ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Larson, Kirby , Wyatt, Quinn

Gut Reaction

272 pp. | Scholastic | March, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9781338893137 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781338893151 $18.99
(2) YA Tess's family just moved, and she is happy to start eighth grade in a school where no one knows her dad passed away three years ago. Sharing homemade treats -- her dad taught her how to bake -- helps win friends, and she's invited to return to a youth baking competition that holds both positive and painful memories. But worsening stomachaches since the move have forced her to create a lengthy "do-not-eat" list. The pain in her gut that she first compares to a woodpecker rapidly upgrades to a porcupine ("with laser-sharp quills") and then to "the Knife." Tess is sure her can-do attitude and sense of humor will pull her through, but when competition preparation wears her out so much that she passes out in school, she must finally fess up to family and friends about her stomach issues to enlist their help. The story offers a realistic and often funny portrayal of middle school life and treats grief and chronic illness sensitively and with a light touch. Tess is an endearing character with an equally likable support network. The appended "Letter from Kirby and Quinn" explains how the mother-and-daughter team were careful to include accurate details about living with Crohn's disease based on Wyatt's own experience with the illness.
Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?