined, highlighted, starred, and put asterisks around words, phrases, and paragraphs. I pored over every sentence. It is the perfect book club selection. It asks big, important questions that will result in you asking big, important questions." - Mr. Schu

"Brimming with hope in the midst of a tragic loss, Jasmine Warga's The Shape of Thunder is a fierce and brilliant reminder of the healing power of friendship. Intimate, heartbreaking, and gut- wrenchingly honest, Jasmine Warga continually solidifies why she is one of the best middle grade writers around - and why Cora and Quinn's story will resonate especially with anyone who has lost a loved one. I am wholeheartedly in love with this book." - Cody Roecker, The Novel Neighbor

"Young people will identify with Cora and Quinn's need to fix the big problems of the world with both science and a bit of magic. Through these two girl's emotional journeys after a violent shooting, readers will realize the importance of speaking up about hard things. An homage to Katherine Patterson's Bridge to Terabithia, Jasmine Warga's The Shape of Thunder is an important and gorgeously written classic in its own right." - Jennifer Kraar, City of Asylum Books

"The Shape of Thunder is a powerful and necessary story for our times, and it will leave no reader unchanged." - Melissa Posten, The Novel Neighbor

"This will spark meaningful discussions." - ALA Booklist