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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Annabelle is just about to end her seventh grade year, and even though she gets more time on essays than others and that she works hard to prepare, she isn't surprised when most of her grades are Cs. Her mother says she's proud of her, but Annabelle really feels like everyone just feels sorry for her. Being in water is the only time she really feels comfortable and alive, so when she is asked to move up to the high school swim team for the summer, she looks forward to more time in the water, especially since she gets to practice with the older kids, including Conner, who seems to be paying more attention to her than ever before. Will moving to the high school team, mean losing her friends from the middle school team? Will the reappearance of her real father in her life make her feel more like she has somewhere to belong? These are just some of the challenges Annabelle faces in this story.
The real strength of Up for Air is the way all of the emotions of the characters are spot on. Annabelle's struggles with loneliness, isolation, insecurity, and misunderstanding are all presented in a realistic way, showing what most girls feel during adolescence. Overall an excellent middle grade book.
The real strength of Up for Air is the way all of the emotions of the characters are spot on. Annabelle's struggles with loneliness, isolation, insecurity, and misunderstanding are all presented in a realistic way, showing what most girls feel during adolescence. Overall an excellent middle grade book.
What it’s about: Annabelle is not doing well in middle school, no matter how hard she tries. But she is an amazing swimmer, and the high school swim team coach has noticed, inviting Annabelle to join the team. It's just what Annabelle needs to build up her confidence after a rough academic year. Plus, the cutest boy in town is on the high school swim team, and now he's talking to Annabelle!
But things get confusing for Annabelle as she tries to navigate the new relationships she may be forming, her middle school friendships (which are shifting and changing around her), and the possibility of reuniting with her dad, who left a long time ago.
What I thought: My favorite part of this book was that Annabelle gets recognized for her achievements outside of the academic sphere, and gets to build up some of her identity as she realizes that grades are not the only thing that matter in the world. It's a message I wish more of my middle and high school students would take to heart!
Why I rated it like I did: The writing was smooth, and from a teacher's perspective, there are good messages for readers to absorb through Annabelle's journey. There were places that felt a little slow, but the story mostly moved along.
But things get confusing for Annabelle as she tries to navigate the new relationships she may be forming, her middle school friendships (which are shifting and changing around her), and the possibility of reuniting with her dad, who left a long time ago.
What I thought: My favorite part of this book was that Annabelle gets recognized for her achievements outside of the academic sphere, and gets to build up some of her identity as she realizes that grades are not the only thing that matter in the world. It's a message I wish more of my middle and high school students would take to heart!
Why I rated it like I did: The writing was smooth, and from a teacher's perspective, there are good messages for readers to absorb through Annabelle's journey. There were places that felt a little slow, but the story mostly moved along.
What a gem this book is! Laurie says she wrote it for upper middle grade, and it hits that sweet spot. Find the nearest 13-year-old to you and put this book in their hands!
I was so lucky to get an ARC of this through my local indie for Independent Bookstore Day, and WOW. While I was pretty sure I would love it, this book blew me away. I loved it. I loved every word. I wish it had been around when I was in middle school.
Fortunately for Annabelle, her mother and step-father take an active role. Often parents are set up to either be absent, or uninterested, or on the flip side, severely strict. Basically parents in these types of coming of age stories are usually foils for the protagonist. Here, they are supportive all the way through but they also know when to step in and stop Annabelle from further self destruction.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comments_07/up_for_air.html
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comments_07/up_for_air.html
Thirteen-year-old Annabelle is the fastest swimmer on her middle school swim team, but she struggles terribly with her academic school work. She has tutors and special learning plans with her school administrators to keep her grades as high as possible. Clearly, she’s not enjoying anything about school outside of swimming. Now that she’s been invited onto the high school swim team, she’s feeling a bit more confident in her skin. She’s particularly interested in Connor, an older high school boy who has definitely noticed that she is no longer the little “hummingbird” he knew, before. Annabelle enjoys the way he looks at her rapidly developing body and she is willing to go the extra mile just to get more of his attention.
