Gut Reaction
by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt
Middle School    Scholastic    272 pp.
3/24    9781338893137    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781338893151    $18.99

Tess’s family just moved, and she is happy to start eighth grade in a school where no one knows her dad passed away three years ago. Sharing homemade treats—her dad taught her how to bake—helps win friends, and she’s invited to return to a youth baking competition that holds both positive and painful memories. But worsening stomachaches since the move have forced her to create a lengthy “do-not-eat” list. The pain in her gut that she first compares to a woodpecker rapidly upgrades to a porcupine (“with laser-sharp quills”) and then to “the Knife.” Tess is sure her can-do attitude and sense of humor will pull her through, but when competition preparation wears her out so much that she passes out in school, she must finally fess up to family and friends about her stomach issues to enlist their help. The story offers a realistic and often funny portrayal of middle school life and treats grief and chronic illness sensitively and with a light touch. Tess is an endearing character with an equally likable support network. The appended “Letter from Kirby and Quinn” explains how the mother-and-daughter team were careful to include accurate details about living with Crohn’s disease based on Wyatt’s own experience with the illness.

From the May/June 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.