McEachern has created earnest, disaster-prone heroes worthy of Beverly Cleary or Judy Blume. Bolus Blues gets progressively more exciting as the book goes on. By page 38, I was thoroughly invested in (and anxious about) what high jinks Zander and his friends would get up to next. The ending was very rewarding--it was satisfying to see nearly every character Zander met in his wild summer journey return by the conclusion. As a fifth-grade teacher, I also appreciated that this book helped me better understand the challenges facing kids with Type I diabetes. Bolus Blues carries an empowering message even as it exposes discrimination that makes an already challenging condition even more difficult.
