Laurie Morrison

Grace is determined to beat Jonah and become the top scholar of the eighth grade, but unexpected, tiny incidents throw her out of her groove, and she loses to him. Again. It's an on-going competition between the two, and Grace is determined to beat him at something. When her best friend creates a summer-to-do-list for her, Grace makes sure to add the half-marathon to her list. After all, Jonah is taking part and this might just be her chance to prove she can beat him at something. Despite determination and a solid work-out plan, other things keep popping up to make Grace's life more challenging, including a baby-sitting job for her father's latest girlfriend's son. As she struggles to keep everything going, she's also discovering more about her own desires and emotions...and it might mean that what she's fighting for isn't really what she wants after all.

The interactions between Grace, her friends, her family, and those around her come across extremely natural, making this an easy story to sink into. The dialogue flows with the finesse of usual conversation and lets the personalities shine through. There are ups and downs, heart-warming moments and clashes. Many of these will come across as familiar to readers and create situations they can sympathize with. Add Grace's determination and good moral compass, and she's a character to identify with and root for.

While Grace's desire to defeat Jonah drives the main plot, it's more like icing on a thicker cake as the subplots weave in more difficult themes. Grace's desire to win isn't simple and might hang more on her parents' divorce a couple years before. Her problems steering between two parents' lives will hit home with many readers, and the toss-in of baby-sitting the girlfriend's child adds a difficult twist, while offering new insights Grace needs. There are also things to be worked out between relatives and friends, but all of this includes wholesome moments and lots of growth. So, there are many great messages packed into this read. And there's a hint of romance, which will delight as well.

The only weakness I found...and it's more of a personal opinion than a true weakness...is in the message of not being defined by your accomplishments. Grace hears this message over and over again, especially in connection to her grades. It hits strongly and while it is important to realize reaching high goals isn't everything, it almost undermines the idea that it's still important to try and give the effort. But as said, that's just me and it's still a very lovely read.

All in all, I found this to be a wonderful and extremely well done read, and believe it will connect with quite a few readers in a valuable way.… (mere)

Annabelle is just about to end her seventh grade year, and even though she gets more time on essays than others and that she works hard to prepare, she isn't surprised when most of her grades are Cs. Her mother says she's proud of her, but Annabelle really feels like everyone just feels sorry for her. Being in water is the only time she really feels comfortable and alive, so when she is asked to move up to the high school swim team for the summer, she looks forward to more time in the water, especially since she gets to practice with the older kids, including Conner, who seems to be paying more attention to her than ever before. Will moving to the high school team, mean losing her friends from the middle school team? Will the reappearance of her real father in her life make her feel more like she has somewhere to belong? These are just some of the challenges Annabelle faces in this story.
The real strength of Up for Air is the way all of the emotions of the characters are spot on. Annabelle's struggles with loneliness, isolation, insecurity, and misunderstanding are all presented in a realistic way, showing what most girls feel during adolescence. Overall an excellent middle grade book.… (mere)