2020 Schneider Family Book Award β’ JLG 2019 selection
Β
I'm not like them. I hurt, and they don't. I'm weird, and they're not.
Β
Fourteen-year-old Ricky Bloom is pretty pissed off. Her body hurts constantly (thanks, chronic illness), her family's a mess (thanks, Disaster-Formerly-Known-As-My-Parents),Β ninth grade is a nightmare (thanks, Glorious Grant Middle School), and her crush is completely clueless. What's a girl to do but cuss (a lot) and skip school (also a lot)?Β
Β
But it gets worse. When her truancyβa.k.a. The Charadeβis discovered, Ricky might have to do the unthinkable:Β repeat a grade.Β Ricky will do anything to get the hell out of middle schoolβeven if it means changing the person she's become.
Β
This brilliantlyΒ funny, foulmouthed story of chronic illness, messy post-divorce families, and teen romance will resonate with anybody who fights to keep it together when everything, even their own body, is falling apart.
Β
"A blistering coming-of-age tale that will propel readers into Rickyβs corner."βBooklist