Dear Student by Ellie Swartz - ADVISABLE

Dear Student by Ellie Swartz, 304 pages. Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House), February 2022 $20 

Content: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

12yo Autumn has just started 6th grade. Her BFF just moved to California, and Autumn is worried about starting middle school alone. Walking to school on the first day, she meets Cooper when he accidently injures a baby lizard on the road. Then, at school that day, Autumn is invited to have lunch with Logan, a gregarious girl who seems to make friends easily. Maybe there's a chance for friendships after all. A favorite part of the school paper is "Dear Student" an advice column which will be written by a 6th grade student secretly assigned by Mr. Baker. Autumn applies (so does Logan) and when Autumn gets the job, she finds giving advice secretly is much harder than she thought, and could hurt her newly found friendships. 

Autumn is a great character, a lot going for her as well as a lot going on in her life (don't get me started about her father "leaving to join the peace corps" (what??)) She's resilient, thoughtful and is really trying to do the right thing even though she's going through a lot. Realistic representation of today's kids - Cooper and Logan were also experiencing some challenges. I liked the middle school drama and how a rumor can spread through the whole school in just a few class periods.

Lisa Librarian