You Go First, Erin Entrada Kelly
You Go First, Erin Entrada Kelly
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
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You Go First

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Narrator: Amielynn Abellera

Unabridged: 4 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/10/2018


Synopsis

Funny and poignant, Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestseller Erin Entrada Kelly’s national bestseller You Go First is an exploration of family, bullying, word games, art, and the ever-complicated world of middle school friendships.In a starred review, School Library Journal wrote that Erin Entrada Kelly can “capture moments of tween anguish with searing honesty.”  Twelve-year-old Charlotte Lockard and eleven-year-old Ben Boxer are separated by more than a thousand miles. On the surface, their lives seem vastly different—Charlotte lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while Ben is in the small town of Lanester, Louisiana.Charlotte wants to be a geologist and keeps a rock collection in her room. Ben is obsessed with Harry Potter, presidential history, and recycling. But the two have more in common than they think. They’re both highly gifted. They’re both experiencing family turmoil. And they both sit alone at lunch.During the course of one week, Charlotte and Ben—friends connected only by an online Scrabble game—will intersect in unexpected ways as they struggle to navigate the turmoil of middle school. The New York Times-bestselling novel You Go First reminds us that no matter how hard it is to keep our heads above troubled water, we never struggle alone. Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible voice. This engaging and character-driven story about growing up and finding your place in the world is for fans of Rebecca Stead and Rita Williams-Garcia.

About Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, which was also named a finalist for the National Book Award. She received a Newbery Honor for her acclaimed novel We Dream of Space. Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA in writing for children and young adults program at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press.Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, an Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; and five popular novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, Surely Surely Marisol Rainey, Only Only Marisol Rainey, Your Turn Marisol Rainey, and Felix Powell, Boy Dog, which she also illustrated.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel on February 20, 2019

3.5 stars I picked up You Go First because this author won the newbery last year and I was curious about her work. Also this was up for the middle grade goodreads choice awards last year as well. Honestly, while I enjoyed this book for the most part, it fell a bit flat. I never felt Ben or Charlott......more

Goodreads review by EJ on May 10, 2018

I had such high expectations for this book, because I've really loved her previous books, but this one just - fell short of the mark. Charlotte and Ben never really connected with each other, preferring to share trivialities instead of actual meaningful interactions like the premise suggests. I like......more

Goodreads review by Josiah on September 13, 2023

Only months after winning the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, Erin Entrada Kelly released You Go First, another sensitively woven tale of friendship and destiny. Twelve-year-old Charlotte Lockard and eleven-year-old Ben Boxer live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Lanester, Louisiana, respec......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on January 12, 2021

This is very subtle for a middle grade book, so may not be the best pick for more literal kids. Both of our main kids, Charlotte and Ben, have two problems. One at home, and one at school. The book spends the vast majority of time on the school problem, when it was obvious to me that the kids' focus......more

Goodreads review by Karis on October 11, 2018

Another review for me to type up with mixed feelings. I don’t typically read juvenile general fiction, but I do have a few favorite authors I love in the genre and was intrigued the premise of You Go First, so I gave this one a shot. I think this author didn’t lose me with her writing style, but rat......more