71. Flipping Forward Twisting Backward

Flipping Forward Twisting Backward. Alma Fullerton. 2022. [July] 144 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: In the gym club
there's always someone
who flies higher
and works harder
than everyone else.
In the gym club
there's always someone
who pushes to be
number one.
In the gym club
there's always someone
who can do
anything.
When I am
in the gym club
that someone
is me.
There's
no better feeling
than being number one
when everywhere else
you're last in line.

Premise/plot: Flipping Forward Twisting Backward by Alma Fullerton may just be my new favorite children's book published in 2022. Claire, our protagonist, excels in gymnastics. She absolutely loves it; she loves her teammates. What she is not loving is school. And not for the reason you may be thinking. (Though to be fair, I don't know what you are thinking.) Claire may be in fifth grade, but, Claire has a secret, a big secret, a secret that is getting heavier and heavier by the day. Claire cannot read. 

Flipping Forward Twisting Backward captures Claire's struggle as she begins to ask for help--beg and plead--for help. 

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved this one. I loved the characters. I love Claire. I love that she has a great supporting cast. She has some great friends and teammates. She has a great big sister. There are a few adults that really do want to help. (Including a principal that is actually super-helpful). But not all the characters are supportive and compassionate. Trigger warning, Claire is the victim of bullying at school. And even her teacher's words and actions can be seen in a biased way. (Though I am not saying the teacher is a bully.) I loved the story. I loved seeing ALL of Claire's life--at home, at school, at the gym. I loved that there was a balance of things going wonderfully right and going horribly wrong. This realistic balance carries over in the characterization as well--very human. No one is all good or all bad. Even the most difficult characters have redeeming qualities on display--now and then. For example, her mother, whom I wanted to yell at or "shake" for a good bit of this novel. I thought the subject of learning disabilities is (and was, and probably ever shall be) relevant. In this case, we're talking dyslexia. I also loved the writing.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers