I thought this was too heavy on the baseball and it took away from what could have been a great story. I didn't enjoy the family dynamics and wish there had been some therapy thrown in to help them all deal with the issues that seemed to fester under the surface. The whole book felt depressing and was hard to get through.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

Told in three different voices, this contemporary middle grade story explores the impact of a natural disaster on different members of a family. One character struggles with his queer identity in relation to baseball, another feels overlooked due to the family's obsession with the Houston Astros, and the third kid feels lost without her twin brother. Two of the main characters grated on my nerves and the plot revolved A LOT around baseball, so this book might struggle to find an audience.

This is a powerful story about family, healing, and hope. This read was heartwarming and the three stories were beautifully interwoven.

Interesting exploration of the difference between how you perceive your life and reality when you look beyond the surface. It's preteens starting to look at the world beyond their own concerns and coming to big realizations - sexual awakening; gender roles; identity outside of your family expectation. There is a lot of conflict between all of the characters and there are no fully innocent victims. They all contribute to the tension. The children are all complex, believable characters. Worth a read for sure.

The Putterman twins, Matty and Sammy, and the perfect team and maintain a solid line of telepathic communication that often makes their close cousin, Becky, jealous. When the hurricane hits Houston and the twins' home is flooded, the family must indefinitely move into Becky's enormous house. As this upheaval is being dealt with, Matty suddenly quits baseball (the sport he loves) and refuses to talk to his twin. Sammy knows something is wrong but is devastated that their special twin telepathy is broken.

At first, I thought there was too much going on in this book: fighting cousins, fighting siblings, a hurricane severe enough to displace a portion of the community, and discovering and accepting sexual orientation, but by the conclusion of the story it was right. The hurricane forced this family to deal with their problems and relationships. Also, living in an area that does not have hurricanes, the descriptions were informative and will help students empathize with natural disasters and those who are affected by them. Solid upper elementary/middle school realistic fiction novel to add to a school library collection.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.

Having loved Wishing Upon the Same Stars, I couldn't wait for Jacquetta Nammar Feldman's latest middle grade novel. I had really mixed feelings about this one. There was so much in this that many of our fourth and fifth graders would have loved, but any sort of romantic relationship is a turn off for this age group. I also struggled with Becky's primary interest. I think a lot of kids will find it sort of trite. Setting that aside, I was head over heels for the family dynamics, twin relationship, and third wheel feeling cousin. There was so much to love about this book. I hope it finds its audience with middle schoolers.

Twin 13-year old siblings, Sammy and Matty Putterman, find themselves evacuating their home after Hurricane Harvey. Being displaced isn't the only thing that has changed for them, however. Both Puttermans have been avid baseball players and Houston Astros fans for their whole lives. Now things seem to be changing. Matty has withdrawn physically and mentally from the sport he loved, and Sammy finds that their twin bond feels different. After moving in with their aunt, uncle, and cousin, and joined by their similarly displaced grandparents and elderly neighbor, Sammy and Matty face the challenges of changing family dynamics and growing up. An uplifting story, recommended for upper middle grade readers!

Set during Hurricane Harvey, twins Sammy and Matty and their family must evacuate their flooding home. Their family of four, their grandparents and a neighbor all bunk in with their cousin Becky's family in their home on higher ground. The relationship between three tweens is disintegrating and living in one house doesn't help things. To make things worse, Matty quits baseball, which he and Sammy have played together forever!

As a Houstonian who lived through the devastation of Harvey, I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me. The Astros play a huge role in the novel, but it overwhelmed the story of the family and all that they had to overcome. There is some great diversity in this book, including LGBTQ representation and Jewish main characters, which I loved.

A nice story that takes place in Houston and revolves around baseball, hurricanes, and a family coming together. It would be ideal for a child that loves baseball. One of the many issues that comes up in the book is when one of the twin Puttermans kisses a friend of the same sex. So, although this would be a great addition to a school library in Texas, I wonder if it will pass their recent censorship of reading material.
As an adult, I felt that there was too much baseball in this book, but for a child who loves baseball or even any sport, I'm sure it would appeal.

I was intrigued from the beginning about why the brother decided to quit baseball. I loved seeing their relationship evolve as they enter tweenhood, and also the prickliness of the cousin character. Great theme of love and hope!

