The Shape of Thunder

Jasmine Warga

2021 • 275 pages

Ratings6

Average rating4.6

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.

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Emily Han

This is a very powerful story. It conveys so much emotion, character development, and also the author's intent. Warga's fear of gun violence and a plea to help turn the world into a better place, by action and not just by meaningless words, is creatively shaped by the world of Cora, Quinn, Parker, and Mabel. It grapples not only with this gun violence theme, but also the themes of guilt, friendship, and finding your inner voice and strengths in a time where everyone in the world seems to be against you. Cora grapples with Quinn as they try to regain their friendship, and betrayal sometimes stands in the way of mending. But in the end, they learn how to forgive each other. Cora learns how to let go of Mabel and Quinn learns to solve her guilt.

September 12, 2021

Lexie Hardy

This was an interesting read. I found the characters, relatable and endearing. The discussions about gun violence were tastefully discussed. I do feel that there was a bit of oversimplification on why the school shooting took place and the events leading up to it. Real life is much more complicated.

November 12, 2023

cw: death of a loved one, grief, school shooting, mentions of gun violence, suicide, islamophobia and racism

rep: Lebanese American, Muslim MC, MC with a Speech Impediment.

Jasmine Warga did it again y'all!! This book was so beautifully written. Warga brings up very serious and difficult theme with gun violence which is something that plagues America every single year. I loved how the novel doesn't expand on the event itself. But, leaves the reader to understand what happened with the brief mentions and conversations that the characters have. It shows the aftermath between the family of a victim and the family of the shooter. And how that affects even the strongest of bonds.
I loved this book so much. Between the gorgeous writing and the characters. This is definitely a book i would recommend to everyone that's not triggered by any of the themes that this book hits.
Also can I just say that I love the adults in this book. Especially Cora's dad and Grandma. I loved how involved and how they were always there for her. On the other hand... throw Quinn's dad away lol.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

May 13, 2021