A long overdue review for a great book! This was such a beautiful coming of age story, and I really resonated with Anabelle's struggles to fit in and grow up. I'd definitely recommend this to older MG readers, who are on their way into the rocky stages of teenage angst. It's a sweet story that is a quick read and I enjoyed it immensely!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Excellent teen/ya novel that kids can connect with. I found it a great read although I got really aggravated with the choices made sometimes, though it makes sense as it is a teen book.

There is a such a need for books in that sweet spot between MG and YA and Up for Air did not disappoint in filling that need for me. Poor Anabelle just wants to be good at something and when she finds that something on the swim team, she takes it and runs (well, freestyles) with it. She thinks she fits in well with the older crowd because of her swim talents and her body developed early, but her learning disability doesn't wash away in the water and she is unsure how to react when a boy likes her (or how to tell if he's genuine and a good guy). Annabelle's story transitions the middle grade reader into young adult very well and is an enjoyable and satisfying read.

Up for Air by Laurie Morrison is a really heartbreaking and beautiful book about self-worth and finding yourself that I'd highly recommend.

Thank you to Amulet Books and Net Galley for the e-ARC copy of this book. I enjoyed reading it and following the experiences of a young middle school girl who has above average skills in the swimming pool but struggles to understand and find success in school. Annabelle is so successful on her middle school swim team that the high school team has recruited her to race for them. Being thrown into the more grown-up world of high schoolers brings new challenges for Annabelle. Her crush on an older team member causes her to make some unwise decisions which result in some embarrassing moments - something that every middle school girl understands.
The theme of friendship and trust was realistic as Annabelle deals with jealousy and competition. A great remind to never be in a big hurry to grow up!

Up for Air is a fantastic book that does a good job of filling in the need for upper middle grade books that cover the gap students feel as they go through middle school. Morrison honestly and accurately portrays the ups and downs as well as the uncertainty and volatile emotions that surround growing up. All readers will identify with the main character in some way and her actions, as well as those of other characters, are an excellent starting point for meaningful discussions. Highly recommended.

Swimming is life for Annebelle. She is also trying to fit in, but with her learning disability she is always having to try harder to meet the grade of C. She can't understand why she can't do better when she studies all the time and puts in extra hours that her friends don't have to do. She also misses her dad. Her mom is remarried to Mitch, but she misses her real father and wonders why he does not have a real relationship with her. This book is perfect for middle school students struggling with fitting in and finding their own identity. I will definitely be adding this one to my classroom library!

I loved this story of trying too hard to grow up too fast. I really felt for the main character and recognized her reactions as being those I had to similar situations in my youth.

This is a protagonist who makes every possible wrong decision. Seriously, every time she's faced with a choice, she's probably going to make the wrong one. This is, of course, part of the early teen years. Making the wrong choice and then learning from the consequences. And, in a realistic move, its clear to most characters early on how badly she's choosing but she's determined to stick with them. She leans into those bad decisions. Meanwhile, her friendships are falling apart and she's changing her view of her parents.

I liked this book as it felt like a great title for older middle grade readers. Annabelle is still in middle school, but this summer gets a chance to swim up, racing on the high school team and getting noticed by a high school boy. Meanwhile, her relationship with her best friends from school is feeling strained, she's still worried about her schoolwork, and she doesn't want to disappoint her parents.

This book was a perfect middle school title for those readers not quite ready for YA themes. Laurie Morrison does manage to deal with deep issues, while still writing at an appropriate level for middle grade readers. I really enjoyed this title and its close look at what it means to be a friend as the world changes around you.

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle is the fastest swimmer on her middle school swim team, but she struggles terribly with her academic school work. She has tutors and special learning plans with her school administrators to keep her grades as high as possible. Clearly, she’s not enjoying anything about school outside of swimming. Now that she’s been invited onto the high school swim team, she’s feeling a bit more confident in her skin. She’s particularly interested in Connor, an older high school boy who has definitely noticed that she is no longer the little “hummingbird” he knew, before. Annabelle enjoys the way he looks at her rapidly developing body and she is willing to go the extra mile just to get more of his attention.

Annabelle’s experiences and desires were spot-on for her age — she is clearly someone who wants to grow up more quickly than she should, but does this mean she must leave behind her younger friends? She faces mature high school topics as she learns about her friend’s eating disorder and attends a beach party where everyone is drinking alcohol. However, Annabelle reaps painful lessons after making some impulsive decisions. And as we so often learn during adolescence, the pain may be exactly what is needed to get her focus back on track.