A story of family, loss, growing up and baseball told in three voices; Sammy, Matty & Becky. In alternating chapters the twins and their cousin tell us what it was like in Houston, Texas during and after Hurricane Harvey and the Astros run to the World Series.
Sammy and Matty are twins who used to be super close, until Matty left in the middle of a baseball game stating that he no longer liked the sport and then stopped talking to Sammy. Then after Harvey hits and the water rises, they all end up staying at their dad's brothers house. Becky and the twins used to be close, but not anymore. Now the 9 Puttermans, Mrs. Sokoloff (a neighbor) & their 3 pets Bialy (golden retriever) Jess (tabby cat), and Bartholomew (hairless sphynx) are all under the same roof. There is a LGBT aspect in this book.
No sex, No bad language. 2 kisses

I really liked this story. I laughed and cried with these characters. I believe that our students will like it. I will definitely be purchasing this one for my library.

Possible Triggers: Hurricane Harvey, Loss of a home

Absolutely loved this middle grade story. Each perspective is fully fleshed out, unique, and moving. Because of the three main characters, this book will appeal to a wide variety of middle grade readers. Also, I loved the Jewish rep and feel we need more of that in kidlit. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this middle grade read by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman. Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Harvey, twins Sammy and Matty Putterman are facing a lot of change. Not only are they dealing with the cataclysmic aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but they are also dealing with changes in their own lives. For years they have been Sammy-Matty, a dynamic duo who lives and breathes baseball - along with the rest of the Putterman family (except for Cousin Becky - but more on her soon!). Matty up and quit baseball before the hurricane and no one knows why - he's withdrawn and worried about something. (That something turns out to be a kiss with his best friend, Ethan. He isn't sure he can like his best friend in that way AND be a professional baseball player - he's been looking but no one on the field seems to be out!) Sammy can't figure out why A) Matty quit the sport they both love or B) why their twin relationship, always so strong, is falling apart.

Matty and Sammy's stories intertwine with their cousin Becky's story. Becky has felt overshadowed by the twins from the moment they were born - only a few months after her. She has absolutely no interest in the baseball fever that consumes the rest of her family and delights in creating costumes to dress up her cat, Jess. Becky's bat mitzvah is coming and she's eager to be the first in the family to celebrate this important event. After the hurricane though, everything is turned upside down when the rest of the Putterman family (plus an elderly neighbor, a cat and a dog) invade her home.

The three cousins struggle through all the upheaval and changes in their lives - it isn't always easy, but they find their way, both individually and together as a family team. Along the way Becky celebrates her passions and becoming an adult in the Jewish faith, Sammy regains her confidence at bat and reconnects with Matty, and Matty learns that his family always has his back, no matter what.

This read was heartwarming and the three stories were beautifully interwoven.

Heartwarming story about a family whose lives are changed when Hurricane Harvey hits in Texas. Sammy knows her twin brother Matty hasn’t been the same since he quit baseball. She feels they have twin telepathy and wonders why he won’t talk to her. When her family moves into her dad’s brother’s house, Sammy has to room with her cousin Becky, and Becky can’t stand the twins. As time goes, the twins realize as dad has said, “ things change, people change, and we have to change with them.” Becky learns a secret, but accidentally tells everyone. Does it change things for the good or make it worse?

7th graders Sammy and Matty are fraternal girl/boy twins who love everything baseball, especially the Houston Astros. Matty is the star pitcher on their team and they rarely lose. As the story opens, their team is ahead 6-0. Matty goes to the bathroom and doesn't return to finish the game. The team ends up losing. What happened to Matty? Eventually the reader learns that a boy kissed him and he doesn't know how to deal with it. He's not talking.

Fast forward a month and the family is in the middle of Hurricane Harvey, aka the Houston disaster of 2017. Their neighborhood is in a low spot and flooding so they escape to a shelter via kayaks. Luckily they have family nearby so they, along with their grandparents, a neighbor, and her cat, are taken in by their dad's brother who has an annoying daughter, cousin Becky. Becky is all about social media and cats. No one pays much attention to her so she spends her time photographing her cat in costumes and posting them online. The one thing she was looking forward to was her Bat Mitzvah celebration and now even that is taking a back seat to everything else.

Sammy and Matty's twin bond is disintegrating after what happened the day he walked off the game. He doesn't want Sammy to know he likes boys. So he ends up telling Becky. Given that she's prone to say whatever's on her mind, it's no surprise that she accidentally spills the beans about Matty. It ends up being a good thing because now Matty can let go of all the tension he's been holding inside. Everyone in his family is understanding and encourages him to be himself.

Homosexuality is a heavy topic for kids who are likely to pick up this book (as young as age 9). The cover and book description suggest nothing of the LQBT+ content, which I think is wrong. Kids should not be blindsided with something they may not be ready to understand.