The book Way Past Shame by Hallee Adelman and illustrated by Karen Wall was a book that was not on my radar at first. Recently, I have wanted to read only books that are already out or due soon (just to catch up on my backlog), but I found an early March 2025 reader’s copy of Adelman’s book. At first I didn’t want to read it. The cover was a boy who was just there. It was a bit cartoon-like, but not cartoonish, and the title wasn’t “grabbing me.” However, as I sat there doing other things, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And at lunch, I read. And I’m glad I did.
This book is not just about making a mistake and saying you’re sorry, it is a mistake that really could happen to anyone. We also have a hint at the idea of “is it really cheating?” You see, our main character and his best friend are the last two in a spelling bee competition. His friend gets his word wrong, but his is the word, Youth. He knows it! This is easy! Wait…is it Y-O-U or Y-O-O…? When he sees the answer, literally in front of him on a school poster, he reads it out loud. And wins. But now his friend is sad and his tummy isn’t feeling so good. The rest of the book is a nice way to see how we can feel guilty and yet, what was wrong with what he did?
Overall the modern characters do give things points for originality, but the theme of telling the truth has been done before. The images were not my personal style, but I can see where others will like them. It is an accessible read. I did enjoy the colors and the simple detail to things, but I think I wanted a bit more to it. But overall, it is a nice solid rating of 3 and good for most readers and/or listeners.