.... ...

I like that this book is about a girl who skateboards but the fact that she is a girl is not the issue. The boys give her a hard time because they think she;s a poser, not because they think a girl can't skate. The plot explores the things that motivate a bully: fear, anger, loss, confusion. it acknowledges that we all have the potential to engage in bullying behavior. Sibby does. She sneaks around, yells at her friends, dismisses well meaning peers. The realization that she's acting like a bully allows her to better understand her bully. I like hat O'Connor acknowledges that bullying is not just a kid issue, but something that we deal with our entire lives.

What I Liked
Sibby is a very relatable and sympathetic protagonist who makes some bad decisions. But hey, haven't we all made bad decisions? Her parents are going through some hard times, so the family moves in with Sibby's grandparents. This means she has to go to a new school, and she hates it! On top of not having any friends, everyone eats weird lunches and basically the first thing that happens is that a skateboarding bully named Freddie gets in her face. He challenges her to a skateboarding competition and she agrees, loudly and in front of everyone. Just one problem... she broke her skateboard, and doesn't have another one yet.

What I Would Have Liked to See
For the story that was told, everything was great! I did feel like the introduction of Freddie and Jake made them seem a lot older than Sibby and her friend group, so I always thought of them as a grade or two ahead, even though they were all in the same grade.

My Favorite!
Sibby's cute new friend group rallying around her! And everyone misunderstanding dinosaur poops lol!

TL;DR
Sibby had to move to a whole new city and leave her old life behind all because of a bully, so when a new bully in her new town starts picking on her and her new friends, she refuses to back down... and might be getting in over her head.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So what does one do when one can't sleep (too much on my mind, wedding, dentists, moving)? Read some books! I decided it was the right time for this one. Sadly, I have to say I didn't like it that much, and that was mostly to do with Sibby. Oh, and Freddie, oh and Charlie Parker Drysdale. But the biggest problem was Sibby.

Sibby who seemed like a very cool kid, I have never done skateboarding, but I do love people perform tricks, so I was excited for a girl character who could skate like no other. Or well, she is pretty good. She still has tons to learn but I feel that she may turn pro if she keeps it up.

My biggest problem with Sibby is how she acts. What she says. What she thinks.
*Standing up against a bully? Yes, that seems simple, and in this book it is all made very simple, but sorry in real life that is just not always a possibility. I can tell you that if standing up against a bully, or bullies was the thing to fix it that I would have been way less damaged now. Sadly, standing up isn't always the solution, if anything it can make things way way more worse. So I would say pick your battles wisely. Sometimes you just need to step back, or keep silent.
*Borrowing means you ask someone's permission. Stealing is when you just take things with you. I don't give a crap balls that no one is using that board. There is still an owner somewhere, and you can just do all sorts of tricks without asking around first. Now she had to do a lot of grovelling and saying sorry before things were OK again.
*That she kept calling Charlie Parker Drysdale for his full name. Yay, great that he wears those clothes, still not a reason to keep on calling him that whole name. Gosh darnit. Just call him Charlie.
*How rude she was to her new friends. And sure, they were pretty EH at times (will talk about that in a bit). How she kept longing for her old home and old friends instead of opening her eyes and see that in just a few shorts days she was accepted in a new group. That doesn't always happen that easily.
*Wearing no helmet/safety stuff. What the hell girl. You doing all kinds of tricks that could easily land you in the hospital even with protection and you do it without? Dumb. So so dumb. I get that she wanted to skateboard, but come on. Safety first.
*How she kept saying that rules weren't for her. And even saying that Skateparks shouldn't have rules. So you want everyone to just skate and not give a fuck about anything? Whut? Girl... Or the rule about safety? Not important? *shakes her head*
*That she never told her parents or her grandparents about the broken skateboard. I get that she is worried about money, but that is not something you should worry about. Leave that to the adults.
*Taking someone's phone, editing a video, and then sending it to that person's best friend. No. Privacy please.
And yes, I could go on, but I feel this is enough reasons why I didn't like Sibby.