I really enjoyed Up For Air and think it will be an especially great title during the upcoming summer months with so much swimming and beach visits. There’s been a bit of recent discussion in Teacher-Librarian circles about those readers (usually around 8th to 9th grade) whose reading interests are often too old for middle grade literature and yet they’re not quite mature enough for young adult literature. This book will be a really good bridge for these readers — providing a small window into realistic high school experiences without diving too deeply. For that reason, I would say it's appropriate for both middle school AND high school libraries.

My thanks to Amulet Books and NetGalley for offering an e-ARC so that I could provide an honest review. This title will release on May 7th -- go order it now. I doubt it will stay on the shelves!

I had the opportunity to read a NetGalley digital-ARC of this middle grade novel in exchange for a review. Just in time for summer vacation, this book will resonate with middle school-aged kids who have a hard time figuring out just where they belong in this world.
This Cape Cod island community is just beginning the summer season and Annabelle has finished seventh grade with poor grades and a belief that her academic struggles will be with her forever. But when she dives into the pool, all of her school troubles are left behind, and she becomes the power swimmer that wins competitions and shatters records. Noticed by the coaches of the swim team, Annabelle is invited to swim on the high school team because of her strength and abilities. But with this exciting opportunity comes more drama and temptation as Annabelle starts to run with an older crowd and develops a major crush on Connor, who is two years older than her and very flirtatious. This creates tension with her middle school friends and her parents and leads her to make some unfortunate choices that threaten to ruin her chance to become a star on the high school swim team.
I love the setting of this story. This book lets readers step into this beachy, island community to hang out on sandy dunes with these kids, enjoy eating frozen treats at the Creamery, and experience the thrill of swimming competitions. I also think that middle grade students that enjoy friendship and family dramas will be able to take this one to the pool and feel like they’re spending vacation with a new friend. I like that while the dialogue and situations ring true for this age group, and that Annabelle behaves in ways that get her into trouble with her family, the actions of Connor and the rest of the high school group still stay within the bounds of appropriate content for middle schoolers. I think this book would be appropriate for kids in grades six and up.

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles at school, but she is really, really good, at swimming. So good in fact that she is swimming with students in high school.

As I was reading this, I knew that lots of my pupils would really enjoy this book, especially those who swim or enjoy sports. I did like the character of Annabelle, enjoying her success and empathsising with her struggles. However, there wasn't enough of a plot here for my liking and I'm sorry to say that I stopped reading halfway through.

Up For Air is a story of first crushes, friendships, heartbreak, family, and self-worth.


Buy here.
CONNECTION

I connected with Annabelle in a way that really surprised me because at first glance, we are polar opposites. She struggles in school, I was my class Valedictorian. She is a strong swimmer, I can doggy paddle. However, as the plot developed and I got to dive deeper into the character of Annabelle, I began to find myself nodding my head and saying, “I feel you Annabelle!” I don’t want to reveal too much, but I felt her pain of not thinking she was worth anything. I felt her pain when she thought all of her friends were against her and always thought the worst about people. She had very little confidence, and that is where I connected so strongly with her. This self-doubt can really cause many problems, and Annabelle learned that very quickly.

RATING

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was a riveting upper middle grade novel about life and growing up. My sixth graders would really enjoy this book right now because as they are almost 7th graders, some are looking for more mature books that aren’t quite young adult. This book fits that gap wonderfully.

Laurie has a great writing style full of vivid description and inner conflict.

Disclaimer

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Annabelle is psyched when she's put on the high school swim team—even though she's 13 and going into eighth grade. It's almost enough to ignore that she's not doing so great in school. And then Connor notices her. Conner, who's in high school and has beautiful peridot-green eyes. Connor, who is definitely flirting with her. Or is he?

I really enjoyed this upper MG/low YA novel about a girl who is gifted in swimming but struggles in school due to a learning disability. Even though Annabelle has everything sorted out in the pool, outside of the water she's struggling to adapt, survive and make that awkward transition from kid to adult, which is especially difficult when her body has developed earlier than her peers.

There's a lot of Annabelle becoming independent and kind-of rebelling against her parents, her falling for a boy without understanding the nuances behind his actions, and her realization that friendship isn't a competition or a stacked list of who-is-failing-more or who is smarter.

Annabelle faces a lot of challenges and suffers from a lot of childhood anxiety about...well, everything. Because didn't we all over-analyze everything as early teens and stress over every little interaction, particularly when it came to belonging...or being left out?

