 | Chronically Dolores Author: Van Wagenen, Maya | |
| Price: $10.65 | ||
Summary:
Dolores Mendoza is not thriving. She was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn't life threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life. Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 4.70 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 552796 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/24)
School Library Journal (+) (00/07/24)
Booklist (+) (02/01/24)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2024 *Starred Review* Dolores Mendoza’s life is in the toilet after she embarrasses herself in front of the entire eighth grade. Between her chronic illness (interstitial cystitis) and repeated head injuries, her best friend Shae ghosting her, and family drama, she feels really out of place. To get her out of the house, her mom signs her up for a workshop on communication and making friends, where the only other girl there about her age is awkward, direct, and puts the pieces of Dolores’ life together, causing her further embarrassment. But that girl, Terpsichore Berkenbosch-Jones, is doing whatever she can to convince her overprotective mom to let her go to the public high school because being homeschooled is not how she’s going to become a Tony-winning costume designer for a big Broadway show. Together, the two hatch a plot for Dolores to get her friend back and convince Terpsichore’s mother that being autistic doesn’t mean she can’t have dreams and a life. Hitting themes of growing apart from old friends, confronting exaggerated ideas of embarrassment and rejection, learning to find accommodations and self-advocate, and understanding that people aren’t always what they seem, Van Wagenen’s (Popular, 2014) fiction debut is a standout with both wide appeal and important, specific representation bolstered by the author’s own life. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
