Up for Air

(Paperback)

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Description

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she tries. But as soon as she dives into the pool, shes unstoppable. Shes the fastest girl on the middle school swim team, and when shes asked to join the high school team over the summer, everything changes. Suddenly, shes got new friends, and a high school boy starts treating her like shes somebody specialand Annabelle thinks shell finally stand out in a good way. Shell do anything to fit in and help the team make it to the Labor Day Invitational, even if it means blowing off her old friends. But after a prank goes wrong, Annabelle is abandoned by the older boy and cant swim. Who is she without the one thing shes good at Heartwarming and relatable, Up for Air is a story about where we find our self-worth.

Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"An awesome swimmer with a frustrating learning disability struggles in the roiling waters of adolescence . . . Readers will root for [Annabelle] as she ricochets between ebullience and despair, empathy and hurt, confidence and doubt, pride and self-loathing--we've been there, too, or soon will be. Captures the turmoil of adolescence with wisdom and humor in near-pointillist detail."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
**STARRED REVIEW**
"Morrison, a former teacher, realistically captures the challenges of middle school--complicated family dynamics, volatile friendships, and first love--in this story about a girl struggling to find where she belongs."-- "Publishers Weekly"

Author Bio

Laurie Morrison taught middle school for 10 years before writing Every Shiny Thing, her middle-grade debut with co-author Cordelia Jensen. She received her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Philadelphia.