Annabelle’s experiences and desires were spot-on for her age — she is clearly someone who wants to grow up more quickly than she should, but does this mean she must leave behind her younger friends? She faces mature high school topics as she learns about her friend’s eating disorder and attends a beach party where everyone is drinking alcohol. However, Annabelle reaps painful lessons after making some impulsive decisions. And as we so often learn during adolescence, the pain may be exactly what is needed to get her focus back on track.
I really enjoyed Up For Air and think it will be an especially great title during the upcoming summer months with so much swimming and beach visits. There’s been a bit of recent discussion in Teacher-Librarian circles about those readers (usually around 8th to 9th grade) whose reading interests are often too old for middle grade literature and yet they’re not quite mature enough for young adult literature. This book will be a really good bridge for these readers — providing a small window into realistic high school experiences without diving too deeply. For that reason, I would say it's appropriate for both middle school AND high school libraries.
My thanks to Amulet Books and NetGalley for offering an e-ARC so that I could provide an honest review. This title will release on May 7th -- go order it now. I doubt it will stay on the shelves! For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
Annabelle’s experiences and desires were spot-on for her age — she is clearly someone who wants to grow up more quickly than she should, but does this mean she must leave behind her younger friends? She faces mature high school topics as she learns about her friend’s eating disorder and attends a beach party where everyone is drinking alcohol. However, Annabelle reaps painful lessons after making some impulsive decisions. And as we so often learn during adolescence, the pain may be exactly what is needed to get her focus back on track.
I really enjoyed Up For Air and think it will be an especially great title during the upcoming summer months with so much swimming and beach visits. There’s been a bit of recent discussion in Teacher-Librarian circles about those readers (usually around 8th to 9th grade) whose reading interests are often too old for middle grade literature and yet they’re not quite mature enough for young adult literature. This book will be a really good bridge for these readers — providing a small window into realistic high school experiences without diving too deeply. For that reason, I would say it's appropriate for both middle school AND high school libraries.
My thanks to Amulet Books and NetGalley for offering an e-ARC so that I could provide an honest review. This title will release on May 7th -- go order it now. I doubt it will stay on the shelves! For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The main character, Annabelle, makes bad decision after bad decision. I don't think it's overstating things to say that her life is a train-wreck. This made me cringe so much but it might also be what appealed to other readers. It depicts irrational teenage thinking. I would have enjoyed a less compulsive, more thoughtful heroine. Three stars for the good representation of learning differences, blended families, and eating disorders.
Book was okay.... didn’t really grab me. But maybe if I read it now I’d enjoy it more... schoolwork was piling up at the time, and I couldn’t find time to focus.
Contemporary realistic fiction that straddles the line between middle grade and young adult. Annabelle is a competitive swimmer that lives in an island community near Boston. She has an unspecified learning disability that results in mediocre grades at school despite extra tutoring. So when she gets asked to swim up with the high school team over the summer, it's a boost to her confidence. Annabelle can handle herself in the pool, but has more trouble handling the social interactions outside the pool. When a moment of peer pressure results in an injury that prevents her from swimming Annabelle has to reevaluate her priorities, her friendships, and her summer plans.
This book does a great job of illustrating the dangers of hanging with an older crowd without delving in too deep. Annabelle witnesses others vaping and drinking, she deals with a serial flirt that she mistakes as being genuinely interested, and a teammate is recovering from an eating disorder. But she never gets unwanted physical attention or does any drugs herself, keeping this book appropriate for the middle school audience.
This book does a great job of illustrating the dangers of hanging with an older crowd without delving in too deep. Annabelle witnesses others vaping and drinking, she deals with a serial flirt that she mistakes as being genuinely interested, and a teammate is recovering from an eating disorder. But she never gets unwanted physical attention or does any drugs herself, keeping this book appropriate for the middle school audience.