Always Upbeat / All That

July 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-This book tells two sides of a story from the perspectives of a football player and his cheerleader girlfriend. Readers can choose to begin with either half of the book and then flip it over to get the other point of view. Blake and Charli attend an "upscale and predominantly African American" high school in Atlanta. In All That, Blake is under a ton of pressure from his father, who is a football coach, and is interested in going all the way with his girlfriend. He soon finds out that his mom has been diagnosed with cancer and his world is turned upside down. In Always Upbeat, readers discover that Charli struggles with the knowledge that her father is having an affair. Although she loves Blake, she does not want to lose her virginity to him. At the end of both narratives, Blake moves on to become strong on his own, while Charli chooses to be with Blake's cousin. Complicated issues dissolve quickly and intersecting relationships are ironed out shortly after being introduced. Dialogue is not entirely authentic; when Blake comforts his little sister about their mother's illness, she says, "Thanks, Blake. Because of you I can sleep tonight. Because of you I have hope. Because of you I'm not broken. Thanks, big bro." The narration is equally saccharine at times: "On the way home my dad took us to a steakhouse. We were full from our tummies and from his love." Still, readers may enjoy the he said/she said aspect of the novel, especially those looking for a wholesome tale.-Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2012
Grades 7-12 This innovative, two-novels-in-one title pairs the contemporary viewpoints of two African American high-school juniors in an upscale Atlanta neighborhood. In Always Upbeat, cheerleader captain Charli falls for football star Blake, but she is not ready to have sex. Does he care enough to wait? She is Dad's princess, but what is he hiding? She knows she is too hard on the cheerleading team: Will they turn on her? What is Blake's secret? Flip the book and read his story in All That. A champion quarterback, Blake bosses his teammates and feels pressured by his overbearing football-coach dad, and he is devastated to learn that his mom is dying of breast cancer. He likes gorgeous Charli. Does she think he just wants sex? With the dramas of football and cheerleading, friends and enemies, dating, and family, each story stands alone and also enriches the other. Readers will be hooked, whichever narrator they start with, and they'll quickly flip to discover the other story's secrets of love, anger, and sorrow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)