  | Redwood and Ponytail Author: Holt, K. A. | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Told in verse in two voices, with a chorus of fellow students, this is a story of two girls, opposites in many ways, who are drawn to each other; Kate appears to be a stereotypical cheerleader with a sleek ponytail and a perfectly polished persona, Tam is tall, athletic and frequently mistaken for a boy, but their deepening friendship inevitably changes and reveals them in ways they did not anticipate.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 3.50 Points: 5.0 Quiz: 508106 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 6-8 Reading Level: 6.60 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 77763 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (07/15/19)
Booklist (+) (07/01/19)
The Hornbook (00/01/20)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2019 *Starred Review* With her latest novel in verse, Holt returns to the world of House Arrest (2015) and Knockout (2018), this time turning her focus to the story of Kate and Tam. Kate, with her “perfect swinging” ponytail, is next in line to be cheerleading captain, much to the satisfaction of her demanding, ex-cheerleader mother. Tam, tall as a redwood, is a popular volleyball jock whose “hippie” mother and elderly lesbian neighbors help her feel free to be herself. When the new school year brings the two girls together, they form an immediate bond, but it’s a friendship that soon feels like something more, and each of them must make sense of their feelings in the face of first love and the pressure of outside expectations. The free verse narration is totally accessible, flowing quick and clear, and Holt plays with form, beautifully highlighting the parallel internal journeys, often achieving something akin to a musical duet. Ultimately, this is a middle-school romance concerned with the thrilling, confusing, world-shifting emotions of that age. In an afterword, Holt writes that this was the book she needed when she was a kid, and all kinds of children will find hope in what, more than anything, is a moving story well-told. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
