Nugget

by John David Anderson

The award-winning author of Posted returns with the story of two kids searching for something—deep-fried, or otherwise—to believe in.

Owen and Noah don’t always see the world the same While Noah frets about a dozen different crises halfway around the world, Owen simply struggles to get his math homework done. But they’ve been best friends for as long as they can remember, always had each other’s backs. And like so many other kids in their school, they’re struggling—because whether your mom works two jobs to keep the lights on in your mobile home (like Owen’s), or your brother is in treatment for cancer (like Noah’s), or you’re simply trying to deal with a world that feels broken, just getting through the day is a challenge.

But then, while Noah is pondering an oddly-shaped chicken nugget in their school cafeteria, divine inspiration strikes. Everyone they know has questions about this messed up world and their place in it, and the answers they’re given from grown-ups—their parents or teachers, politicians or pastors—don’t seem to cut it anymore. And so maybe, Owen and Noah think, they should come up with some answers themselves. Find something they and their classmates can all believe in. Something that speaks directly to them.

Like their own religion.

And so begins a deeply-felt, deeply-fried tale of friendship, love, and faith in which saving the world feels impossible, but saving each other might not be.

368 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 2, 2027

About the author

There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads' database

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Noah and Owen are best friends in 6th grade, and one day Noah takes a chicken nugget from his school lunch and says it speaks to me. He says we need something good in the world and something new to believe in. He makes the nugget his god and names it Akym. They make pamphlets that say feeling lost Akym can help. Other kids join in and Noah holds a meeting and kids begin asking for guidance like a self-help hotline. As more students meet outside at recess they talk about their worries. However, the principal calls them in and asks what they’re doing as he’s had some parental concerns. Noah says we’re just talking. The principal says get rid of the nugget. Noah has a better idea. What does he do, and will they be able to continue meeting?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Carlyn Morenus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this middle-grade novel. Best friends Noah and Owen invent their own god, AKYM, inspired by a vaguely angel-shaped chicken nugget in their school lunch. Sounds like a joke, but really, they're looking for hope, support, friendship, and a sense of direction. As more classmates join them for recess "Nuggets" and they share their hopes and fears, it also upsets some who see it as an attack on existing religions. Absurd, maybe, but what matters is that kids feel supported, heard, more hopeful. How it all ends? Well, you'll have to read it for yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.