Freddie is just your classic bully and I didn't like him. Oh boohoohoo, does your life suck? So you can't just go around bullying people. Sorry, this sounds very mean, but I am tired of having bullies in books that have excuses, like we should feel sorry for them. Bullying is bad.

Charlie. Please, boy, could you just tape your mouth? It is so very rude that you keep blabbing anything people have told you. And that he didn't even notice until Sibby mentioned it. Wow.

Esther. I did like her, but I did get tired of her saying certain things. Like that she would buy a board, or that she would do x and y, and some stuff about parents. Thankfully, Sibby is able to tell her how she feels.

The big show down was fun though, I was rooting for Sibby (yes, even if I didn't like her she is still better than the bully).

I also liked Jake. He was quite a nice surprise and I am happy to how his character turned out.

So yeah, skateboarding was fun. The ending was good. The showdown was exciting. Jake was a good character. But the rest just wasn't my cup of tea.

This story follows amazing skateboarder and main character, Sibby, as she tries to deal with all the changes she is going through. The way Sibby reacts to these changes is consistent with her age and her personality. I like how the author keeps pace with who Sibby is and how she and her friends develop throughout the story. Sibby is head strong and determined and very relatable, as are her new found friends, with each one having something distinct about who they are. Love the sweater vests.

I also really liked that the author addressed the bullying part of the book in three different ways from three different perspectives. Sibby stands up to the bully, which is in her personality to do. The kids around her stay quiet in front of him but discuss that it bothers them with each other. And then there is her mom and dad. They opt for a whole other approach of putting your energy elsewhere. These responses are woven really well into the story as is the storyline of the bully himself.

I also enjoyed the tension around the skateboarding competition. It was nicely paced and very action oriented. Lots of fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and Second Story Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. A great read!

This is a story of a skateboarding girl, and the best part, other than she is a skateboarding girl, is that people aren't surprised that she is a girl who skateboards.

Sibby is a lovely character, and very real, and the story, of how she has to skateboard compete against a bully is a good quick read.

And what I like best? That the bully isn't just a bully. He is a full character as well, and there are reasons for why he is what he is.

A thoroughly enjoyable middle grade novel. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This is a super fun and chill, middle grade, skater book about an eleven year old girl named Sybil! She goes by Sibby, Skateboad Sibby. Sibby loves skating and hanging out with her friends from school, but when her dad loses his job and she breaks her skateboard, Sibby finds herself starting a new school without either.
At her new school she is faced with bullying and trying to fit in. To do that she needs to prove to herself and her new friends that she can out skate the bully at school.
Thank you to NetGalley and Second Story Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published March 18, 2019.
This review will post on my blog November 20, 2018.

O’Connor landed a backside bluntslide with this one! Sibby is living with her grandparents after her parents sold their house. Change is hard, but is made even harder when you don’t talk about your feelings. On her first day of school, she meets Freddie, who became a bully over the summer. Life changed for him too, and he didn’t handle change well, either. When Charlie Parker Drysdale, Hannah, and Esther are bullied by Freddie and Jake, Sibby stands up for them. The last thing she will do is be bullied.

One skateboard challenge, a pumpkin-chocolate muffin, and a forced lesson on emotions later, and the group of eleven-year olds learn that they have more in common than they thought.

There are so many great lessons shared in O’Connor’s book that it just feels right. Two of my favorite lines comes from Sibby’s grandmother, Nan, and her substitute teacher Mr. MacDonald. When discussing changes, Nan says, “There’s always a way forward, Sibby, even if it feels like you’re going backward in order to get there.” The day after Freddie’s life changed again, Mr. MacDonald filled in for their teacher. His lesson was on emotions and what scares them. What scares Mr. MacDonald is being a good teacher. As he says, “Teaching isn’t just about a subject, at least to me. It’s also about the hard stuff, like helping a group of friends stay friends.”

Change is hard for a lot of people and how Freddie and Sibby reacted to their changes is very relatable. Sometimes, when life changes quickly, we forget who we are and what we stand for, but with a little bit of time, understanding, forgiving, and help from friends, we often find our way back.

This book deserves more than five stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I can't wait till it comes out, so I can read it again and put it on my shelf.