Unstuck

by Barbara Dee

Overview

From critically acclaimed author Barbara Dee comes a middle grade novel about a girl whose struggles with anxiety and writer’s block set off unexpected twists and turns, both on and off the page.

Lyla is thrilled when her seventh-grade English language arts class begins a daily creative writing project. For the past year, she’s been writing a brilliant fantasy novel in her head, and here’s her chance to get it on paper! The plot to Lyla’s novel is super complicated, with battle scenes and witches and a mysterious one-toed-beast, but at its core, it’s about an overlooked girl who has to rescue her beautiful, highly accomplished older sister.

But writing a fantasy novel turns out to be harder than simply imagining one, and pretty soon Lyla finds herself stuck, experiencing a panic she realizes is writer’s block. Part of the problem is that she’s trying to impress certain people—like Rania, her best friend who’s pulling away, and Ms. Bowman, the coolest teacher at school. Plus, there’s the pressure of meeting the deadline for the town writing contest. A few years ago, Lyla’s superstar teen sister Dahlia came in second, and this time, Lyla is determined to win first prize.

Finally, Lyla confides about her writing problems to Dahlia, who is dealing with her own academic stress as she applies to college. That’s when she learns Dahlia’s secret, which is causing a very different type of writer’s block. Can Lyla rescue a surprisingly vulnerable big sister, both on the page and in real life?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534489868
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	99,685
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

Barbara Dee is the author of fourteen middle grade novels including Unstuck, Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, Violets Are Blue, My Life in the Fish Tank, Maybe He Just Likes You, Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including The Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books, the ALA Notable Children’s Books, the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Barbara lives with her family, including a naughty cat named Luna and a sweet rescue hound named Ripley, in Westchester County, New York.

Read an Excerpt

1. The Blank Page

THE BLANK PAGE
Okay, here we go.

What I’ve been waiting for, the chance to share my story. Not just the random bits I’ve been writing in my head, or scribbling on notepads, but the whole thing, from the absolute beginning.

I mean, I guess from the absolute beginning.

Because... what exactly is the absolute beginning? The day Aster is born? Or runs away from home? Or first spies the one-toed Beast that’s tracking her every move? But so much happens before all that, and it’s stuff I should probably explain in the first chapter. Seriously, if you don’t know about the Defectors, or Oleander the Witch, or how Aster’s big sister is basically kidnapped, nothing in the plot will make any sense.

And this story gets incredibly complicated, although in a good way. Really, there’s so much action, it could be a whole series! I wonder if Ms. Bowman would let me keep writing. I bet she would, once she sees how much there is to tell, because she’s the kind of teacher who lets you actually create. Unlike Mr. Delgado last year, who made us write five-paragraph essays on topics like Why Kids Need Limits on Screen Time. I mean literally—five paragraphs, not four or six. Once I actually wrote seven paragraphs and he made me smoosh them together so that I had exactly five. It’s amazing I survived sixth grade without my brain leaking out my ears.

And now Ms. Bowman is smiling in my direction. Making eye contact and nodding like, Go ahead, Lyla. Why don’t you start writing?

I smile back at her like, No problem! Here I go! Writing my story!

Seriously, Ms. Bowman is the coolest teacher in the entire school, even if she thought my sister, Dahlia, was a genius. But I don’t hold it against her, because teachers always think Dahlia is a genius. It’s what my parents think too. And of course Dahlia agrees with all of them.

Anyway.

I click the top of my favorite gel pen: blue ink, extra-fine tip, not too clunky in my hand. When Ms. Bowman told us about daily writing, some kids said they could write only on their laptops. Ms. Bowman said she’d like us to begin our stories in spiral notebooks, although later on we can switch to tablets or computers, if we want. But I don’t think I will, at least not until I have a first draft. I like to feel a pen in my hand, and see my handwriting on the paper. It just seems, I don’t know, more personal somehow.

And the thought that soon, in maybe just a few weeks, this empty notebook will be completely filled—every page, every line—makes me feel like dancing. Of course I stay in my seat, but it’s hard to stop smiling. Not that you need to suffer to write a story! I mean, that’s such a cliché, right? Why can’t writing just make you happy?

In front of me, Stella Ramirez is using a pencil, and so is Noah Hennessey on my right. Stella’s pencil is one of those fancy mechanical ones, but Noah’s is a nub, barely big enough to grip. I watch them both hunch over their desks, doing two different kinds of hunching. Stella sits like she’s taking a test, and doesn’t want anyone copying her answers. Noah is hunched like he’s already given up, even though we’re just getting started.

Poor Noah—he looks so miserable. In math class he knows all the answers, so I bet he likes numbers better than words. I’m the total opposite: if I could do nothing all day long except reading and writing, I’d be the happiest human on the planet!

CHAPTER ONE

This story will have lots of chapters, so they’ll definitely need numbers. I wonder how many there’ll be by the last page of this notebook, because it’s going to be extremely long. Way longer than five paragraphs—so DO NOT READ THIS, Mr. Delgado! Nothing to see here, hahaha!

Although later on I might give the chapters titles instead of numbers. Possibly. I haven’t decided—but that’s okay, because there’s plenty of time to think about things like that. We’re going to be working on this writing project for the next few weeks, Ms. Bowman says. Every day, for at least a few minutes! Woohoo!

Seriously, Ms. Bowman is like the Best Teacher Ever. I can barely wait to see her reaction when she reads this! When I’m ready to show it to her, I mean.

Oh no. Wait, stop!

Why is my hand all blue?

Is that ink?

Oh crap, my pen is leaking!

Gross! Just as I was getting started!

I’d better go wash up in the bathroom.

