Roll With It by Jamie Sumner - ESSENTIAL

Roll With It by Jamie Sumner, 250 pages. Atheneum (Simon and Schuster), 2019. $18

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

12yo Ellie is going through a major transition when her mom and her decide to move from Tennessee to Oklahoma when her grandpa starts to show signs of Altzheimers. Her mom has always been very protective of Ellie because of her cerebral palsy and need for a wheelchair and Ellie finds that with the move she is able to find much needed independence and new friendships.

I really liked the characters in this book, but the plot felt like it was missing a critical climactic moment. The book felt like it was built around the idea of normalizing being in a wheelchair, which I am here for, but I would have liked to have seen more movement in the conflicts of the book.     

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher