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Worser
- Author
- Jennifer Ziegler
- Narrator
- Daniel Henning
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 14 June 2022
- Run Time
- 7 hours 26 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A bullied twelve-year-old boy must find a new normal after his mother has a stroke and his life is turned upside down.
William Wyatt Orser, a socially awkward middle schooler, is a wordsmith who, much to his annoyance, acquired the ironically ungrammatical nickname of “Worser" so long ago that few people at school know to call him anything else.
Worser grew up with his mom, a professor of rhetoric and an introvert just like him, in a comfortable routine that involved reading aloud in the evenings, criticizing the grammar of others, ignoring the shabby mess of their house, and suffering the bare minimum of social interactions with others. But recently all that has changed. His mom had a stroke that left her nonverbal, and his Aunt Iris has moved in with her cats, art projects, loud music, and even louder clothes. Home for Worser is no longer a refuge from the unsympathetic world at school that it has been all his life.
Feeling lost, lonely, and overwhelmed, Worser searches for a new sanctuary and ends up finding the Literary Club—a group of kids from school who share his love of words and meet in a used bookstore—something he never dreamed existed outside of his home. Even more surprising to Worser is that the key to making friends is sharing the thing he holds dearest: his Masterwork, the epic word notebook that he has been adding entries to for years.
But relationships can be precarious, and it is up to Worser to turn the page in his own story to make something that endures and earn a new nickname: Worder.
Critics Review
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“Funny, clever, and compassionate…a brilliantly constructed account of a journey to self-knowledge.”
New York Times
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“Full of SAT-worthy vocabulary and wordplay, this is a touching story about grief, trauma, and embracing change.”
Booklist (starred review)
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“The author has developed her main character so well it’s hard to believe it’s not biography."
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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“Should delight more advanced readers and inspire others to word play, too. A compelling and semantically delightful story for lovers of language and flawed protagonists."
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
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“[The] nuanced portrayal of [Worser’s] changing relationships with his family and friends make this character-driven narrative a cathartic and emotionally charged experience."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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“Outcasts and oddballs of all sorts will find Worser’s story relatable.”
BookPage
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“Ziegler ably delineates how words help Worser to find a place in the world.”
Horn Book
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“Henning captures Worser’s emotions while also emphasizing his unique personality. Realistic fiction fans will enjoy this coming-of-age story.”
AudioFile
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Jennifer Ziegler
- Narrator
- Daniel Henning
- Duration
- 7 hours 26 minutes
- Release Date
- 14 June 2022
- ISBN
- 9798200959907
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: First experiences and growing up
Synopsis
A bullied twelve-year-old boy must find a new normal after his mother has a stroke and his life is turned upside down.William Wyatt Orser, a socially awkward middle schooler, is a wordsmith who, much to his annoyance, acquired the ironically ungrammatical nickname of “Worser" so long ago that few people at school know to call him anything else.Worser grew up with his mom, a professor of rhetoric and an introvert just like him, in a comfortable routine that involved reading aloud in the evenings, criticizing the grammar of others, ignoring the shabby mess of their house, and suffering the bare minimum of social interactions with others. But recently all that has changed. His mom had a stroke that left her nonverbal, and his Aunt Iris has moved in with her cats, art projects, loud music, and even louder clothes. Home for Worser is no longer a refuge from the unsympathetic world at school that it has been all his life.Feeling lost, lonely, and overwhelmed, Worser searches for a new sanctuary and ends up finding the Literary Club—a group of kids from school who share his love of words and meet in a used bookstore—something he never dreamed existed outside of his home. Even more surprising to Worser is that the key to making friends is sharing the thing he holds dearest: his Masterwork, the epic word notebook that he has been adding entries to for years. But relationships can be precarious, and it is up to Worser to turn the page in his own story to make something that endures and earn a new nickname: Worder.
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