This novel is appropriate for upper-MG readers and those readers ready to move on from MG novels but not quite willing to step into YA. It bridges the gap quite nicely between MG and YA. There is a scene in the novel that has underage drinking (Annabelle does not drink) and there is discussion of an eating disorder and alcoholism, but the topics are presented well, along with the revolving theme of recovery and the complications of divorced parents, step-parents and the concept of family.

While I wish that the second half of the book focused more on swimming and less on Connor, and that Annabelle got her head out of her ass a little sooner, I'm happy that ultimately she realizes that 1) he's an asshole and 2) being brave means coming back after a mistake.

You can survive shame and embarrassment.

It just takes a while to recover.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Kids for the free review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. UP FOR AIR is on shelves May 7, 2019.

I just loved this middle grade novel! Wonderful setting, premise, and characters. The feelings and situations felt SO real…sometimes cringingly so! When Annabelle had to accept that her crush didn’t reciprocate her feelings, and the subsequent embarrassment that went along with that, I felt it so keenly (haven’t we all been there?). This is a great book for older middle grade readers who aren’t quite ready for YA, but can handle slightly more mature themes.

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she works, and she knows how much this disappoints her mom. But when she dives into a pool, all her worries disappear. When she’s asked to join the high school summer swim team, even though she’s only a rising 8th grader, she’s thrilled at the chance to prove to everyone – especially her mom – how capable she is. Suddenly, everything is changing in Annabelle’s life. Her best friend seems to be moving on from her, and she’s starting to get attention from a cute older boy on the swim team. But then a silly prank goes wrong, and Annabelle starts to question herself more than ever. When she’s no longer allowed to swim, how will she know her self-worth?

Annabelle’s struggles are so relatable! I loved seeing her relationship with her mom unfold, and loved that she’s really close with her stepdad. I think kids will completely relate to Annabelle’s desire for acceptance among her peers, and her search for her own identity.

Up for Air
by Laurie Morrison

ABRAMS Kids

Amulet Books

Children’s Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 07 May 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Up For Air through Abrahams Kids and Netgalley:

It doesn’t matter how hard Annabelle tries, she still struggles in school. The second she dives into the pool though she is unstoppable. Annabelle is the fastest swimmer on her middle school swim team over the summer she is asked to join the high school swim team changing everything.

Suddenly Annabelle has new friends and a high school boy starts treating her like she is special. Annabelle thinks she is finally starting to stand out in a good way. She’ll do anything to make sure her new team makes it to the Labor Day invitational including blowing off her old friends.

After a prank goes wrong, Annabelle is abandoned by the older boy and is unable to swim. Who is she without the one thing she’s good at? Heartwarming and relatable, Up for Air is a story about where we find our self-worth.

If you’re looking for a story about what it truly means to fit in I would recommend Up For Air!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading

An engaging read about all the Venn diagrams of friendship & family - where we fit, where we don't, and how those perceptions are colored by our own biases. Protagonist Annabelle is pulled in so many directions. She's an island kid at a mostly-resident boarding school. She feels like academically, she's behind everyone else . . . and it does seem from the text that she has some accommodations for learning disabilities, but it's never really clear whether those are actual, or imposed by the rigorous academic setting in which she finds herself. She's a standout swimmer, and it ends up splitting her between her friends and the older/more advanced swimmers she's encouraged to join. Her two closest friends are going separate ways for the summer; Jeremy to an off-island camp, and Mia to hang out with newer, "cooler" friends. Plus she gets a letter from the father she hasn't heard from in years, and it upsets the balance she's achieved with her stepfather, Mitch.

I really liked all the ways Annabelle analyzed her friendships and the interactions of those around her. They were both insightful and occasionally incorrect enough to read as authentic. The conclusions drawn are sometimes very accurate, and sometimes . . . very immature.

Not sure if I'll put this in my library since I'm K-6 and it's definitely a middle school story. There's some minor substance use, handled in an appropriate way, but it may be a little mature for my patrons. If I were a middle school library I would hand this to students in a heartbeat. I think many kids will connect, if not exactly with the demands of swim team and private school, definitely with the overall themes.

While I'm sure there is an audience for this book, I'm not it. I was frustrated with the number of plots left behind in favor of the "romance" plot (Annabelle's apparent learning disability, her mother's insistence on perfection, Annabelle's frankly worrying poor self esteem) and disturbed by the conclusions drawn regarding Mia and Annabelle's fading friendship. Readers particularly interested in tales of young love might be intrigued (certainly it is scoring VERY well on Goodreads currently), but this has never been an area of interest for me.