You Go First audiobook

This is very subtle for a middle grade book, so may not be the best pick for more literal kids. Both of our main kids, Charlotte and Ben, have two problems. One at home, and one at school. The book spends the vast majority of time on the school problem, when it was obvious to me that the kids' focus on the school problems was really a way of avoiding their home problems. Yet this is never really spelled out, in fact, I bet a lot of kids would forget that Charlotte's dad is literally in the hospital for the entire book because it can go so long without mentioning it. I think it needed to dig into these things a little more, to me it felt kind of unfinished that way. Even though Kelly is so empathetic and her writing is great and feels really real, the structural/thematic elements here felt off for me.As a readaloud, it was good. The chapters were succinct and a good length, we could often do a few in a night. We made it through this one pretty quickly, which is a nice change for us. And it got us to pull out the Scrabble board together.

Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.This is a quiet book about the power of connections when you are feeling alone - just having ONE person to connect with can be life saving and life changing. Charlotte and Ben are both struggling with friendships and family and their online Scrabble game is what brings them together - I love that Ben picks up the phone to call her to break the cycle of only connecting on screens rather than verbally. However, I do wonder about the message this gives kids after we tell them constantly to NEVER connect in real life with strangers they meet on the internet........definitely something to ponder and something I didn't consider until after finishing the book. This is a quiet and sweet story that may take some book talking to get it into kids' hands, but there are definitely middle school students who need this story.

Ahhh this book got me in the feels! Erin Entrada Kelly is a master of that particular ache that middle school brings. These amazing characters will stick with you. Hand this one to kids also feeling the ache of middle school or readers who live for character-driven stories (like meeee).

Over the course of six days two preteens engaged in an online Scrabble game both undergo major life changes. Both Charlotte and Ben are sans friends IRL (that's in real life for the uninitiated.) Both are bright and inquisitive youngsters, sticking out like sore thumbs in a land populated by homogenous middle schoolers. Alternating chapters focus on the scenarios in each child's life. Charlotte's father has been hospitalized following a heart attack. Her once best friend now thinks of her as a parasite. Ben's parents have announced their plans to divorce. He decides to run for student council despite the daily taunts he receives from his fellow classmates. What they tell each other about their lives is far from the truth. Nonetheless, the Scrabble connection serves as a means of human contact as well as a literary device driving this engaging, poignant novel.Recently I have read several books featuring gifted middle school characters. Like A Wrinkle in Time's Meg Murry and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler's Claudia Kincaid, these characters are immediately engaging and memorable. It is so refreshing to read about kids who are more interested in language, science, and math than those who obsess over clothing and hair. Hope this trend of interesting characters continues!And, now I'm itching to play a game (or several) of Scrabble!

Charlotte made a promise to herself then and there: If I ever see someone fall, I'll ask if they're okay. This had so much potential to be a new favorite. It just missed that mark for me. But it dealt with so much in such a nice way. Bullying, online friendships, divorce, health failures, so, so much. I really came to care for Charlotte and Ben. They didn't seem relatable until suddenly something clicked and I saw myself in them. I don't know what that moment was or what changed, but it was a pleasant surprise. Maybe it was Charlotte being so determined to be kind to others even when they've not been kind to her. (or, in relating to an older version of myself, her suddenly feeling like she hadn't said enough to her dad, like there were a million words left unspoken and she wasn't sure she'd ever get to speak them.) Or maybe it was Ben trying his hardest to make friends and failing because for some reason beyond his control, no one wants to be his friend. I saw twelve-year-old me in these kids. To be honest, if I've seen this much of my younger self in a book, it's been a long time. Aside from the super whiz-kid stuff. I was smart but not that smart. xD Anyway, I've about come to the conclusion that Kelly's writing style isn't for me, but her characters are. Thus the just-missed-mark. 4 stars.

