How We Roll

April 30, 2018
Quinn McAvoy had a horrible eighth-grade year. She developed a skin condition that caused her hair to fall out, and then, after a disastrous party, untrue rumors about her spread, making her life miserable. Tired of being the target of mean-spirited jokes, Quinn is glad her parents have decided to move to a new city so that her brother, who has autism, can attend a special school. Armed with two expensive human-hair wigs, Quinn just wants to fit in at her new school, and she succeeds when she’s immediately embraced by a group of popular girls. Nobody suspects Quinn is bald, but holding on to her secret is becoming a strain, especially after she befriends Nick, a boy in a wheelchair, who’s bitter about losing his legs and could use her support. In a story about the challenges of being different and the difficulty in learning to trust, Friend (The Other F Word) shows great sensitivity in depicting differently abled characters. Small acts of kindness balance the cruelty Quinn has suffered, and the message that single characteristics don’t define who people are, invites contemplation. Ages 12–18. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

May 1, 2018
After losing her hair--and friends--to alopecia, a high school freshman struggles to find her identity in a new school.When Quinn's family moves from Colorado to Massachusetts to address her autistic little brother Julius' challenging "special needs," Quinn vows that this will be a fresh start. No one will know that her beautiful hair is a wig. No one will know about that One Stupid Night, an uncomfortably realistic incident of sexual harassment that haunts her. Soon, her slate is full of friends, but Quinn's popularity feels as precarious as the wig taped to her head--especially when she meets Nick, a bitter, artistic former football player who lost his legs to his brother's drunken driving. As Quinn and Nick's prickly relationship deepens, so do their characters; Friend's (The Other F-Word, 2017, etc.) attention to physical and emotional detail brings readers into their anxious, itchy skins as both learn to trust and forgive. Frank discussions of phantom pain and post-traumatic stress add nuance to Nick's bitterness. Alopecia support chats provide insight into Quinn's sense of isolation, worsened by Julius' demands on her parents. Unfortunately, Julius' portrayal is jarringly distant; despite Quinn's seeming acceptance, his clever flashes of personality are reduced to obsessions or therapeutic progress. Quinn and her family are white, her friend Carmen is Dominican, and other friends are ethnically ambiguous.An unusual, uplifting take on self-discovery and starting over. (Fiction. 13-16)

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May 15, 2018
Grades 7-10 When the McAvoy family moves to Gull's Head, Massachusetts, it's for 14-year-old Quinn's autistic younger brother's education. Quinn, however, is eager to start anew after an alopecia areata totalis diagnosis left her bald as a cue ball and the butt of her classmates' cruel jokes. No one in Gull's Head knows she's wearing a wig, so once freshman year starts, Quinn is thrilled to be welcomed by the hip girls, but the once-popular and promising football player Nick Strout is a tough sell. Unlike Quinn's ability to hide her alopecia under a wig, Nick can't hide the fact that an accident has left him an amputee. Slowly, a friendship blossoms between Quinn and Nick, and they turn each other's messed-up world right-side up. The novel sheds light on unusual but important issues and the effects they have on families. Quinn's fear and Nick's anger are equally genuine and moving. Friend cleverly finds the sweet spot in both characters to help them gain confidence and understanding in a world that neither believes or cares about them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Everything changed for Quinn McAvoy when she began losing her hair due to alopecia. But starting high school across the country offers her a second chance, and a brand-new wig helps her fit in. Friend's natural dialogue and candid depictions of disability--from Quinn's little brother's autism to love interest Nick's above-knee amputation--delicately elevate this story from issues-novel territory.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from June 1, 2018

Gr 7 Up-Most girls have to select which outfit to wear on their first day of high school. Quinn McAvoy, who has the autoimmune disorder alopecia, must decide which wig to choose. Should she be the red-headed Guinevere or the bolder, dark-haired Sasha? While Quinn's family moved to Gulls Head, MA, for a better education for her brother Julius, who is on the autism spectrum, it is also a much-needed new start for Quinn. Over the course of the past year, she lost all of her hair and then all of the people she thought to be friends. Now her alopecia can be her own little secret. However, when Quinn meets Nick, a boy with a difficult past, she wonders how long she can keep it hidden and whether she should be doing so at all. Friend has crafted a heartwarming story that tackles some heavy issues. It will appeal to teens who enjoyed The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson, or The Fault in Our Stars by John Green VERDICT A strong choice for all YA shelves.-Ellen Fitzgerald, Naperville Public Library, IL

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