CSD Reviews: The Nest

THE NEST

Written by Kenneth Oppel
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Reviewed by Taylor Worley

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Now six months old, this new release from Klassen and Oppel (how could you not like this mashup?) is stunning. The premise is simple. Steven's new infant brother is sick. Very. Sick. It's confusing for all who love little Theo, because the condition is congenital and incredibly rare. While the family is in a strange, almost electrified stupor trying to care for Theo, Steven is having nightmarish troubles of his own. When a queen - the albino wasp queen from the next on Steven's house, to be precise - offers Steven a potential solution to his troubles, Steven says yes. Very soon, however, he begins to question if he's made the right decision. 

The Nest is a modest novel at 244 pages, but those pages pack quite a punch. Steven is a child riddled with anxiety. For those who have experienced anxiety as a child, Oppel's representation is incredible.  The fear, doubt, stress, and nightmares are poignant and unsettlingly familiar. Don't hesitate to give this to mature children struggling with their own anxieties or to parents and caregivers trying to better understand the plights of their children. When we're young it's hard to know what is real and what isn't - something Oppel has masterfully rendered here - and how to process the complexities of anxiety, sickness, and family strife. A beautiful and compelling novel. ​