Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Find your voice... DEAR STUDENT by Elly Swartz - REVIEW!

Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Well, it's the month of love, so you're in for another windfall of posts today, starting with a Middle Grade Fiction title that just celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY via Delacorte Press! It stars a young girl trying to find her voice as she navigates the wild and wooly world of sixth grade.  There's family issues, school issues, animal issues, boy issues...how about just plain issues of all kinds to sort out, deal with, and overcome, but if anyone can do it, Autumn can.  Ready or not, here comes today's book of choice...



by
Elly Swartz
9780593374122
Delacorte Press

About the book...
Starting Middle School is rough for Autumn after her one and only BFF moves to California. Uncertain and anxious, she struggles to connect with her new classmates. The two potential friends she meets could not be more different: bold Logan who has big ideas and quiet Cooper who’s a bit mysterious. But Autumn has a dilemma: what do you do when the new friends you make don’t like each other?

When Autumn is picked to be the secret voice of the Dear Student letters in the Hillview newspaper, she finds herself smack in the middle of a problem with Logan and Cooper on opposite sides. But before Autumn can figure out what to do, the unthinkable happens. Her secret identity as Dear Student is threatened. Now, it’s time for Autumn to find her voice, her courage, and follow her heart, even when it’s divided.





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Our adventure with Autumn begins with a wayward iguana, as all good adventures must.  He's unintentionally injured, which gets us our introduction to the new kid in town, and lands us squarely in school just before the bell, contemplating our luck and the new school year.  After all, it's not everyday you start sixth grade, and it's not every year you're eligible to apply to be the anonymous voice behind the "Dear Student" advice section in the school paper...not that Autumn would ACTUALLY apply or anything.  I mean, she's thought about it, and her little sister (that goes by Pickle) has granted her a big sister cape so she can find her inner Fearless Fred, but she'd never actually do it.  Or would she?  

I mean, what's the big deal?  Her wayward dad is off to find himself in the arms of the Peace Corps, leaving her wondering why they weren't enough.  Her new friends couldn't be more different from one another, leaving her feeling like the egg salad in the middle of a PB&J.  Her own anxiety is cranked up several notches alone simply from all the stress she's already dealing with, including her best friend having moved out of town and now being a phone call or text away; it's not the same.  No, she doesn't need the added worries, or deadlines...but what if?  What if this could be her ONE THING this year?  The thing that she does for herself because she wants to, enjoys it even, and in this case...she wouldn't even have to worry about all eyes being on her because it's anonymous...WHAT IF indeed!

Needless to say, she applies, and gets the role, otherwise what in the world would the story have been about, but that's where we veer off into the land of lessons running right alongside the story.  We learn that when giving advice, it's not the right or wrong of it for the person receiving it, but that it came from the heart.  If we don't believe in it, how can they possibly even consider it?  We come to understand that sometimes the right thing and the easy thing are completely at odds with one another, and it doesn't make you a bad person or bad friend when you choose to be true to your self.  Those moments are the ones that simply help us sort out who our true friends really are....those that accept us for who WE are and our beliefs, regardless again of their agreement with them.  We see how one person CAN help change the world, but it takes a voice that won't be silenced, and back up is never a bad thing!  I loved how the author let Autumn stumble, but not fall, experience growth while helping others to grow, and showed us the power that exists in truly finding yourself.  

The story's conclusion isn't all sunshine and roses, but it is clarity with a healthy dose of reality, and that can have a far bigger impact for readers in this category than making everything right as rain.  I think this title will find a home with quiet youngsters as well as those that already speak their mind, as there is truly something to be gleaned from it for everyone.





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About the author...


Elly Swartz grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania. She studied psychology at Boston University and received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Elly lives in Massachusetts and is happily married with two grown sons, a beagle named Lucy, and a pup named Baxter Bean. Finding Perfect, called “a clear, moving portrayal of obsessive-compulsive disorder” by Publishers Weekly, was her debut novel. She is also the author of Smart Cookie and Give and Take.




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Special thanks to Brianna of the Wunderkind PR team for the chance to bring this title to you and to Delacorte Press for the ARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Delacorte Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, so stop by your local brick and mortar, or order your copy online today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



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