304 pages · Released Sep 1, 2026 · Norton Young Readers
Content report card
Absent parent’s guide: what’s inside
Medium confidence
Sexual content
None · 0/5
LGBTQ+ themes
Unsure
What it offers
A note for parents
Absent is a thoughtful mixed-format novel about three middle-grade boys navigating challenging home and school situations. The story centers on friendship, resilience, and finding purpose through peer support, with serious but age-appropriate themes including incarceration, bullying, and family hardship. Language and violence are mild, and the emotional tone is hopeful rather than dark despite the heavy circumstances.
From award-winning author Rex Ogle, a mixed-format middle grade novel about three boys who skip school, told in verse, prose, and comics. With a dad in jail and a lack of teachers interested in helping him learn, Manny doesn’t see the point in anything besides skateboarding and writing lyrics. Calvin has so many respon...From award-winning author Rex Ogle, a mixed-format middle grade novel about three boys who skip school, told in verse, prose, and comics. With a dad in jail and a lack of teachers interested in helping him learn, Manny doesn’t see the point in anything besides skateboarding and writing lyrics. Calvin has so many responsibilities to his father and little brothers that when his bike is stolen, he can’t make it to school on time. And while Liam is studious and wants to become a doctor, he is tormented by bullies and hides out in an unused janitor’s closet instead of going to class. When the boys are thrown together in detention, they realize that they might still have a lot to learn—not just from their teachers, but from each other.
