LIS 721 - Contemporary Realism

 Let's Look at Contemporary Realism!

Sumner, Jamie. Roll with It. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020. 272 pages. $17.99. ISBN 978-1534442566

Summary: Ellie’s a girl who tells it like it is. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.

But when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. Except she’s not just the new kid—she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them! -- Amazon

Review: Roll with It, written by critically acclaimed author Jamie Sumner, is a heartwarming middle-grade novel following 12-year-old Ellie, a girl with cerebral palsy, as she starts over in a new town. Ellie is strong and resilient, striving to prove that she is more than just her wheelchair, as she aspires to become a professional baker. She and her mother end up moving to a small town in Oklahoma to take care of her grandfather, who has dementia, so she has to start all over and navigate making new friends and establishing her independence. The text's style is conversational, making it easy to understand and relatable to the experiences of a middle schooler. The first-person point of view gives the reader a direct look at what it's like to be Ellie. Sumner does a great job making sure that Ellie is more than just her disability by making her a relatable character trying to navigate life at a new school and having to help take care of a grandparent, who is also bigger than his dementia. Her love of baking and her letters to food writers highlight her attention to detail and desire to help her family. Challenges, such as accessibility in a small town and coping with family struggles and friendships, are authentic, supporting Ellie as a multi-dimensional character. Her friendships are made with a sense of mutual respect when she meets Coralee and Bert. The themes of friendship, change, and overcoming obstacles are universal, leaving the audience resonating with the story and its characters. Overall, this humor-filled and heartfelt story offers a valuable perspective on living with a disability. Ellie's struggles, triumphs, and personality make Roll with It a meaningful novel highlighting the importance of empathy, self-confidence, and resilience. 

Warga, Jasmine. Other Words for Home. Storytide, 2021. 368 pages. $16.99. ISBN 978-0062747815

Summary: Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.

At first, everything in America seems too fast and too loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven’t quite prepared her for starting school in the US—and her new label of “Middle Eastern,” an identity she’s never known before.

But this life also brings unexpected surprises—there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might just try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is. -- Amazon

Review: Jasmine Warga's Other Words for Home is a Newbery Honor Book award winner, written in verse, following a young girl who is forced to flee Syria to the U.S. with her mother. Jude is the complex yet relatable main character of the story. She must navigate the challenges of coming to a new country, such as learning a new language and facing prejudice, but she is still brave, curious, and resilient. She leaves with her pregnant mother to live with family already in America, while her father, brother, and friends are left behind. The differences between her home, a seaside city in Syria, to the loud and busy Cincinnati force Jude to face themes of adaptation, belonging, and identity, while dealing with family issues. These experiences will resonate with young readers, whether it be moving to a new place, figuring out who you are, or feeling like an outsider. The pacing of the narrative feels organic, where the readers will be able to follow Jude's emotions and see her growth as the story progresses. Jude's heritage is interlaced throughout the story, which feels natural and not forced in a way that only highlights the negatives of the culture. Jude's cultural identity comes into play in a school incident where she is shamed out of trying out for a play because she is different, but Jude sees it as a challenge to overcome rather than accepting her identity as a disadvantage. Warga's decision to write the story in verse makes the story convey Jude's emotions and experiences powerfully, while keeping the language accessible to younger readers. A good example of this is her description of America, where the readers can feel how overstimulating Cincinnati is compared to her home in Syria. Warga writes:

Cars honking 

Traffic lights flashing

Big billboards advertising 

hamburgers

drinks

an entirely new life (p. 80)

Overall, Other Words for Home is a beautifully written novel depicting an authentic immigrant experience. The use of verse effectively captures Jude's thoughts and emotions as she faces the challenges of displacement and longing for home. Her journey of self-acceptance will resonate with readers of all ages and inspire empathy in a way that will linger with them long after they finish reading.