Well, That Was Awkward

February 13, 2017
Before Gracie Grant was born, her older sister, Bret, was killed in an auto accident. As a result, Gracie’s parents do everything in their power to make sure that Gracie, now 13, is never anything less than happy, a hard standard for Gracie to live up to. Whether at home or at school, Gracie insists that everything is fine, even when it isn’t. Her social world gets complicated when she develops a crush on classmate AJ, who has a crush on Gracie’s best friend Sienna. Gracie helps Sienna send AJ flirty text messages à la Cyrano de Bergerac, and the results create even more drama. Luckily Gracie has Emmett, her other best friend, but then things get complicated with him, too. Vail (Unfriended) skillfully details the politics of middle school, mean girls, first dates, and best friends in this sensitive and funny coming-of-age story. But it’s the storyline revolving around Gracie’s sister and her parents—and the resulting reflection on grief and the risks of loving another person—that leads to the story’s most profound and memorable moments. Ages 11–up. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House.

November 15, 2016
What if Cyrano were an eighth-grade girl in the 21st century?Gracie Grant has a crush on popular AJ Rojanasopondist, but AJ likes Gracie's best gal pal, Sienna Reyes. Gracie is a bit jealous upon hearing this news but soon decides sweet and adorable Sienna should be with AJ. The problem: Sienna is so unsure of what to text AJ, Gracie ends up doing it for her. As it turns out, text-AJ has a great sense of humor, one that is oddly absent in real life and is suspiciously like that of Gracie's best guy friend, Emmett Barnaby. Who is really on the other end of the texts? Gracie is fabulously sarcastic and a little neurotic, her first-person narrative thoughts pinging and ponging across the pages. Gracie's world is inhabited by a diverse group: Emmett is half-Filipino, half-Israeli; light-brown-skinned Latina Sienna speaks fluent Spanish; Gracie's classmates are "every combination of race and size," although Gracie herself is evidently white; and the school has a gender-neutral restroom. The sensitive subplot concerning Gracie's deceased older sister weaves in and out of the main plot, never overshadowing it but enhancing it with sincere emotion until the concluding chapters pull everything together. Hilarious and heartfelt. (Fiction. 12-15)

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December 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-A modern, multicultural version of Cyrano de Bergerac. Gracie Grant, a tall eighth grader who has a prominent nose and hails from New York City, takes the lead as the Cyrano stand-in. Gracie's best friend, Sienna Reyes, needs help texting the boy who likes her, the handsome AJ Rojanasopondist. Unbeknownst to Gracie and Sienna, AJ gets help in responding to the texts from the witty but vertically challenged Emmett Barnaby. In addition, Gracie is coming to terms with the lifelong effects of losing a sibling. Bret, her sister, died in an accident before Gracie was born. Gracie's parents are understandably a bit overprotective, and she often wonders how her life would be different if Bret had lived. She is also facing the standard middle school angst: Is she pretty enough? Why isn't she as popular as other kids? Will a boy ever like her? The protagonist and her friends represent a variety of middle schoolers: a mean girl, a bullied kid, a sporty kid, a smart kid, the popular group, and outsiders. Yet Vail's portrayals prevent the characters from being mere stereotypes. Even Gracie's parents are fully formed, not the typically clueless adults who populate many books for kids. Readers will see themselves in Gracie and her friends, root for them, and likely figure out who is actually texting whom before the characters do, even if they haven't read the source material. VERDICT This tween romance proves that some stories stand the test of time, even with modernization.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

snicker9 - This was an interesting day for Gracie. She was just on a field trip with her friends, and everything was going the same as ever. Then something happens. Her friend, AJ, laughs at one of her jokes and her stomach...flurries? She’s never felt like this before. It takes all her concentration to remember to breathe, to walk, to act natural. But before she even has the time to evaluate her feelings, she finds out AJ likes Sienna, one of the most beautiful girls in school-who also happens to be Gracie’s best friend. Of course, Gracie is ecstatic for Sienna. At least she tries to act like it. Inside she doesn’t know what she’s feeling. Soon she is helping dictating response texts, and helping Sienna in different ways. Of course, this is middle school and the always changing loyalties and drama soon is in full swing! I felt like this was a very realistic book, dealing with friendships, and boy/girl relationships, but also focusing partly on family relationships. Gracie's older sister died several years before Gracie was born, and so a lot of times Gracie feels like she has to be "perfect" for her parents. This book also touches areas of grief, and dealing with death. An interesting part was the format of this book. Some chapters were written as text between characters, which I fell helped move along the story and character interactions. I recommend this book to realistic fiction lovers, probably around middle school age, as that is the age range in the book. Some high-schoolers would probably enjoy it as well. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.