Falling Out of Place

December 24, 2012
In this addition to the Gravel Road series, aimed at teenage readers but written at an elementary-school reading level, sharp-tongued basketball star Gabby Herrera clashes with her parents, best friend, and boyfriend. Forced to quit the basketball team because of her bad grades, 17-year-old Gabby gets
involved with some heavy-partying co-workers, and she must face her troubles head-on after things spiral out of control. Gabby’s direct voice and relatable concerns will resonate with readers in this quick and compelling read. The sentences may be stripped down, but they paint a full picture of Gabby’s interior life and her desperate search for acceptance and validation. Ages 14–up.

December 15, 2012
Unusually expressive for its simple vocabulary, the latest from the Gravel Road series sees high schooler Gabby Herrera coping with depression, strict parents and her own impulsive decision-making. When Gabby earns a C-average on her report card, her parents' response is swift and harsh. Gabby is forbidden to use her phone, required to start an after-school job at the Grocery Mart warehouse and, worst, forced to quit the basketball team. Angry and powerless, Gabby lashes out at those closest to her. That Gabby's fighting, drinking and unkind comments are disproportionate to the situation and alarming to those who care about her is made apparent to readers through subtle detail and the words of well-drawn characters. Gabby's relationships with friends and family are similarly complex. Camaraderie develops among Gabby and her new friends from work, but readers can observe ways the older co-workers treat Gabby poorly: sending her home from a party with a drunk driver; flirting with her but, confusingly, hooking up with other girls. Most poignant is Gabby's relationship with her favorite uncle, Mike, who only she knows is gay, and the way Gabby's mental stability unravels when her family rejects Mike is both believable and heartbreaking. A many-layered tale, simply told. (Fiction. 12-18)

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March 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Gabby Herrera is living in the shadow of her seemingly perfect siblings and is now grounded for her terrible grades. Her father is taking away her cell phone, and she has to quit the basketball team and begin an after-school job at a warehouse. Her friendship with her best friend frays, she breaks up with her boyfriend, and she begins drinking on the job and at school. She sneaks out of her window at night to attend wild parties. No one understands her except for her Uncle Mike, who is later disowned by the entire family for coming out. Gabby continues to spiral out of control after continual disappointments caused by everyone around her, and she attempts suicide. In the end, readers see her slowly begin to heal. Teens will empathize with her as she tells her story. This easy-to-read title is another winner in the series.-Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 Gabby is a solid C student and star basketball player, but that's just not enough for her family members, who are proud of their achievements and expect similar success from her. When she is grounded from basketball, her boyfriend, and her phone, and forced to get a job, Gabby's only sounding board becomes her young uncle Mike, who also feels like an outsider in the familyhe's gay and Gabby is the only one who knows it. As Gabby sneaks out to get involved in the social life and dangerous habits of her older coworkers, she also becomes increasingly angry, defiant, and alienated from her friends. Her drinking, hookups, and pill popping spiral out of control after a family tragedy, leaving Gabby more alone than ever. The compelling first-person narrative focuses on moving the plot first and foremost, though Gabby's quick recovery after hitting rock bottom somewhat belies the difficulty of such an endeavor. Still, the brief chapters and brisk pacing of this entry in the Gravel Road series should have significant appeal to struggling readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)