A truly lovely read. Sure, Bea makes some truly bad choices. And her story arc is entirely expected. What really makes this book is the characters. Bea is particularly very strong. We feel her desperate loneliness and fear of change quite keenly. Most of the secondary characters feel realistic. THey carry the plot and make it worth reading.

I usually read realistic fiction just to know what is out there for kids, but this book was a very good story! Imagine starting school and being unsure about your previous best friend and unsure about what to do. That is what Bea faces when the book starts. She had a great summer with her cousins and is eager to share with her best friends all that she did and learned. Instead she faces the bleakness of not being able to read her friend's actions. As she faces this new experience, she searches out new people to be with. Her character is wonderfully drawn and very likable. As the book moves along, we see her grow both as a friend and as a person. I enjoyed the book and the characters!

So let's talk middle school fiction tropes - the biggest is when your best friend suddenly stops being your friend (usually over the summer) and is now popular while you aren't. I read stories with that idea all the time...

And yes, there is some of that in this book. Bea went to Taiwan over the summer and when she comes back and wants to surprise her best friend at their annual end of summer pool party... well, she is the once who gets surprised. So now Bea has no one to sit at lunch with, no real friends. She starts hanging around the path they used to walk and even leaves haiku in invisible ink hoping Sammie will find it and things will go back to normal. But then she meets Will and Briggs and others and starts to become friends with them.

Can Bea discover a way to be herself?

I enjoyed this book even with a familiar trope. Bea was delightful and thoughtful and Will was a great character as was Briggs. Solid choice!

As I was reading this I thought this would be the perfect book for kids to read just before going back to school especially grade seven like the main character Bea is as I think they could relate to her and the situation she is in.
Bea is a bright, inspiring 12 year old girl going into seventh grade and her and her BFF have made these amazing plans to be something this year and to shine, well things don’t go according to plan. Something that I am sure a lot of kids do the summer before grade seven. They want to be cool, liked and popular. I know I sure wanted to do that but then reality quickly sets in right?
Just before school starts Bea goes to Taiwan with her family and she comes home excited to see her friends only to realize her friends are no ignoring. She realizes she has no one to talk to because both her parents are busy with work. You can see her struggling and my heart broke for her.
Bea’s parents are both successful and involved with their work but they do love Bea. I just wish they would have taken a moment to see that she was struggling instead of being so into their work. One thing about Bea is that she is really good at hiding things and deflecting things so to her parents defence they didnt’ really notice anything unusual in Bea.
Its not easy being a girl going into grade seven with no friends, being ignored, because you are in a whole new playing field but I loved how as much as Bea was in pain she showed the readers that no matter what you can do it and over come this. I wish I had this book when I was going into grade seven. Bea was a strong and courageous girl in my opinion.
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We know a lot YAYOMG! readers tear through books faster than you can keep up with hitting the bookstore or the library. Some of you are aspiring writers or are creative in other ways, like drawing or music. No matter how much you love to let your creative heart run wild, every now and then you might hit a wall. Maybe something changed at home, you got a bad grade on a test, or are just generally feeling a bit down. Even if you’re not a creative type, we’re sure you can relate to a time where you just weren’t feeling quite yourself and it started to affect your mood, your grades, or whatever passions you may have.

Beatrix Lee from The Way To Be totally knows how that feels too. If you know what it’s like to feel totally invisible or want to disappear, we know you’ll just love this wonderful new read.

Bea is a middle school student, a free-spirit, and a budding poet. She loves writing poetry, especially haikus, about everything and anything that inspires her that day. That all changes for her when 7th grade begins and everything is different. Her parents are having a baby, forcing Bea to go from only child to big sister. An embarrassing incident causes her to drift even further from her best friend – something that happens a lot as you make your way through your middle school and high school years.

None of Bea’s struggles are truly terrible – but they feel that way to her, something that is very relatable on a very real and emotional level for the reader. When you’re in middle school, every little change can seem like the biggest, most life altering moment for the good or for the bad. The Way to Bea so deeply understands those feelings, making this a must read for anyone struggling with the awkwardness of middle school and loneliness of outgrowing a close friendship.

Bea decides to go stealth and become as invisible as she feels. She hides behinds her headphones, is more reserved and quiet, and begins pouring her soul into haikus that she only writes in lemon juice and water, aka – invisible ink. Bea hides her poems and feelings away inside a wall so no one can find them. One day, someone doesn’t just find Bea’s secret poems – they write back! Bea begins writing back and forth with her new mysterious pen pal and feels so much less alone.

Filled with heartfelt haikus, adventures through labyrinth mazes, a dash of Taiwanese culture, and insight into Bea’s creative process, this book is just wonderful all around. We love the way that Bea works through her struggles and discovers who she’s really meant to be, and we know this book will inspire other kids like Bea, break out of their shell, and find the hope to get them through their troubles.

A compelling story about appreciating differences and finding your authentic self. While I very much enjoyed the story it did feel like it skewed much younger than the based-in-middle-school plot would suggest. The publishers are pitching it as grades 3-7, which feels right, so pay attention to those cataloging notes, people! Either way, this story has legs and will probably show up on more than a few Newbery consideration lists.