Summary
This story is about a twelve-year-old character named Ellie, who wakes up the next morning after an earthquake. When she wakes up she has life-changing superpowers! However, she does not want to have these powers. Ellie has to face the challenges of a typical middle school girl, while also having superpowers. One challenge includes having a crush on her best friend Abby, and she is not sure how to handle this situation.
Theme(s):
Friendship, Change, Love
Personal Response
I enjoyed this chapter book because the two main characters, Ellie and Abby are not similar. Ellie is a reserved, quiet, and shy character. Whereas, Abby is bold and outgoing. Seeing the two navigate their emotions and feelings for each other at a young age is eye-opening! It is also interesting to read about middle school characters that are queer. During my middle school experience, teachers never told us about stories involving queer characters.
Teaching Ideas
This story can be used to guide middle school students through their daily struggles. Students who may be questioning their purpose, identity, gender, or sexuality may use this book to help them through this difficult time period. Additionally, this story can be used for social-emotional lessons regarding emotions and how to handle emotions. For example, I recently recommended this story to my fifth-grade student (who is going to middle school next year) that is questioning.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07, Grade 08
