Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review**STARRED REVIEW** "An awesome swimmer with a frustrating learning disability struggles in the roiling waters of adolescence . . . Readers will root for [Annabelle] as she ricochets between ebullience and despair, empathy and hurt, confidence and doubt, pride and self-loathing—we've been there, too, or soon will be. Captures the turmoil of adolescence with wisdom and humor in near-pointillist detail." * Kirkus Reviews *
**STARRED REVIEW** "Morrison, a former teacher, realistically captures the challenges of middle school—complicated family dynamics, volatile friendships, and first love—in this story about a girl struggling to find where she belongs." * Publishers Weekly *
A sweet and entertaining novel that offers deeper themes to ponder. * School Library Journal *
Laurie Morrison authentically captures the lovelorn daydreams as well as the awkwardness and anxiety of a middle school girl with one foot in her childhood friendships and the other venturing into the world of young adulthood . . . the feelings and struggles Annabelle experiences are universal and will strike a chord with middle school students. * School Library Connection *
Readers will relate to Annabelle—if not with the specifics of her life, then with the feelings of an almost teen as she navigates growing up. The well-crafted characters extend to the adults in the story, who are multilayered and have lives beyond their relationship with their daughter. Best of all, Annabelle's realizations about her life are hard won and wholly believable. * Booklist *
