Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for TAKING UP SPACE! I’m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book, AND an interview with Alyson Gerber to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!
Taking Up Space by Alyson Gerber Published on May 18, 2021 by Scholastic
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 272
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Sarah loves basketball more than anything. Crushing it on the court makes her feel like she matters. And it’s the only thing that helps her ignore how much it hurts when her mom forgets to feed her.
But lately Sarah can’t even play basketball right. She’s slower now and missing shots she should be able to make. Her body doesn’t feel like it’s her own anymore. She’s worried that changing herself back to how she used to be is the only way she can take control over what’s happening.
When Sarah’s crush asks her to be partners in a cooking competition, she feels pulled in a million directions. She’ll have to dig deep to stand up for what she needs at home, be honest with her best friends, and accept that she doesn’t need to change to feel good about herself.
I shuffle across the court, watching number twelve and listening to my teammates.
When I step back, I drill into someone. My sneakers squeak against the floor, and I barely catch myself from falling over.
I didn’t know she was there. No one called out the screen. The ref blows the whistle and calls a foul on me—another one. One more and I’m out. I look over at Coach Lemon, because I know there’s a chance she’ll replace me. But she doesn’t wave me over. Everything is fine.
There are only two minutes left in the game. And we have to win. The more we win, the longer the season lasts and the more games we get to play, and I need as much basketball as I can get.
The girl I ran over inbounds the ball.
I play tight defense without fouling and make it impossible for number twelve to get near the hoop. My teammates are working as hard as they can too. We get a stop, but when we get the ball back, the other team starts face- guarding us.
It’s hard to make space. When Emilia tries to pass to me, number twelve intercepts it and starts up the court with her right hand, and then, whoop, switches to her left hand, runs around Emilia, and before I can recover, she goes cross-court to one of her teammates.
Ryan lunges forward seemingly out of nowhere and steals the ball back. She sprints toward their hoop, and before anyone else can catch up to her, she lays it in and scores!
Err. Err. The buzzer goes off. We won!
“Yes!” I shout.
Ryan runs over and hugs me as hard as she can, then we high-five, low-five, pivot-turn, and fist-bump. It’s our BFF-totally-not-bragging-too-much-just-celebrating victory handshake. I can’t stop smiling.
“We’re so getting into the Hall of Fame!” She grins. “You know it,” I say. And even though I feel a little weird about how I played, our team won, and that has to matter more than anything else.
Copyright © 2021 by Alyson Gerber
interview coming soon!
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About Alyson Gerber
Alyson Gerber is the author of the critically-acclaimed, own-voices novels Braced and Focused published by Scholastic. Her third novel Taking Up Space will be in stores on May 18, 2021. She has an MFA from The New School in Writing for Children and lives in New York City with her family. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @AlysonGerber.
Braced, Focused, and Taking Up Space are all Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. Braced received three starred reviews and has been nominated for state book awards in Oklahoma, Indiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, South Dakota, and Georgia. Focused was picked as a best book of year by The Today Show, Kirkus Reviews, and A Mighty Girl and has been nominated for state book awards in Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Michigan. Alyson’s latest novel, Taking Up Space, based on her experience with disordered eating, will be published on May 18, 2021. Taking Up Space will help readers recognize how much they matter and see that if something negative is taking up space in their minds, even if there isn’t a name for it, they should ask for help.
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What do you think about Taking Up Space? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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