By: Jamie Steinberg
Nigel Binty is suffering through the sixth grade. His parents have just separated and he has severe anxiety. He thought he would be able to muddle through the year with his best friend, Milo, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Enter Glory Bea Medford, a new girl in town dealing with a severe life change of her own. Making Plans for Nigel Binty is heartfelt tale told from both Nigel and Glory Bea’s perspectives filled with mortifying middle school moments and family trauma.
Nigel Binty is more than a worrywart. He has anxiety – both stemming from middle school mishaps and parental problems. Thankfully, he can lean on his best friend Milo – oh wait, he can’t. Suddenly, Milo has begun ignoring Nigel and hanging out with class bullies Zeke and Jonah. Enter Glory Bea Medford – the new girl who seems to be pretty friendly. However, Glory Bea has a secret she is hiding – she has come to stay with her Aunt Pauline because her father is in jail. Glory Bea was hoping for a fresh start, but finds herself the subject of speculation when she (attempts) to befriend Nigel.
Author Shawn K. Stout writes deeply investible characters that trigger heart pains and pride. Glory Bea is a young lady trying to cope with the fact her father kept her in the dark about his bad behavior and Nigel is just trying to make it through another day without stomach pains and doing anything to get the attention of Jonah and Zeke. I love that Glory Bea has Aunt Pauline and her tribe to lean on. It also hits you in the heart to see Nigel struggle because of his parents’ seperation and his anxiety often getting the best of him. My only qualm with this story is that the ending felt rushed. I wish there was more time for Nigel to find his footing with Glory Bea and maybe learn more about ways to make his anxiety manageable.
I really wish I had Making Plans for Nigel Binty available when I was in high school, as that is the time when I began suffering my own panic attacks (back then I had no clue back then my stomach pains were really my anxiety speaking up). I even had my own trinkets that I thought would help me stay calm when I was feeling nervous, but still believed that no one could relate and didn’t feel comfortable to share what I was going through with anyone. Making Plans with Nigel Binty is deeply relatable and certainly middle school readers will find themselves in the pages. I hope with this book out now more kids will feel they aren’t alone in their struggles with anxiety and find their voice to speak to someone about it.