Up for Air

by Laurie Morrison

Overview

Dive into Laurie Morrison’s Up for Air, a middle-grade novel about competitive swimming, changing friendships, and finding your place.

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she tries. But as soon as she dives into the pool, she’s unstoppable. She’s the fastest girl on the middle school swim team, and when she’s asked to join the high school team over the summer, everything changes.

Suddenly, she’s got new friends, and a high school boy starts treating her like she’s somebody special—and Annabelle thinks she’ll finally stand out in a good way. She’ll do anything to fit in and help the team make it to the Labor Day Invitational, even if it means blowing off her old friends. But after a prank goes wrong, Annabelle is abandoned by the older boy and can’t swim. Who is she without the one thing she’s good at?

Heartwarming and relatable, Up for Air is a story about where we find our self-worth.

“Morrison, a former teacher, realistically captures the challenges of middle school—complicated family dynamics, volatile friendships, and first love—in this story about a girl struggling to find where she belongs.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419733666
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	690,564
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Laurie Morrison taught middle school for 10 years before writing Every Shiny Thing, her middle-grade debut with co-author Cordelia Jensen. She received her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Philadelphia.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/18/2019

Debut author Morrison, a former teacher, realistically captures the challenges of middle school—complicated family dynamics, volatile friendships, and first love—in this story about a girl struggling to find where she belongs. Annabelle Wilner has just finished seventh grade at a prestigious academy on Gray Island in New England, where she lives with her mother and doting stepfather. Though a learning disability makes school difficult despite tutoring and extra study sessions, Annabelle finds success on her swim team, where she is bumped up to the high school level. Soon, she attracts the attention of a cute sophomore, and her desire to impress him leads her to risk losing what she holds dear: her two best friends, her relationship with her stepdad, and her scholarship to the academy. When an injury keeps Annabelle from swimming, she finds herself drowning in insecurity, culminating in a disastrous attempt to reconnect with her father. Annabelle is both innocent and rebellious, creating an inconsistency that feels genuine for her age group, and her worries about doing well in school and fitting in socially are palpable. By avoiding a picture-perfect ending, Morrison stays true to the maddeningly uncertain years of middle school, depicting all of its in-between-ness with spot-on accuracy. Ages 10–14. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Readers will relate to Annabelle—if not with the specifics of her life, then with the feelings of an almost teen as she navigates growing up. The well-crafted characters extend to the adults in the story, who are multilayered and have lives beyond their relationship with their daughter. Best of all, Annabelle's realizations about her life are hard won and wholly believable."

Booklist

**STARRED REVIEW**
"An awesome swimmer with a frustrating learning disability struggles in the roiling waters of adolescence . . . Readers will root for [Annabelle] as she ricochets between ebullience and despair, empathy and hurt, confidence and doubt, pride and self-loathing—we've been there, too, or soon will be. Captures the turmoil of adolescence with wisdom and humor in near-pointillist detail."—Kirkus Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Morrison, a former teacher, realistically captures the challenges of middle school—complicated family dynamics, volatile friendships, and first love—in this story about a girl struggling to find where she belongs."—Publishers Weekly

"A sweet and entertaining novel that offers deeper themes to ponder."—School Library Journal

"Laurie Morrison authentically captures the lovelorn daydreams as well as the awkwardness and anxiety of a middle school girl with one foot in her childhood friendships and the other venturing into the world of young adulthood . . . the feelings and struggles Annabelle experiences are universal and will strike a chord with middle school students."—School Library Connection

"Readers will relate to Annabelle—if not with the specifics of her life, then with the feelings of an almost teen as she navigates growing up. The well-crafted characters extend to the adults in the story, who are multilayered and have lives beyond their relationship with their daughter. Best of all, Annabelle's realizations about her life are hard won and wholly believable."—Booklist

From the Publisher

"Readers will relate to Annabelle—if not with the specifics of her life, then with the feelings of an almost teen as she navigates growing up. The well-crafted characters extend to the adults in the story, who are multilayered and have lives beyond their relationship with their daughter. Best of all, Annabelle's realizations about her life are hard won and wholly believable."

Booklist

03/01/2019

Gr 5–7—Annabelle is the fastest on her middle school summer swim team, where she knows her place in the world. That is not always the case in other parts of her life. She feels mediocre at private school, and cannot quite connect with her wealthy classmates. Despite her hours of studying and extra tutoring, Annabelle cannot focus during her tests (even with her extra time), and worries that she is a disappointment to her mother and stepfather. But this summer will be wonderful—she plans to swim and spend time with her two best friends, Mia and Jeremy. However, middle school friendships have a habit of changing before everyone is ready: the easy competition between her and Mia takes on a less friendly nature, and Jeremy is going away to nerd camp for a whole month. Still, there are things for Annabelle to look forward to: being invited to swim with the high school team, making older friends, and Conner, an older boy who actually seems interested in her. As Annabelle tries to impress them, she begins to alienate Jeremy and Mia and makes a series of poor decisions. Eventually, Annabelle learns that her parents consider her more amazing than she knew, and that boys' attention is not always genuine. At the surface, this story may be typical, but it does an excellent job in creating relatable problems and characters. Annabelle's fears of being on the outside of friendships and school circles are likely the fears of many young readers. VERDICT A sweet and entertaining novel that offers deeper themes to ponder.—Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2019-02-17

An awesome swimmer with a frustrating learning disability struggles in the roiling waters of adolescence.

Annabelle, 13, is relieved to put seventh grade behind her. Despite tutoring and accommodation for completing tests, she remains a C student at the academically rigorous boarding school she attends as a scholarship day student. With boarders gone, she looks forward to hanging out with classmates Mia and Jeremy, whose families, like hers, are year-round residents on their New England island (which seems to have a largely white population). They're top students, but in summer Annabelle is the confident, focused star of their swim team. Thrilled to be invited onto the high school team, she shrugs off her mom's conditions, including summer tutoring. After a rocky start, Annabelle keeps up with her older teammates. Out of the pool, it's another matter. Crushing on flirtatious Connor, Annabelle blows off tutoring and strains her friendship with Jeremy; her friendship with Mia has become an uncomfortable competition. When Annabelle's misdeeds disappoint not only her mom, but her stepdad, whose pride in her swimming is crucial to Annabelle's self-esteem, she turns to her dad. She remembers his failures, but right now, their similarities might matter more. Annabelle has a lot on her plate. Readers will root for her as she ricochets between ebullience and despair, empathy and hurt, confidence and doubt, pride and self-loathing—we've been there, too, or soon will be.

Captures the turmoil of adolescence with wisdom and humor in near-pointillist detail. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

"Laurie Morrison authentically captures the lovelorn daydreams as well as the awkwardness and anxiety of a middle school girl with one foot in her childhood friendships and the other venturing into the world of young adulthood . . . the feelings and struggles Annabelle experiences are universal and will strike a chord with middle school students."

School Library Connection