The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is an intriguing and touching story about two brothers and the challenges they face due to an awful illness and the separation of their fathers. Kirby lives in Weirville with his almost eleven-year-old little brother, Baxter, and his dad. Baxter has epilepsy. While he's having scary seizures, he sees things he calls 'the lightning people.' Kirby wants to help his little brother and find out more about the lightning people. One day, Kirby learns that a seizure alert dog can help them know when Baxter is about to have a seizure. A seizure alert dog can help keep Baxter safe, but it is too costly. Kirby devises a plan to obtain one. As Baxter confesses that the lightning people show him symbols, Kirby believes he can convince them to help him get the seizure alert dog. Will Kirby succeed in getting the extra help his family desperately needs?

The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is a unique and gripping young adult novel. In this tale of family, brotherly love, heartbreak, magic, despair, and hope, Tim Cummings has touched on the issues that arise from having two dads, living with the parent who chose to stay (who gets the blame for making the other one leave), being a fixer person, and being the older sibling who bears a big responsibility. This atmospheric novel offers a poignant and realistic glimpse into the lives of those living with, loving, and fighting for someone with epilepsy. I recommend it for the depth of writing, the balance between realistic and fictional moments, and the portrayal of sibling relationships, which really impressed me.

The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings follows Kirby, whose younger brother Baxter suffers from seizures that include visions of “lightning people” and strange symbols. Kirby, troubled by his brother’s condition and an emotionally distant father, decides to create a backyard play inspired by Baxter’s visions and epilepsy. The play is intended to raise money for a seizure-alert dog to help Baxter. Kirby works closely with friends, managing rehearsals, directing roles, and wading through conflicts in the cast, including a bout of the flu. Meanwhile, Baxter’s seizures worsen, leading to hospitalizations and medical interventions. Throughout, Kirby balances his responsibility for Baxter’s wellbeing, his own emotional turmoil, and the practical challenges of mounting the play, all so Kirby can pay for Heddy, a fourteen-month-old Golden Labrador trained to detect chemical signals before seizures.

The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is a thoughtful and wonderfully written story, told entirely from Kirby’s first-person point of view in a pitch-perfect stream of consciousness. In this format, we experience all the awkwardness of adolescence, every sensation, and plenty of uncertainty. Because of his age and outlook, Kirby comes across as an unreliable narrator, and Cummings nails this in a strong and deliberate style that, for all the madness that surrounds Kirby, still feels sincere and grounded. I think it's sweet, but also heartbreaking, that shielding Baxter from things like flashing lights and having to take a paternal role is the core of the overall story. Cummings brings Kirby’s internal world to the forefront, as well as the primary relationships that shape him, especially Pop, Bax, and Ellie, with organic dialogue and layers of feeling, making The Lightning People Play an honest and quietly powerful novel. Very highly recommended.