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A review by ashylibrarian
The Comeback by E.L. Shen
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.75
**Thank you to NetGalley, author E. L. Shen, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR) for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**
This own-voice, middle-grade novel is an intricate maze of growing up, developing skills, experiencing life, and standing up to those who try to put others down.
I could not put this story down and ended up reading it in one sitting. From the beginning, I was invested in Maxine's story and her interest in figure skating. She holds onto this dream of being a champion, even an Olympic, skater even in the toughest times of her skating career, but she is also realistic with her abilities and the goals she wants to accomplish. This was a great mix of determination and self-understanding. Maxine knows where she wants to be with her skating, but she also knows that day is still a few years into the future.
Maxine's character development was really dynamic and engaging to follow throughout the story, as well. Shen's use of the champion skaters to support Maxine (in her imagination) was really unique and I thought this added an element to the story that really emphasized Maxine's commitment and dedication to the sport.
Maxine fought many battles in this story, both in skating and in school. Reading about how she develops and grows from each challenge was really inspiring and I think this book teaches some good lessons for middle-grade-aged readers. *The analogy that Maxine's mom shares about trees growing at different paces is something that I think every person should hear and apply to their lives.*
Initially, there were a few phrasings that I didn't love. One example of this was when the ballet coach tells Maxine that the move she is struggling to execute "See...Not that difficult!" This rubbed me the wrong way because this is not something that should be said to someone who is struggling with something, but after thinking more about it, I feel like it captured yet another struggle that Maxine was faced with. It is frustrating to read, but I think it shows the ignorance of how individuals can think they are doing something positive when it can actually be pretty harmful.
I am definitely looking forward to recommending this book to middle-grade readers in the future, and I am very excited to see the final edition.
This own-voice, middle-grade novel is an intricate maze of growing up, developing skills, experiencing life, and standing up to those who try to put others down.
I could not put this story down and ended up reading it in one sitting. From the beginning, I was invested in Maxine's story and her interest in figure skating. She holds onto this dream of being a champion, even an Olympic, skater even in the toughest times of her skating career, but she is also realistic with her abilities and the goals she wants to accomplish. This was a great mix of determination and self-understanding. Maxine knows where she wants to be with her skating, but she also knows that day is still a few years into the future.
Maxine's character development was really dynamic and engaging to follow throughout the story, as well. Shen's use of the champion skaters to support Maxine (in her imagination) was really unique and I thought this added an element to the story that really emphasized Maxine's commitment and dedication to the sport.
Maxine fought many battles in this story, both in skating and in school. Reading about how she develops and grows from each challenge was really inspiring and I think this book teaches some good lessons for middle-grade-aged readers. *The analogy that Maxine's mom shares about trees growing at different paces is something that I think every person should hear and apply to their lives.*
Initially, there were a few phrasings that I didn't love. One example of this was when the ballet coach tells Maxine that the move she is struggling to execute "See...Not that difficult!" This rubbed me the wrong way because this is not something that should be said to someone who is struggling with something, but after thinking more about it, I feel like it captured yet another struggle that Maxine was faced with. It is frustrating to read, but I think it shows the ignorance of how individuals can think they are doing something positive when it can actually be pretty harmful.
I am definitely looking forward to recommending this book to middle-grade readers in the future, and I am very excited to see the final edition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, and Racism