Access Today Gertie's Leap To Greatness Constructed By Kate Beasley Released As Kindle

story that's readable and sweet, but ultimately on the slight side for me,

Positives: I loved the narrative voice and the charming illustrations, which reminded me of TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING and also illustrated several characters as POC, though they're not specifically referred to as such realistic handling of difficult subjects, especially the mom who abandoned Gertie and Gertie's conflicted feeling about her dad's job on an oil rig nonnuclear family unit Gertie lives with her aunt, and her dad is away for his job for long stretches of time and best of all, the familiar outrages and embarrassments of being in school, including unfair treatment, fixating on another kid who always seems to get her way, not being able to help yourself from doing something wrong, and feeling betrayed by a friend.
And Gertie herself, who is not afraid of resuscitating frogs, is just delightful,

Less successful: I was willing to believe in Gertie's unlikely quest to win over her estranged mom, but somehow that never came together convincingly for me until near the end with the play.
Although again, I appreciated how that played out, Like all kids, Gertie was also selfish at times, but unlike the competitive scenario with Jean, she also rarely listened to Junior, and I don't think that was followed through very wellthat is, I don't think she really noticed it.
The Mary Sue lesson was, as expected, a solid one, however, And although I liked the writing style and dialogue, I think the book and characters start strong but don't finish with as much humor or wisdom or heart as they had the potential to.


So, a quick and enjoyable read, but not something I'd be likely to read again, But I'd check out another book by this author down the road,

An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review,

Audiobook PS: I listened to aboutminutes of the audio version and the style of narration was a little too zany for me.
But don't let me stop youI do a lot of audiobook listening at night before bed and generally prefer things a little less exaggerated, I'd guess this is a probably a good audiobook to listen to on a road trip/ or with kids,/for me, but worthy of rounding up loved all except one thingmore about that later, Gertie, oh dear, dear Gertie, I want to hug you and then pull you back from me and laugh at your delightful passion and purpose and attitude, but then I want to pull you in again for a long tight hug to help make up a teensy bit for all those hugs you never got from your mom.
You are such a joyous, flawed character who makes me laugh out loud and who breaks my heart all at the same time, Gertie Reece Foy, I love you!

And author, Kate Beasley, how do you expect me to believe this is your debut book, No way! The only way to explain it is that you must have been an author in an earlier life of yours that's my explanation and I'm sticking to it!.
I have not read a book with more KID APPEAL in a long timeyou hit a home run with KID APPEAL! The voice of your book is so strongwhich is even more surprising since you told it inrd, notst person.
Your language is fresh and vibrantI found myself rereading phrases and sentences for the pure joy and wisdom of the language zombie frogs, Junior Jr.
, one of those people who acted nicer when the teacher was watching, Your opening line, "The bullfrog was only half dead, which was perfect, " is, well, perfect! Gertie is such a great character see paragraphabove, You build tension and conflict as you make me root for Gertie, For example, when Gertie sneaks into Mary Sue's party uninvited amp unwelcome, I want to shout, "No, Gertie, no! Don't do it! Turn back!" but then another part of me is peeking through my hands that are covering my face while I hold my breath and anticipate with glee the Gertie chaos that is about to ensue.
Bravo, Ms. Beasley, bravo! And, it's a given, that I expect many more Gertie sequels,

My one disappointment in this book was the ending, Gertie is an exclamation point character and so I expected an exclamation point ending, But, sadly, it felt more like a whimperlike the air being let out of a balloon, not a big bang balloon pop, I wanted moremore drama, more satisfaction,

Still, GERTIE'S LEAP TO GREATNESS is one of my favorite books of, and I'm putting it on my hopeitwinsaNewbery along with WOLF HOLLOW and MAYBE A FOX.
Everything you have heard about this book is true,
And more.

I was in love with Gertie beforepgs had gone by,
My heart felt for her,
I often wanted to give her a hug,
She made me laugh and smile,

You will want to read this book, You will want to read this book out loud, You will want to pass this book on to readers, I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so stinking adorable! I grew up with Beverly Cleary's Ramona series and Judy Blum's Fudge series so this book totally took me back to myyear old self.
Gertie is a determined, adventurous, stubborn, fifth grader, She lives with her aunt because her dad works on an oil rig and can only come home a few days at a time, Gertie's mom left when she was a baby and believes if she is the best fifth grader in the whole class, her mom will have to take her back.
However, on the first day of school, there is a new girl who threatens to become the best fifth grader, Her name is Mary Sue and she moved from California

because her dad is making a movie, What ensues is a rivalry between the two of them, I love Gertie's determination to accomplish all of her goals even when it seems the whole fifth grade class is against her, There are some laugh out loud moments and adorable illustrations in this book as well, This is Ms. Beasley's debut novel and it sounds like it will be a series, I definitely look forward to more of her books, Thanks to Net Galley and Kate Beasley, Ive now met wonderful Gertie Reece Foy who lives with her wise Aunt Rae and her loving father.
Hes gone for two weeks before returning for two weeks because he works on an oil rig, but the scenes with him show wisdom, too.
Gertie has strength from family, although her mother left them early in Gerties life, but still lives in the same town, is about to remarry and move.
Gertie leaps into the story with a bullfrog, certain that this time she will have the “greatest” summer speech on the first day of school.
Every student at her school gives those speeches, required stories of summer, As we learn soon, Gertie thinks she isnt the smartest or the fastest or the tallest, but she knows herself well,
Gertie Reece Foy never gives up, However, each time Gertie has a mission, somehow it seems she must overcome adversity, like that new and pretty Mary Sue thats moved to town, that one that seems up against all Gertie is aiming to accomplish.
The web of fifth grade friendships breaks down because of Mary Sue, and Gertie is hanging on by only one thread, her biggest mission to do the greatest at something, anything.
All thats left of her mother is one locket and briefest of memories while growing up, Gertie wants to be able to do that something so she can go to her mothers house and let her know she hasnt been needed at all, because Gertie has become the greatest anyway.
No one understands this until she confides in her steadfast friend, Junior, who also never stops being her friend, Ive been told that if you have one good friend, that is all you need, and it counts a lot in this story, Aunt Raes matteroffact love counts a lot too, and both together buoy Gertie so she can keep on, sometimes sadly, sometimes desperately, She is not perfect, after all, but wow, she does make her leap to greatness, The book is complex without seeming so, Those young middle graders who read this book might especially cling to Gerties secrets, knowing they too have them, And they will see that in spite of everything, there are things that count that perhaps have been overlooked, I loved the characterizations, the hint that every child has a story that calls to us to want to discover more, Kate Beasley shows that she knows fifth graders well,
I loved this book! I would love to know Gertie! She is such a delightful girl, and I was rooting for her all the way.
I look forward to sharing this book with students,

I received an early digital copy from NetGalley, Great medicine for a tough postelection week,

As the book jacket says, Gertie Reece Foy isnotfromconcentrate awesome, I will here admit that when I saw Jillian Tamaki named as the illustrator of this book I thought it was a graphic novel and was really looking forward to reading it.
When I discovered it's a novel with a few illustrations, I was disappointed, But, I gave it a read anyway, And I found it pretty disappointing, I think with a bit more context, a touch more humor, and maybe a bit more growing selfawareness on Gertie's part, I might have appreciated it more.
Also, I didn't think the conflict between the wealthier "outsider" whose family comes to promote nature conservation vs, the local family with father supporting the family by working on an oil rig got explored or resolved fully, I think the topic deserves a bit more care and sensitivity, What did I like about this book A nontraditional family, A complex girl protagonist who is learning as she goes, Meditations on the messy nature of family and friendship and just being human, .