Abby, Tried and True by Donna Gephart was wonderfully written and I am so excited to put this book into my classrooms and the hands of kids. Gephart created a story of friendship, romance, and family issues that drew me in as a reader and created some big emotions with her brother's cancer. Gephart's representation of cancer and LGBTQ was done very well and everything was very accurate. I cannot wait to have students dive into this book for it's craft and structure.

This was a nice book about family and learning how to be bold. Abby is such a true character and I loved watching her shine. This book is perfect for readers ages 9-12.

Beautiful book about friendship and dealing with a brother's cancer diagnosis. It is so true to life, and that makes it such an incredible book!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow, this was such a sensitive topic that I haven't read in a middle grade book thus far. All of the main characters are so likeable.

During the summer, Abby's best friend Cat moved half across the world to Israel, she's beginning seventh grade, and a new boy moves into Cat's house all while she is trying to deal with the unexpected discovery of her older brother Paul's testicular cancer. Abby is struggling with all of these, but discovers a newfound friendship with the boy next door (Conrad). I loved watching their friendship bloom at the story went on. This was such a touching story, and I loved the hopeful ending!

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I'm cool with helping kids get comfortable talking about their bodies in frank and open ways. They need to be able to use the biological terms and discuss concerns without shame. If this book helps accomplish that goal, that's a net positive. Its just that there isn't much else to this plot apart from that. IT's a predictable story and a shallow exploration of interpersonal issues.

Abby, Tried and True is a brilliant, heartwarming coming-of-age story with a strong, memorable female protagonist. The author has written a book with an endearing female main character dealing with the challenges of being a young teen, and we are witnesses to her growth in confidence and sense of self while an illness is present. This book has strong themes of community, family, friendship, and identity. Each difficult topic is handled gracefully and tenderly and each relationship that Abby develops helps her to grow in a new way, and challenges the perceptions she had of herself and others.

This novel was beautifully written with spectacular descriptions, well developed characters, and a well placed plot. As Abby learns self-awareness, it encourages others to look at her differently as well. Anyone who has ever felt like the odd one out will be able to find themselves in this sweet story.

Grateful to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the early copy of this book.

Abby, an introverted middle school girl, is facing the start of seventh grade without her best/one and only friend, Cat, who is moving with her mom to Israel. If Abby doesn’t learn to channel some of Cat’s courage, seventh grade will be even lonelier than Abby imagined. As luck would have it, a good looking, somewhat older, boy moves in next door leaving Abby tongue tied and unsure if she can form enough of a sentence to have a conversation with him. Eventually she is calm enough to accept Conrad’s invite to walk to school together and a new friendship begins to blossom. Abby is going to need Conrad’s support more than she expected as she finds out her older brother Paul, with whom she is very close, has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. She wants to be strong for her brother, but the weight of her own struggles is making it hard for her to manage it all.

Gephart has written a sensitive middle grade story that touches on a topic not often explored: teen cancer. The character Paul who has cancer uses humor to deal with the worry and fear, but he also has to face how to live in recovery which is a challenge I have never seen addressed in a middle grade novel. Since testicular cancer is commonly found in men ages 15-35, writing about this topic in a middle grade novel could make it easier for growing boys to identify a concern with their own health.

Another fantastic story by Donna Gephart that I am excited to share.

This is exactly the kind of middle grade fiction I love! Abby is a shy 7th grader whose world is turned upside down when her best friend moves to Israel. Things get worse with her brother’s cancer diagnosis; her two moms are stressed out, her grandpa tells terrible jokes, and Abby feels like she’s completely on her own. The one bright spot for Abby is her new friendship and budding romance with next-door neighbor Conrad.

I have so many students who will love this novel. I can’t wait to hand it to the girl who recently asked for romance novels appropriate for 6th graders. Recommended for fans of Dan Gemeinhart and Jo Knowles.

\Abby Braverman seems to be losing everything before 7th grade even starts: her best friend, Cat, is moving to Israel and her brother, Paul, is diagnosed with cancer. When the new kid, Conrad, moves into Cat's house with his mom, Abby must deal with the new feelings he stirs up while also maintaining Paul's joking spirit through his treatment, dealing with middle school isolation, and helping her moms in any way she can.
Written in first-person from Abby's perspective, the story moves at a pretty good clip highlighting the lead up to key moments from mid-summer to spring (about six months). Abby is painfully shy, sensitive, writes poetry and likens herself to a turtle and Paul to an otter where she is introverted and quiet and he is playful and energetic. Her "turtle-ness" makes it difficult for Abby to talk with her classmates especially because Cat was the person who initiated conversations and gave Abby space to feel comfortable. No one seems to notice Abby's isolation and the moments of bullying Abby experiences, but I liked that she was able to find a kindred spirit with Conrad. The main plot-point was Paul's cancer diagnosis and treatment, so I was glad that there weren't too many unnecessary scenes from school.
There were lots of descriptions of vegan/vegetarian foods (sometimes to the point of excess...I don't need that many seltzer water with fresh mint descriptions...) and I wish there had been a resolution/explanation for Paul's friend who becomes distant (very minor point left unanswered, but adolescence is rife with friends becoming distant for a myriad of reasons). Overall, this was very touching middle-grade novel with a hopeful ending.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