4.5/5 for You Go First! Thx to @erinentrada for sharing this ARC with me. It doesn't come out until April, 2018! I am sharing my copy with the @kidlitexchange network. All opinions are my own._*_*_*_*_*Charlotte and Ben are online scrabble buddies; Charlotte lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Ben lives in a small town in Louisiana. Both are gifted students who struggle to make friends and both are having family problems at home. Charlotte's father has had a heart attack and she can't bring herself to visit him. Ben's parents have just let him know they are getting divorced. In just one week, their simple online friendship turns into something a bit more complicated. Swipe to see more of the summary!_*_*_*_*_*First of all, what an incredible cover! I just love when the cover art is a perfect representation of the book. Ben and Charlotte are both adrift in their lives and the only thing holding them together are their daily Scrabble games. Even though the two don't open up to each other much (I was surprised by this!); it's clear that the constancy of their games and the reliability of having one friend is the anchor they need to avoid completely drifting away. I love how Charlotte's chapters start with a small "rabbit hole" of a fact that connects to the story in an interesting way. We all know students whose minds work that way with random facts! The book is a quick read and Ben and Charlotte are easy characters for students to relate to. This is not my favorite book by Erin Entrada Kelly (that honor belongs to Blackbird Fly!), but it is a wonderfully sweet story that belongs in every upper elementary and middle school library. It's an absolute must-buy so put it on your saved spring order list now! I'll remind you to get it when it gets closer to the book birthday. :)

You Go First is similarly structured to Hello, Universe (Kelly's Newbery Medal winner) and I think coming fresh off the heels of that title, this one seems to be underwhelming people. I rather liked it though. Yes, it reads like Hello, Universe with two different characters alternating chapters, but on a much smaller scale. And I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that the two are similar. Hello, Universe feels bigger, more important. You Go First feels more normal and everyday. When you map out the events of You Go First, you find that not really much happens but I think a lot of kids, and I mean A LOT of kids, could relate to Charlotte and Ben and the pressures to conform and maintain friendships (in Charlotte's case) or relate to peers at all (in Ben's case). While I liked Charlotte, I couldn't quite connect to Ben. The only thing I can figure out is that something about his character/personality felt off, like he was robotically naive at times, but all too self-aware at other times. As terrible as it makes me sound, I found it difficult to root for him and his speech.Probably more like 3.5 stars, but I rounded up to 4 just because.

I'm always down for a perfectly plotted middle grade even when they are sometimes a little pat, but that's okay, because we all need hope in the world and Entrada Kelly superbly navigates the tween traumas of friendship and belonging. Ben (is on the spectrum) and is an intelligent eleven year old who was just told his parents are splitting up, so he decides to run for school officer. Charlotte wants to be someone other than Charlotte, imagining a girl like who she is playing Scrabble with Ben, Lottie, who has it together when right now her best friend is distancing herself and finding new friends. She's even overheard her friend talking bad about her. They connect online even though they're miles apart with their shared love of words as intelligent kids. Charlotte needs support since her older father just had a heart attack and Ben needs it to figure out how to take the news of his parents separation. I love the cover, the layout of the chapters, and how the story unfolds with gentleness and humility. It's a beautiful story.

I think this is the first middle grade book I've read that features an online-only friendship. That alone makes it unique, especially when adolescent social media is portrayed so negatively. The book dealt with other important themes as well - friendships, bullying, divorce, families. My only complaint is that the story felt a little slow.

This book has so much potential to help struggling middle school students. For kids like Charlotte and Ben, it can feel like they have been left behind. Like the rug has been pulled out from under them and they are in a foreign country. You Go First deals with bullying, illness in the family, divorce, friendship and so much more. I heartily recommend it as a read aloud.

12-year-old Charlotte Lockhard lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and feels herself growing apart from her childhood best friend Bridget, just as Charlotte's dad suffers a serious heart attack. 11-year-old Ben Boxer lives in small town Louisiana, where he dreams of becoming class president, but right now his biggest challenge is just finding someone to sit with at lunch who loves Harry Potter as much as he does. The two live more than a thousand miles apart, but develop an unlikely friendship playing each other in Scrabble online, and realize how important it is to have someone to talk to, no matter how far away they may be. I liked this one even better than Hello Universe and The Land of Forgotten Girls by the same author. Ages 10 and up.

This book shows the struggles of two middle schoolers and their friendship through hard times. Charlotte's dad had a heart attack, and she is afraid to see him. Ben's parents are getting divorced, and he doesn't know why. Their lives are connected only through an online Scrabble game, but they become friends in the process. Both kids help each other through being rejected by other people.

Truly a magical book! The story of online scrabble buddies Charlotte and Ben, who are each going through friend and family issues is simply brilliant storytelling at its best. I couldn't put it down. A classic.