Willpower

Volume XXVIII / Issue 10 - November 5 / 2021

Willpower

Author: 
Marty Chan
Series: 
Orca Currents
Victoria, BC: Orca, February, 2022
100 pp., trade pbk., pdf & epub, $10.95 (pbk.)
ISBN: 
9781459832916 (pbk.)
9781459832923 (pdf)
9781459832930 (epub)
Grades: 
Grades 7 and up
Ages: 
Ages 12 and up
Review by: 
Christina Pike (Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy)
4
Excerpt: 

That was it. I had had enough. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, imagining the can of soda. All I had to do was push. I took a breath and thought one word. Burst.

A hiss. Noah yelped. The kids laughed. I opened my eyes. The can of soda was spitting brown liquid all over Noah’s pants and onto the floor. The sweet scent of sugar and revenge wafted in the air.

“You peed your pants!” Dudders said, laughing.

Taj howled. “You need your mommy to change your jeans?”

Noah dropped the can of spitting soda and tried to wipe off the fizzy liquid on his clothes. “What the …?”

The kids around us laughed. Noah was now the center of attention. Just what I had hoped for.

I inched away from the scene and blended into the crowd as more and more students gathered to get a look at Noah’s wet pants. The effort of making the can burst had taken the wind out of me, and I needed to eat something to regain my strength.

I dreaded what I had to do next.

Willpower, by Marty Chan, is a story about Jennifer Mah, a teenager who can move things with her mind. Her father and she are on the run from a Dr. Lansing who wants to study and exploit Jennifer’s abilities. Jennifer has to keep her secret if she hopes to remain safe. This proves difficult when the school bully targets Jennifer. She lets her anger get the better of her and makes the can of pop Noah is holding explode all over him. Trying not to draw attention to herself, she backs away into the crowd. Later she again uses her powers to save Noah from getting hit by a car. Noah begins to suspect something is different about Jennifer, and he tries to win her trust.

Willpower is about many different situations that test one’s willpower. Jennifer is fighting not to be noticed, and, at the same time, she is embarrassed by the life choices she and her father are forced to make. The novel is also about one’s willpower to rise up against animosity as Jennifer struggles against the bullies at her school. Finally it is also about one's willpower to keep moving forward even when the path is unclear. A good read.

Highly Recommended
Reviewer: 

Christina Pike is the principal of Macdonald Drive Junior High in St. John’s, Newfoundland.