  | Kate in between Author: Swinarski, Claire | |
| Price: $21.88 | ||
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Kate becomes the face of an anti-bullying movement after a heroic act goes viral, but her world is turned upside-down when the truth about her involvement is revealed.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.50 Points: 8.0 Quiz: 514589 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (03/15/21)
School Library Journal (06/01/21)
Booklist (04/15/21)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/04/21)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 04/15/2021 Twelve-year-old Kate is looking for a change as middle school starts, and then it comes in the form of an invite from the popular click, led by Taylor Tobitt, the “it” girl at school. When Kate is asked to join them at their lunch table, she suddenly has the chance to try out a different identity. Previous BFF Haddie doesn’t understand the social politics in play and tries to join the group as well, with nearly deadly consequences. Thankfully, Kate intervenes and saves Haddie, but a video of the incident goes viral, suddenly making Kate a poster girl for antibullying. But is she really or was she part of the problem? Can Kate find the strength to do the right thing and come clean? Well written and on point, Swinarski’s middle-grade take on the mean-girls novel will resonate with readers looking for a realistic story that doesn’t gloss over choices or consequences, giving them complex ideas to contemplate. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 06/01/2021 Gr 5–7—Seventh grade couldn't toss any more twists and turns at Kate McAllister. Her mother has left for Utah to try to move up the ladder in her multilevel marketing cosmetic company, leaving the girl with her police officer father. She and her childhood best friend, Haddie, have stopped hanging out since Kate became science lab partners with popular Taylor, who pulls Kate into a new group of cool friends. But when the new friend group focuses their teasing on Haddie with a game of keep-away that sends her falling through thin ice to retrieve her hat, Kate jumps to the rescue. The video Taylor films of Kate rescuing Haddie goes viral, and Kate is thrust into the media spotlight as the poster child for anti-bullying. Kate starts to question her role in what happened to Haddie and who her true friends are, eventually confronting whether she really is "Kate the Great." Swinarski adeptly presents multiple, and at times conflicting, sides of Kate in her struggle to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. Kate is cued as white. VERDICT With a well-developed protagonist, this book tackles bullying, friendship, and parental roles. For library collections seeking books covering issues of social media and social justice.—Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb, IL - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
