Roll With It

Roll With It
by Jamie Sumner

Roll With It

Grades 4 & up

Realistic Fiction

Tune It Out

Book Summary:
Ellie and her mom move to take care of her grandparents, which means a new school, which means a bunch of kids with questions about why Ellie is in a wheelchair (she has cerebral palsy). At least she can still keep up her interest in baking, and she meets some new friends her age. However, things are tense because Ellie's grandpa is forgetful, but he doesn't want to talk about whether something is wrong. Ellie just wants to find a way to help.

Book Review:
Ellie describes some challenges to her independence, like getting dressed or taking a bath, that are bothering her more and more as she's getting older, but the fact that she's in a wheelchair isn't the focal point of the story. Occasional letters from Ellie to her favorite celebrity chef describe ongoing challenges with various pastry attempts, showing an interesting contrast between her life in a fairly crowded trailer home and the recipe descriptors she wants to achieve ("beautiful and rustic"), even if her audience is sometimes less than appreciative. This book does good work showing a character we don't often see engaging in activities and challenges many readers can appreciate.

"The thing about fighting with family is that you can't get away from them. You're stuck until it's fixed or broken for good." p. 68

"So everybody's staring at me not because I'm in a wheelchair. It's because I'm from the park?"
"You got it, sister. You're from Trailerland now." p. 135