Roll with It

Life has never been easy for Ellie.  Her cerebral palsy (CP) means she uses a wheelchair, has a mother who's constantly worried, and has a full-time aid following her everywhere at school. 

Ellie's favorite thing is baking.  It doesn't matter if she's in a wheelchair as long as everything she needs is within reach.  When she's baking, there's no room left in her brain for worrying about CP, nosy aids, or her sick grandfather.

When her grandfather crashes his truck into a building, Ellie and mom leave Nashville to move into a tiny trailer with Mema and Grandpa. 

Ellie is happy to be with her grandparents but nervous about starting a new school.  She has one goal:  no full-time aid.  Having an adult you around everywhere including the bathroom and making all your decisions is not the way to blend in.

Even though she's nervous about school, she's starting with something she's never had before--a real friend.  Coralee lives with her grandparents next door in the trailer park.  She wants to be a country music star, and she's decided she and Ellie should be friends. 

Eufala, Oklahoma, may not be perfect, but it's pretty darn good, and Ellie is learning to roll with the good and the bad.

Jamie Sumner's new book is a sweet story about a girl dealing with the challenges of middle school, a grandfather with Alzheimer's, and divorced parents while also being a girl with a disability.  CP is a big part of the novel because it's a big part of Ellie's life, but it's not the whole story.  This is a refreshing story about a fully realized character and not just a disability personified.  Readers will cheer for Ellie and get a little insight into life with a disability.  The author is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and writes for parents of special needs children.  Highly recommended!

There's Something About Sweetie

After Ashish's ex-girlfriend breaks his heart, he loses his mojo.  Normally, he's a charmer and a basketball star, but now he has no game on or off the court.  Plus, his parents are so obnoxiously sure they could set him up with the perfect girl.  Ashish absolutely doesn't want his parents involved in his love life.  He reluctantly agrees to let them try, mostly to prove them wrong.

Sweetie Nair is a great friend, a track superstar, and a dutiful daughter, but she will never be good enough to please her mother because she's fat.  Her mother is constantly picking at Sweetie about her weight even forcing her to wear a boring blend in outfit for her own birthday party.  Sweetie is sick of it, so she decides to launch the Sassy Sweetie Project to step out of the shadows and become the girl she wants to be.

As they set out on the series of wacky dates Ashish's parents set up for them, they are both trying to assert their identities.  Neither of them is really looking for love, but their attraction is undeniable.  Could this really be a perfect match?

Sandhya Menon's new book is my favorite of hers so far!  It's so sweet and fun, and the characters are both absolutely charming.  This is a perfect PG romance!  This is a companion novel to When Dimple Met Rishi, but you can totally read it independently of the first book.