Review by Hooria Bilal
Orca Book Publishers, September 15, 2020
320 pages, paperback, $12.95 CAN, 978-1459825567
Ages 9-12, Grades 4-7
Middle Grade, Contemporary Realism, Fiction
I took a deep breath. “I get up every morning knowing that I have to work hard.”
“That’s no surprise.”
“Not just hard. Harder. I get up thinking that I need to work harder and longer than everybody in the entire world, and if I do that, I can gain just a little. And if I do that every day, day after day after day, eventually I might, well, become somebody.”
There. I’d said it. She stood there looking down at me.
“I know it sounds stupid but—”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. It makes complete sense,” she said, nodding. “Except you’re wrong about one thing.”
“What?” I asked.
“Robert, you already are somebody.”
“What?”
“You already are somebody.”
And that’s when I burst into tears.
Robbie is hiding a secret.
It’s just Robbie, his widowed dad, and their dog. What people don’t know is that sometimes his dad disappears for days, leaving Robbie to fend for himself. There are other times he’ll wake Robbie up in the middle of the night and claim he’s going to die. For years, Robbie has endured his father’s unpredictable behavior and learned to be patient with him, even when it often leaves him alone and scared.
In fear of being put into foster care, Robbie keeps everything to himself. By thirteen, he’s taken on responsibilities of cleaning, laundry, preparing meals, working part-time, and keeping his grades up—all to maintain a façade of normalcy in his homelife.
Then one day he meets Harmony, the rebellious new girl who’s in foster care. Their first meeting ends with Robbie getting punched in the face. Despite this initial poor start, Harmony quickly becomes someone Robbie can trust with his secrets and the two form an unlikely bond. Through Robbie’s first-person perspective, we learn about the struggles of his homelife, as well as gain insight into Harmony’s desire to reunite with her biological mother, despite her current foster home being a better living situation.
What stood out to me in this story was the nuance and complexity of the two main characters. Initially, Harmony’s snarky and blunt attitude made her unlikable, but through her friendship with Robbie, she reveals a compassionate and vulnerable side. As the story uncovers her past, I felt sympathy for her situation and began to understand that her aggressive behaviour is a mask hiding her fear. Robbie, on the other hand, is resilient and determined, yet also plagued by fear and self-doubt due to his father’s verbal abuse. Despite their differences, the two characters empathize with each other’s situations and form a strong friendship. The depiction of their dynamic feels authentic, and it was touching to see how both these characters support and push each other’s development.
This book deals with topics such as mental health issues, parental neglect, addiction, and verbal abuse so tread with caution when recommending to especially young readers. Although this book covers some heavy themes, Walters combines humor, heart, and devastation, adding so much depth into Robbie and Harmony’s characters. I appreciate the way this book shows how the different ways growing up in an unstable environment can influence kids. Walters’ realistic portrayal of Robbie and Harmony’s struggles was made all the more real by the author’s note, which reveals this story is a loose reflection of Walters’ own childhood.
Overall, The King of Jam Sandwiches is a heartwarming and poignant story that is sure to stay with readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
Hooria Bilal is an undergraduate at UBC majoring in Biology and minoring in Creative Writing. She enjoys reading middle grade and YA books in her spare time and her favourite genre is fantasy-adventure.
YOUNG ADULTING 