When her best friend and neighbor, Cat, moves with her professor mother to Israel, Abby is devastated to think about starting 7th grade without her. While Abby's brother Paul (who frequently calls her "Abs" or "Six-Pack") is outgoing and more than happy to help their mother Rachel with her online cooking show, Abby finds it hard to make friends. It's an added insult when a new family rents Cat's house, and Abby trips while walking her dog Miss Lucy and humiliates herself in front of a boy her age. However, Conrad turns out to be just a year older, very cute, and wants to walk to school with Abby and spend time with her. The summer winds to a close, and when Paul comes back from being a counselor at a camp, something is wrong but no one is telling Abby anything. Eventually, she finds out that Paul has testicular cancer. He will need surgery and then four rounds of chemotherapy. Abby is terrified for her brother, and finds it hard to make it through school days filled with projects and mean girls, but takes a little comfort in the fact that Conrad's uncle also had this type of cancer, was treated, and is now fine. While her extended, close-knit Jewish family gathers to support Paul, Abby struggles with her own worries about her brother while enjoying her growing friendship and romance with Conrad. Will Abby, her two mothers, and her brother make it through this difficult time?
Strengths: It's a sign of a well-constructed book if I can write a review without consulting my notes. This story moves along logically and quickly, and contains a lot of wonderful inclusions. I liked the Florida setting, Abby's two mothers, one of whom was Jewish, visits from grandparents, and the inclusion of lots of food descriptions (middle grade readers are a hungry bunch). Abby's changing friendships will interest readers, especially since middle school often involves losing at least one friend, and a too-good-to-be-true romance with the boy next door, complete with sweet kisses, is a great tension reliever. The focus of the book, as well as Abby's life, is Paul's cancer diagnosis and treatment, the details of which are handled in an interesting and informative way. The author's not briefly details her own battle with cancer.
Weaknesses: As someone who had few friends in school and who struggles even today with interpersonal interactions, I was annoyed by Abby's stubborn resistance to making making friends. She does make some progress throughout the book, and Paul is portrayed as being very resilient, even though he does struggle. It also seemed odd that Abby's teachers didn't seem to know what was going on with her. Having just read several articles about "toxic positivity", I can see that this will not be the way many adult readers feel about Abby's situation.
What I really think: I very much enjoy Gephart's work, and Abby, Tried and True is a great addition to the very small canon of middle grade books involving relatives with cancer, which includes Harrell's Wink (2020), Swenden's Solving for M (2019), Dee's Halfway Normal (2017), Counting Thyme (2016) Gemeinhart's The Honest Truth (2015), Sonnenblick's Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Lopez's Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel (2013), Schmidt's Send Me a Sign (2012), Rallison's Just One Wish (2009) and Paulsen's Notes from the Dog (2009) and Scott and Borgman's Zits: Chillax (2013). I would not mind seeing a book from the point of view of a teen boy dealing with testicular cancer himself, if it is most common in males aged 15-35.

Abby, Tried and True by Donna Gephart tugged at my heart strings many times for many different reasons. The book starts with Abby's best friend moving away to Israel. Then it proceeds with a cancer diagnosis for her older brother. While the subject matter is serious, it is dealt with in an appropriate level of intensity for the middle grade crowd. The depictions of the cancer treatments felt so real. Yet, the family finds humor in it and makes the reader realize that attitude matters. I loved the little Jewish details as well. It was like a little window into the religion. I can't wait to share this book with my readers.

Absolutely loved this story! Abby and her family are genuinely likable characters you wish you could have as friends and neighbors. Her friendship with Cat is strong and endearing despite their distance, the same way the friendship between her brother Paul and Ethan is. Their moms and the grandparents are all supportive and make the book feel warm. Conrad and Abby’s sweet relationship is well written too. Lots of heart!

This book will help young people coping with a loved one's diagnosis of cancer. Its realistic depiction of cancer treatment is written in a way they can relate to and understand. In addition to her worries about her brother, Abby also deals with missing a good friend, typical middle-school drama, and a crush on a neighbor. Gephart's Abby perfectly captures the voice of a tween and the sad is balanced with the happy to make this an accessible "issue" book for middle grade readers.