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I’m not a writer who tests a manuscript with a writing group or hordes of beta readers or pretty much anyone. It’s pretty solitary. Though for Shaken, I did call on the help of various experts to inform, read, and review key sections.
I’m not recommending my process to anyone, just noting that’s how I roll.
So the first review is always a strange one, because it represents one of the first reactions I get for a book.
I should also note that I’m grateful to be reviewed at all. My last major book, Upstander, received only one very brief cursory review. I didn’t feel seen at all — an irony, given the theme of the book — but it stung even more because I felt the novel’s subject matter (substance use disorder) was important and worthy of our collective attention.
Anyway!
Here’s the review from Kirkus, widely considered one of the tougher review outlets. I’m happy with it.
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Life changes quickly for a middle schooler after an accident forces her to slow down and reevaluate who she is.
Thirteen-year-old Kristy Barrett has always attracted attention on the soccer field: As a 4-year-old, people saw her playing and just knew there was something different about her, from her focus to her speed. She was special. This phrase has been repeated her whole life. Now, as a seventh grader, Kristy is starting on the varsity girls’ soccer team, dominating players who are several years older than she. Soccer isn’t just her passion, it’s her identity, the thing that people notice her for—and she loves it. But after she’s kicked in the head while diving for the ball, she suffers a traumatic concussion. Suddenly, Kristy is a different person—and no one seems to understand her or what she needs or even how to talk to her now that she’s not that special soccer player. Preller’s careful pacing matches the fuzziness and slow healing of Kristy’s brain, introducing readers to the realities of the pain, loss, and feelings of isolation that dedicated athletes experience when they can no longer play. The somber tone of the story is lightened by the presence of two minor characters who bring levity and humor. Strong themes of healing (both physical and emotional), family, and friendship abound. Main characters cued white.
An introspective and realistic coming-of-age story about rediscovering oneself. (Fiction. 9-13)
: THE FALL by James Preller){kind=link}