Tim Cummings's Blog
June 12, 2025
New Reviews
Hi hi hi. I'm sharing some new reviews that just dropped from Readers' Favorite.
More soon.
xTC
* Review Rating: 5 Stars –
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite
The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is a young adult novel that mixes elements of magical realism with deeply grounded emotion. Kirby Renton is a 14-year-old boy trying to hold his family together. His younger brother Baxter suffers from intense seizures and begins talking about mysterious beings known as the 'lightning people' who visit him during episodes. As the family's stress mounts and relationships fray, Kirby throws himself into an ambitious plan to stage a backyard play to raise funds for a seizure-alert dog. But what starts as a creative escape becomes something much more magical when strange symbols appear, otherworldly portals shimmer open, and Kirby starts to question where the line between performance and reality lies. Set in the lush and slightly enchanted town of Weirville, this is a story of sibling love, artistic power, and the magic that sometimes hides in plain sight.
Cummings writes with a sensitivity and poetic rhythm that makes every moment sparkle, even the hard ones, and that's a special quality indeed for a young adult story. I was swept up in Kirby’s emotional journey, with close narration focusing on his fear, his fierce loyalty, and his fragile hope. The mix of theater, magic, and real-life stakes is just so beautifully done. Baxter was one of the most tenderly portrayed characters I’ve come across in YA, and I especially liked the way his vulnerability plays against the central mystery of the story. I also loved how the author let magical elements flow organically from emotional truths, going hand in hand and making everything feel credible and realistic. Overall, The Lightning People Play is a beautiful, brave novel about love, loss, and creativity, perfect for readers who believe that stories can heal, and that sometimes the impossible is closer than we think.
* Review Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite
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.
* Review Rating: 4 Stars –
Reviewed by Emma Megan for Readers’ Favorite
The Lightning People Playby 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.
More soon.
xTC
* Review Rating: 5 Stars –
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite
The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is a young adult novel that mixes elements of magical realism with deeply grounded emotion. Kirby Renton is a 14-year-old boy trying to hold his family together. His younger brother Baxter suffers from intense seizures and begins talking about mysterious beings known as the 'lightning people' who visit him during episodes. As the family's stress mounts and relationships fray, Kirby throws himself into an ambitious plan to stage a backyard play to raise funds for a seizure-alert dog. But what starts as a creative escape becomes something much more magical when strange symbols appear, otherworldly portals shimmer open, and Kirby starts to question where the line between performance and reality lies. Set in the lush and slightly enchanted town of Weirville, this is a story of sibling love, artistic power, and the magic that sometimes hides in plain sight.
Cummings writes with a sensitivity and poetic rhythm that makes every moment sparkle, even the hard ones, and that's a special quality indeed for a young adult story. I was swept up in Kirby’s emotional journey, with close narration focusing on his fear, his fierce loyalty, and his fragile hope. The mix of theater, magic, and real-life stakes is just so beautifully done. Baxter was one of the most tenderly portrayed characters I’ve come across in YA, and I especially liked the way his vulnerability plays against the central mystery of the story. I also loved how the author let magical elements flow organically from emotional truths, going hand in hand and making everything feel credible and realistic. Overall, The Lightning People Play is a beautiful, brave novel about love, loss, and creativity, perfect for readers who believe that stories can heal, and that sometimes the impossible is closer than we think.
* Review Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite
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.
* Review Rating: 4 Stars –
Reviewed by Emma Megan for Readers’ Favorite
The Lightning People Playby 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.
July 10, 2024
Syndicate X Library's "Books That Changed My Life" series.
I had the great honor of sitting down with the amazing Chris Collins for The Syndicate X Library's "Books That Changed My Life" series. What a journey. What an experience. What a joy. I had no idea what I was in for, but it was awesome.
We waxed poetic about one very impactful book for me: Watership Down by Richard Adams. There are many books that have changed my life, truth told, but this story offered a prophecy of intuition, of quest, of community, of death. It has resonated from childhood to present day. We also discuss teaching, writing, how stories heal childhood trauma, and leadership.
Watch the video here: Books That Changed My Life
Love,
Tim
We waxed poetic about one very impactful book for me: Watership Down by Richard Adams. There are many books that have changed my life, truth told, but this story offered a prophecy of intuition, of quest, of community, of death. It has resonated from childhood to present day. We also discuss teaching, writing, how stories heal childhood trauma, and leadership.
Watch the video here: Books That Changed My Life
Love,
Tim
