Falling Over Sideways

This book is very middle school but also appropriately done.  

Claire has started her eighth grade year on the wrong foot:  she had a zit the first day of school, she shares all her classes with Ryder—who always has a snide comment for her—and her dance friends were moved up to the high school class without her.  No one understands Claire’s troubles—not her parents, her friends, or her perfect older brother Matthew.  Then the bombshell hits:  Claire’s dad has a stroke.  Now the once great children’s author can’t coherently put two words together. Claire’s feelings of anger and sadness roll together and make one big emotional mess of Claire’s life.

This book has a few good lessons to take away.  First, friendship.  Claire is having trouble relating to her dance friends now because they’re in the high school class and will want to hang out with their new high school friends instead of her.  Because of her fears, she doesn’t share her problems with them, including her dad’s stroke, and when they find out, they’re hurt that she’s been holding back and not trusting them.  Claire also finds some unexpected friends at school.  At the beginning of the year, Claire was upset because she only had one friend in her class and her nemesis Ryder was also in her class, but as the year goes on, she finds that his teasing is more friendly than debasing.  They also stand up for Claire against their crazy science teacher, which solidifies their friendship.  Another lesson is perseverance.  The one place that always calmed Claire was dancing, but this year was different because her friends were not in her class.  She thought about giving up, but she decided to push through.  She took extra lessons with the teacher, she worked out at home, and pushed through to prove her teachers wrong.  She also motivated her dad to work out more to build his strength, even if he would rather sleep.

This book has its moments of drama and inner turmoil.  It is a little much from an adult’s perspective, but I see many kids relating to Claire’s story.