From the author of the acclaimed Roll with It comes a moving novel about a girl with a sensory processing disorder who has to find her own voice after her whole world turns upside down.
Lou Montgomery has the voice of an angel, or so her mother tells her and anyone else who will listen. But Lou can only hear the fear in her own voice. She’s never liked crowds or loud noises or even high fives; in fact, she’s terrified of them, which makes her pretty sure there’s something wrong with her.
When Lou crashes their pickup on a dark and snowy road, child services separate the mother-daughter duo. Now she has to start all over again at a fancy private school far away from anything she’s ever known. With help from an outgoing new friend, her aunt and uncle, and the school counselor, she begins to see things differently. A sensory processing disorder isn’t something to be ashamed of, and music might just be the thing that saves Lou—and maybe her mom, too.
REVIEW: I want to say this right now!! As a future librarian, I will be pressing this into the hands of middle grade readers for years to come! I am a mom of 3 children with varying degrees of sensory processing disorder and a former foster parent, and I thought this book was spot on. The rawness and realness of Lou's character as a child suffering from a disorder she doesn't understand and a child being swept away into child protective services was heart-wrenching and so important for other children and other adults to understand. The group of friends she makes at her new school is a wonderful addition to this already very diverse book. There's also a music and theater aspect that I loved as well. I'm loving the big revival of theater I'm seeing in middle grade and young adult books right. Can't forget about those theater kids!! This definitely a 5 star read and one that should be known to middle grade readers, librarians, teachers, and parents alike, so everyone can understand that there are disabilities that you can't see and so that those that are battling these things are not alone!
Publication date: September 1, 2020 (available for pre-order NOW!)
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