Sticks & Stones - Softcover

Abby Cooper, a former teacher and school librarian, lives in Minnesota with her miniature poodle, Louis, and a whole bunch of books. Her favorite things in the world (besides writing) are getting and giving book recommendations and sharing her love of reading with others. In her spare time, she likes eating cupcakes, running along the Mississippi River, and watching a lot of bad reality TV. Sticks & Stones is her first novel.

Gr 4–6—What if everything others said about you became visible on your body? This is the reality for new sixth grader Elyse. Elyse struggles with issues common to most middle schoolers: navigating the popular crowd, unrequited crushes, and changing friendships. But she also has to deal with cognadjivisibilitis, or CAV: a disease that causes words to appear all over her body whenever they're spoken aloud. It's not so bad when people say nice things about her, but the mean ones are big and itchy and compete for space. As if that's not embarrassing enough, Elyse has just discovered that anything she thinks about herself (positive or negative) shows up, too. Now somebody at her school is sending her secret notes, claiming to want to help her with her predicament. Elyse sets out to learn the identity of the mysterious letter writer, all the while working through her own issues of identity and self-acceptance. Cooper does an excellent job using the imagined CAV to explore self-esteem issues, which are so prevalent at this precarious time in life. Middle grade readers will enjoy Elyse's wry observations about school and family life, and most will relate to the agony of dealing with being different, especially during those awkward preteen and teenage years. Fans of Wonder by R.J. Palacio will enjoy this book for its similar writing style, compelling characters, and upbeat tone. VERDICT A quirky, clever, and lighthearted look at what it means to accept oneself. Highly recommended for most middle grade collections.—Tabitha Nordby, Red River College, Manitoba, Canada