BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIsaiah Randolph is a Michigan eighth grader with a side of himself he keeps hidden. He is his mom's paid plant assistant, he collects vintage rock band tees, and he stashes his rock posters and favorite clothes in the back of his closet, because Randy and Marcus made fun of him for liking rock. With his best friends, Darius and Drew, he bikes, makes bets and chases world records, even though Isaiah tends to choke when a dare gets scary. Then, on a quiet street called Rosewood Lane, Darius is killed in an accident during a wheelie record attempt, and Isaiah, who was supposed to be watching for cars, can't stop asking himself what he could have done. As Drew starts to pull away, Isaiah brings back the world records for Darius, and the two of them try everything from a burger challenge to a living room full of paper airplanes. When Isaiah's grief turns into anger and he shuts everyone out, his worried parents send him to spend the rest of the summer with his aunt and uncle in North Carolina, where a garden the size of a farm, a nonstop talker with a red wagon and a bike trail called Devil's Slope are waiting.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Mid-Air
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Mid-Air. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a Led Zeppelin scream during a Thor movie show a boy who he wants to be?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Sitting in a theater, Isaiah is hooked not by Thor but by the band's wild, full-blast scream that doesn't care who likes it. That fearless roar opens the door to the person Isaiah wants to be, even though he keeps his love of rock hidden from most kids.
- First half
In what book has a boy always been "two inches too short" to talk to a girl with colorful braids?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Drew has crushed on Vanessa for a year, loving her long braids threaded with different colors, but he has never dared to step to her. When she stops at their media center table and calls the record book in his hand cool, Drew suddenly wants in on the summer plan.
- First half
In what book do a dad and son haggle over numbered haircuts on a barbershop poster?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Isaiah points to wild loc styles, number four or number nine, while Dad says his mother would be happier with a three or an eleven. The barber settles it by doing what he does, giving Isaiah an in-between cut that feels just right.
- Second half
In what book does a chatty kid talk slow and loud to a silent newcomer as if he were deaf?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Grady comes to pick up Aunt Terri's vegetable deliveries and can't figure out why Isaiah won't talk, so he says each word slow and loud. Uncle Vent tells him Isaiah "ain't deaf," and Isaiah finally gives in and asks where they're going.
- Second half
In what book does an aunt's grilled cheese come with thick bologna and creamy mustard?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
After yard work, Aunt Terri makes Isaiah a buttery, crispy grilled cheese with bologna and mustard, and he can't believe how good it is. Then she sits down and tells him she won't force him to talk, but the hurt he's carrying has to come out somehow.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl paint a boy's nails black, one by one, from pinkie to thumb?
✓ Answer
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Sitting on a huge spray-painted rock, Kiana pulls a bottle of black polish from her sling bag as a gift for Isaiah. When he asks if she knows any boys who wear polish, she says "I know you," and he gives her his hand.
