Mills, Claudia. Write This Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR, Macmillan), 2016. 256 pages. $15.99. 978-0-37430-1644.Affiliate Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository
Genre: Realistic, Writing, School Story
Cover Appeal: It's eye-catching but I wonder if students would recognize the almost quote. Will need some book-talking
Immediately After
I know just the 5th graders who will love this.
Autumn is obsessed with two things; writing and Cameron Miller. Her writing is not going as well as she would like and her relationship with Cameron is only in her head. Meanwhile her brother Hunter has changed. He's no longer the loving supportive brother she can talk to, instead he makes fun of her writing and her crush! To his band! Which includes Cameron's brother!
Write This Down has a lot going for it including, a great friendship, loving parents, and a teacher who cares. Autumn and Kylee support each other even if they don't agree. They look out for each other and have more friends than each other. Autumn is well-rounded and makes mistakes. She also cares about her family - even when Hunter doesn't return the affection. I enjoyed seeing her and Cameron's "relationship" evolve. Her obsession blinds her to some of what's going on around her but she knows she only has herself to blame.
Overall
This is a good middle grades read. The relationships were plausible, including the loved teacher and the parents doing whatever it takes to get their son back on track. A few writing scenarios seemed contrived and a tiny bit repetitive. The resolution was satisfying and had a little bit of a surprise. Loved the dilemma of who your story belongs to if you include other recognizable people. I give this a 3 out of 4. Will definitely purchase for the LS library.
More
Book Excerpt
Claudia Mills online Author Page | Blog | Twitter
Read The Story Behind "Write This Down" - A Guest Post by Claudia Mills
Blog Tour Stops
September 27: Ruth at ruth ayers writes
September 28: Cindy at Charting By the Stars
September 29: Melanie at Two Writing Teachers
September 30: Niki at Daydream Reader
October 1: Kathy at The Brain Lair
October 2: Maria at Maria's Mélange
Thanks for hosting me, Kathy, and for your insightful comments on the book, and most of all, for creating this wonderful space for conversations about the two best things in the world, READING and WRITING!
ReplyDelete