The only flaws to this book is that I wish they had done a bit more with Bert and the ASD in terms of Ellie and her friends growing in understanding of what it's like to be him. I also appreciated the fact that they shared how her grandpa felt in his more lucid moments about what he was dealing with. As the daughter of someone who passed away from dementia, this really made me cry. The other thing I loved was how they treated the challenges of loving and caring for a person with dementia. And I love how much of a "normal" tween she is and that this makes it okay to be not normal, which is really the norm, lol. I love how she worries more about her grandpa than about herself, and how she loves her family fiercely. It was helpful to see the challenges that Ellie faces on a daily basis, and how she feels about the things she can and cannot change. I loved Ellie, and I loved her family, her two friends, and Hutch! I don't come across too many books where the main character has a disability and I love it when I find one that is so full of heart. I loved this book-I couldn't put it down. You are fighters, and I am honored to write this story for you. You are all forces to be reckoned with and wonderfully made. I want to acknowledge the children, one in seven, living with a disability. This is a compelling work of fiction, and a particularly good one for aspiring bakers or chefs, and/or any preteen who likes a good story. I'm both saddened that we don't have more authors and/or protagonists with this condition sharing their stories, and also heartened that my list is growing: I've been exposed to more books with a theme of CP this year than ever before. Other serious topics are explored here: abandonment by a parent, single-parenting, and a grandparent with Alzheimer's. There's humor here (a person is not their condition), and Ellie may be bound to a wheelchair, but she's snarky as hell, talented, and incredibly observant, too. The author, Jamie Sumner, is a writer and a mother to a son with CP, and her expertise with the condition is obvious. This middle grades read about a 12-year-old competitive baker with cerebral palsy earned a blue ribbon at our house. "Sometimes the best plan is the one you don't make for yourself."ĭon't let this whimsical cover confuse you into thinking this is a clichéd or cartoonish story. Disabled kids deserve better mirrors, and non-disabled kids need clearer windows.Īlso, what is up with RJ Palacio blurbing so many middle grade books? How much is she getting paid for this? Wonder has some serious ableism issues of its own, so honestly her endorsement does the opposite of convince me to try a book. When another character, Bert, was introduced-clearly autistic, but portrayed in an extremely stereotypical, one-dimensional, offensive way and with Sumner portraying his traits as creepy and the butt of jokes-I was done with this. Yes, internalized ableism is sadly a thing, but this was really excessive, and as far as I read there was no hint of Ellie learning not to think this way about herself. Apparently Sumner is the mother of a kid with cerebral palsy, and if this is the way she thinks, I feel bad for the kid. (Also, hello, heteronormativity, not pleased to meet you!) No one calls Ellie out on all this. I could not take any more of Ellie's self-deprecating narration-she constantly calls herself "cripple" and "ugly", and says that her body is useless and that there's no way any boy would find her attractive. Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them!ĭNF for Roll with It. It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Except she’s not just the new kid-she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.īut when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. The story of an irrepressible girl with cerebral palsy whose life takes an unexpected turn when she moves to a new town.Įllie’s a girl who tells it like it is.
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