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

116. Better with Butter

Better with Butter. Victoria Piontek. 2021. [July] 320 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It's not easy being a coward. In fact, it takes a lot of work to be afraid of everything. 

Premise/plot: Marvel, our heroine, is afraid of EVERYTHING. Which is a problem considering that if she doesn't get over at least some of her fears by the time of the sixth grade play, well, she won't be passing sixth grade. The book opens with a terrifying panic attack--on stage in front of EVERYONE. But soon after her totally humiliating experience--an experience which earns her the nickname Frosty, by a few bullies--she stumbles across a miniature fainting goat named BUTTER. Forgetting about herself, temporarily at least, she steps in to "save" Butter from some bullies and ends up taking the goat home with her! With Butter by her side (mostly by her side) as an emotional support animal, Marvel's anxiety lessens and her world expands....but what if finders keepers doesn't apply? What if Butter's real owner shows up? Can Marvel succeed without Butter?

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one. I could relate to Marvel. I thought Butter was adorable. There were so many things that felt oh-so-right about this middle grade novel. I even liked that the sixth graders decided to put on a stage play production of HEIDI so that Butter could be near Marvel.

Quotes:

Worrying is my brain's background music. Sometimes the volume is high, sometimes it's low, but it's never off. I can literally worry about anything, but right now it feels like the current playlist is the same five songs--"Stage Fright," "Everyone Laughed," "Caught on Video," "They Called Her Frosty," "Sixth Grade Failure"--on a constant loop.

"You know, I might not ever get over my anxiety completely."
"You might not," Mom agrees.
"It might always be a part of me, but I think now I understand it doesn't have to be the biggest part." As soon as I say it, I know it's true.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

108. Rosetown

Rosetown. Cynthia Rylant. 2018. 149 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Wings and a Chair Used Books was where Flora Smallwood's mother worked three afternoons a week. Inside, it had a purple velveteen chair by the window for anyone who wanted to stay awhile, and Flora, who sometimes felt quite acutely the stress of being nine years old, and sensitive, loved this chair. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were her favorite day because of it.

Premise/plot: Flora Smallwood (9) lives in Rosetown, Indiana--the year, 1972. She loves vintage books and reading, and she loves hanging out with her new friend, Yury. What she doesn't love is change--at least not too much change, too quickly.

My thoughts: Rosetown is a character-driven book. Flora, our protagonist, is adjusting to being a fourth grader AND to her parents separating AND to life without her dog (Laurence). The book takes place over a school year. The focus is on family and friends.

I loved, loved, loved the WRITING. Rylant (one of my favorite authors) just has a way with words. I believed in Flora's voice from the first page. By the end of the second chapter I knew were were kindred spirits. I knew that Flora was going to end up being a good, good friend.

Here's a quote from chapter two:

What Flora noticed at once on the first day of fourth grade had been the sudden confidence all the former third graders seemed to have found, and she wondered where they had found it. Nearly all of her classmates appeared to be taller, louder, stronger, and possessed of a sureness of opinion that had been entirely absent the year before. The stumblers, the wanderers, and the floaters of third grade had suddenly, mysteriously, found their feet. They weren't afraid of school anymore. Or maybe of anything. All of this made Flora a little shy. She missed the uncertainty. Fortunately, a new and uncertain person had arrived in room 22, and with him Flora was beginning to build that precious thing called friendship. His name was Yury, which set him apart right away. His Eastern European name, combined with the burden of being the new boy, made Yury a very uncertain fourth-grade person indeed. He wore large round glasses, which made him look rather owl-like. And he was very smart, like an owl, beneath all of the new-boy uncertainty. Flora knew this right away because he was clever....but he shared his cleverness with only one person in fourth grade: Flora. He sat behind her in class, so it was easy for him to whisper to the back of her head. Yury whispered, Flora smiled, and the seeds of friendship were planted.

I highly recommend Rosetown. I loved everything about it!

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

30. Ways to Grow Love

Ways to Grow Love. (Ryan Hart #2) Renee Watson. Illustrated by Nina Mata. 2021. [April] 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Nothing is the same. Now that Mom is pregnant, everything has changed. Before school let out for summer, Ms. Colby said to my class, “Have a great summer. I hope you have fun and that it’s full of special moments. I can’t wait to hear all about it next school year.” The way summer is going, I won’t have any great or fun or special moments to share because all the summer plans we made aren’t happening.

Premise/plot: Ryan Hart is going to be a big sister! Yes, Ryan and Ray are getting a little sister. Ryan, our lovely, adorable heroine, is coping. On the one hand, a baby sister has potential certainly. On the other hand, it might bring about some CHANGES to her plans and routines. Will Ryan have the summer of her dreams if everything is baby, baby, baby all the time?

My thoughts: Ways to Grow Love is the second book in a series. Though I haven't read the first book--YET--I warmed up to the heroine quickly. Going to the library is one of Ryan's favorite, favorite, favorite things to do.

"But who can be quick in a wonderland of words and pictures? It’s not that I don’t like spending time with Grandma, it’s just that Mom and I go to the library at the end of every school year and we pick out books and have a book club, just the two of us."

 EXACTLY. Soon my feelings spilled over for the rest of her family and friends. By the end of the novel it was love.

I enjoyed the family dynamics of this one--the relationships the family has with one another. I enjoyed the narration--Ryan is great! 

I enjoyed the fact that faith is built into this one subtly-not-so-subtly. It's not that the novel is preachy--it isn't. It's just that faith is just as present and natural as breathing air. (In this one, Ryan goes to a Christian summer camp with some of her friends. Each cabin has to do a skit and Ryan and her friends choose the parable of the Good Samaritan for their skit.)

I loved the special father-daughter bonding. I've read two books in a row with excellent fathers--I could really love a trend like this if it continues!

“I want to write about one of the memories with my dad, but I don’t know which one to choose.” Ms. Anderson says, “Choose the one that you wish could happen again and again.”

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers