ABOUT BRAVE LIKE THAT:
Find Yourself.
Find Your Place.
Find Your Brave.
Cyrus was just a baby when he was left on the steps of the Northfield firehouse. But growing up surrounded by heroes didn’t make Cyrus brave like his firefighter, football star dad or the firefighters who helped raise him.
Instead, he’s as skittish and scared as the stray dog who parks his head on Cyrus’s shoulder and earns the perfect name— Parker.
Cyrus’s dad’s strict no-pet rule means Parker can’t stay. With football tryouts around the corner, a dog would only be a distraction.
But a distraction is exactly what Cyrus wants: from the fact that he’s the only sixth grader who can’t read a whole book by himself, from the way his two best friends are treating the new kid, and from how he’d rather tap his feet to a record than score enough touchdowns to break one.
Cyrus feels as out of place as the stray dog who captured his heart. But if fitting in means pretending to be someone he’s not, maybe this is the year Cyrus can decide to be his own kind of normal— and there’s nothing braver than that.
Read about my inspiration for BRAVE LIKE THAT here.
Listen to a podcast interview with #vted Reads here.
Buy BRAVE LIKE THAT here.
PRAISE FOR BRAVE LIKE THAT:
“This exploration of courage has a good strong heart-beat: both in terms of compassion and suspense.”
—LAURA AMY SCHLITZ, Newbery award winning author
“Lindsey Stoddard creates a highly relatable character in Cyrus Olson, then puts him on a perfectly paced journey of the heart. Destination: the brave to reveal his most authentic self to the people he loves.”
—LESLIE CONNOR, author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
“A heartrending and compassionate read about how standing up for something can help you stand up for yourself.”
—LESA CLINE-RANSOME, award-winning author of Finding Langston
★ “This heartfelt and triumphant novel touches on bullying, stereotypes, and learning differences in a straightforward fashion. Cyrus’s journey toward self-acceptance will inspire readers of all ages.”
—School Library Journal, Starred [full review]
“Timely, well-integrated themes, a vibrant setting, and well-drawn, likable characters—the diversity’s unlabeled, but it’s there—make this a winner.”
—Kirkus Review [full review]
ACCOLADES:
Junior Library Guild Selection
Amazon’s Best Books of the Month, June 2020
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year