Originally from Philadelphia, she now lives with her two exceptionally fluffy cats, Ninja and Boo. Her debut novel Cursed (Charlesbridge Teen, 2019) is loosely drawn from her experience of being diagnosed with a painful chronic illness at 13. Karol Ruth Silverstein writes all genres of childrenвЂ™s books and screenplays. Roll With It is not only a fun and interesting read-itвЂ™s a great representation for middle grade readers who are wheelchair users themselves and for any reader interested in a moving story which provides insight into a POV not often seen in childrenвЂ™s books. Similarly, EllieвЂ™s GrandpaвЂ™s AlzheimerвЂ™s is treated deftly and not sugarcoated. Sumner strikes a perfect balance of making that aspect of EllieвЂ™s life an integral part of the story without it be her onlyВ story. The fact that she has CP and is a wheelchair user is neither the main focus of the story nor downplayed. SheвЂ™s a regular kid with dreams of being a celebrity chef, who experiences the same feelings and challenges as lots of kids her age. Her growth as a character had much less to do with the traditional вЂњovercoming her limitations due to her disabilityвЂќ trope and much more to do with making friends, asserting herself, navigating the complex relationship between a tween kid and her mother, and handling her emotions related to her grandfatherвЂ™s illness. She must then convince her mom that they should stay put.Д®llie is relatable and plucky, with a touch of snarky sarcasm, all of which endeared her to me immediately. Life in her grandparentsвЂ™ trailer park is not exactly ideal for Ellie physically and she dreads starting at a new school as not only вЂњthe new kidвЂќ but вЂњthe new kid in a wheelchair.вЂќ Before long though, she connects with two other classmates from the trailer park, the hilarious Coralee and ultra blunt Bert, and Ellie begins to love her new home. What I wasnвЂ™t necessarily expecting is a story that packed such an emotional punch on so many different levels.Д®llie and her mom move in with EllieвЂ™s grandparents to help out since her grandfatherвЂ™s memory issues are getting worse. Author Jamie Sumner has a son with cerebral palsy-the same disability as her main character, Ellie-so I was confident that aspect of the book would be handled with authority and authenticity.

As a disabled author myself, I feel disability representation in books for children is so important and IвЂ™m thrilled to see the number of books featuring this element of diversity growing. Roll With It was an easy choice for my to-read list because it deals with disability. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think shes going to be all sunshine and.Related Editions (all): Digital Audiobook (Libro. в…Starred Reviews вЂ“ Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly

ROLL WITH IT Written by Jamie Sumner (Atheneum BYR $17.99, Ages 10 and up)

Roll with it book characters