Even if the period is basically over now, and I won’t have time to do any writing.

Editorial Reviews

11/27/2023

Seventh grader Lyla Benjamin is bursting with ideas for the extravagant fantasy novel she’s been plotting for a year, which centers on witches, feuding sisters, and a one-toed beast. But when her English class begins a creative writing unit that will end with the students participating in a town-wide writing contest that Lyla’s apparently perfect older sister Dahlia once won, Lyla experiences unexpected writer’s block. Even though she knows where she wants her novel to go, Lyla feels paralyzed by her goal to create an impressive story, resulting in distractions when she’s supposed to be writing. Her stress over the fast-approaching deadline is amplified by interpersonal complications including a growing rift with her best friend Rania, who’s attending a different middle school, and Dahlia confiding in Lyla that she’s uncertain about attending college. Through Lyla’s by turns earnest and anxious first-person perspective, Dee (Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet) deftly depicts the complex and sometimes turbulent writing process, and the self-doubt that can come with it. A section titled “Twenty-Five Ways to Get Unstuck” concludes. Lyla and her family are white; the supporting cast is racially diverse. Ages 9–13. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"A portrait of a writer as a seventh grader! Humorous, heart-warming, and oh-so-real, Unstuck shows us how surviving middle school is a lot like the craft of writing. We must accept that it isn't easy, it helps to have friends, and, above all, we have to stay true to ourselves. Word lovers and budding novelists will love this book — but so will anyone who is, will soon be, or once was an adolescent."

Jennifer Ziegler

"With her trademark humor and warmth, Barbara Dee has crafted an empowering story about creativity, self-esteem, and the pressures that come along with pursuing a passion. Dee incorporates writing strategies that will inspire budding authors and delight English teachers, and Lyla's deeply relatable journey will resonate with anyone who's ever felt stuck–whether they're battling writer's block, navigating changing friendships, or yearning to emerge from a sibling's shadow."

Laurie Morrison

For years now, Barbara Dee has written one exceptional novel after another. UNSTUCK may be her best yet. Lyla’s story is at once unique and universal, and readers will finish the book feeling inspired and empowered to take control of, and share, their stories.

Jarrett Lerner

"A wonderful, heartfelt and honest story about trying to write a novel and survive middle school, Unstuck is this generation's Dear Mr. Henshaw."

Kirby Larson

With well-established insight into the interior lives of middle schoolers, Dee nails some of the tiny, painful intricacies of hesitant new friendship and feeling boxed in by other people’s expectations. Lyla’s passion and frustrations will be relatable to any aspiring young writer.

Booklist

"Unstuck joyfully celebrates the complex writing process and empowers young readers with the knowledge that creativity is a personal journey and sometimes strength is found in unexpected places.

Veera Hiranandani

Lyla is a character to root for! Her battle with writer’s block and her journey to overcome it are both relatable and inspiring. With family and friendship relationships weaved in, Unstuck is an entertaining and heartfelt read.

Janae Marks

★ 02/02/2024

Gr 3–7—Lyla, 12, is in love with the idea of writing. She has a fully formed world and plot in her head but writer's block has her feeling highly stressed and disappointed in herself, her anxiety verging on panic attacks. In her story, a younger sister saves her older one from various dangers using her quick wits. In reality, Lyla's sister Dahlia can barely tolerate her. Preoccupied by senior year college applications, Dahlia chafes at her parents' encouragement that feels more like demands and she takes it out on Lyla. An elementary friendship is unraveling as Lyla insists that friends have to have everything in common; meanwhile, a writing contest deadline looms. All in all, Lyla feels stuck. But gentle support from her ELA teacher helps her deal with the growing anxiety and a possible new friend, who is nothing like Lyla, promises a path ahead. Ultimately, Lyla doesn't write her story, she lives it, and helps Dahlia find her own path. Short dynamic chapters and Lyla's distinctive and energetic voice will keep readers flipping the pages. Just as she has in My Life in the Fish Tank and other titles, Dee showcases the power of compassion and understanding during the crucial middle school years of growth and change. Readers see how anxiety starts, how it grows—and how it can be managed. The tips and tricks here about writing and stress will definitely translate to real life. VERDICT A top choice for middle school libraries and a great handsell for young adults with younger siblings.—Lee De Groft

School Library Journal

2023-11-04
If you already know your fantasy story’s plot, characters, and world, then writing it will be easy, right? So why is Lyla so stuck?

Attending a different middle school than her best friend, Rania Goswami, seventh grader Lyla hasn’t found other close friends; at lunch she’s stuck with weird, friendless, animal-obsessed Journey Lombardi-Sullivan. At least Lyla’s favorite teacher assigns them creative writing, so Lyla can finally start the story she’s long been plotting, one about a Scribe named Aster’s quest through the haunted Quagmire to rescue her big sister. But why won’t the words come? And why do Rania and her new friends seem to be laughing at Lyla’s writing project? At home, constant fighting between Dahlia (Lyla’s “genius” older sister) and their parents hides Dahlia’s desperate desire not to attend college. How can Lyla unstick her writing, recognize her true friends, and find a practical way to help her sister? With wonderfully rich characterization and impeccable pacing, the author interweaves middle school friend and family dramas with struggles familiar to any writer. Of the many constructive suggestions offered by Lyla’s teacher, some do help her, such as not remaining laser focused on winning the contest. The inserted excerpts from Lyla’s novel demonstrate both her writing-process difficulties and how her real-life problems subconsciously inform her writing. Most main characters are cued white; Rania reads Indian American.

A heartfelt exploration of a young writer’s struggles and successes, with practical advice included. (writing tips) (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews