You Go First

You Go First
Erin Entrada Kelly
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2018 304 pages
Grades 4-7
Realistic Fiction

Two different narrators tell their stories from different locations, brought together by a love of Scrabble and the internet. Ben Boxer lives in Louisiana. His whole world is rocked when his parents, seemingly out of the blue, announce their divorce. He starts middle school without friends and confidence. A kind encounter from an attendance office worker leads to Ben choosing to run for student council office, bumping heads with the "cool kids" with disastrous results. Charlotte Lockard lives in suburban Philadelphia. Her older father must have heart surgery and Charlotte fears that he will die and feels guilty about the times she was less than kind to him. Her school year also is starting off badly, as her best friend is leaving her to break into a more popular crowd. Both young people find solace and sense in the game of Scrabble and, through an on-line gaming chat-room, become friends. The on-line friendship develops into a "phone friendship", which proves helpful when one of them is in danger and needs a rescue.

Last year's Newbery winner, Kelly, offers another realistic fiction featuring kids who feel socially isolated. For children in this age group, friendships are the most important aspects of their lives and navigating them can be both bewildering and painful. You Go First features a boy and a girl, both of whom are academically bright, struggling to make social connections, as well as dealing with family upheaval. As many folks in our society do, both young and old, they find a like-minded individual through the internet and start to personally connect. I don't know if I like that two books I am reading right now feature internet friendships between children, which I find disconcerting and potentially dangerous, but this is the way of the world to which young people will relate. Readers of both genders will find something to connect to here and may become kinder people after reading this book. Kelly demonstrates that divorce doesn't have to be the end of the world, as Ben Boxers parents seem to remain amicable, sick people don't always die, we all make mistakes, embarrassing moments will pass and be forgotten, and sometimes friends are right under your nose. Both characters find real, in-person connections by book's end and all concludes on a hopeful note, if not a complete “happily-ever-after”. Sure to appeal to the many readers of Wonder and other realistic titles that are currently flying off of library shelves.