Absolutely, Positively Natty by Lisa Greenwald is a delightful and heartwarming read that perfectly captures the trials and triumphs of adolescence. Greenwald's knack for creating relatable characters and engaging storylines shines through in this charming novel.

Natty, the protagonist, is a character who immediately wins your heart with her wit, determination, and authenticity. Greenwald portrays her journey through the ups and downs of middle school with sensitivity and humor, making her experiences feel genuine and universally relatable. Natty's struggles with friendships, self-identity, and the pressures of growing up are handled with a deft touch, ensuring that readers of all ages can find something to connect with.

One of the strengths of Absolutely, Positively Natty is its vibrant cast of supporting characters. Each one is well-developed and adds depth to Natty's world, from her quirky best friends to her understanding family members. These relationships are depicted with warmth and realism, adding layers to the story that make it even more engaging.

Greenwald's writing is both accessible and expressive, perfectly capturing the voice of a young girl navigating the complexities of middle school life. The dialogue is natural and often humorous, and the narrative is paced beautifully, making it a book that is hard to put down. The themes of friendship, resilience, and self-discovery are woven seamlessly into the plot, providing valuable lessons without ever feeling preachy.

The setting of the story, with its detailed depiction of school and home life, adds an extra dimension to the novel. Greenwald creates a world that feels familiar and comforting, yet filled with enough surprises to keep readers eagerly turning the pages.

In conclusion, Absolutely, Positively Natty is a standout addition to middle-grade literature. Lisa Greenwald has crafted a story that is not only entertaining but also deeply meaningful. It's a book that young readers will find both enjoyable and inspiring. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a heartfelt, engaging read. This book is a true gem, deserving of every bit of praise it receives.

I really appreciate what this book was trying to do because, working in the schools, I see toxic positivity at work each and every day. I think it’s important for kids (and adults) to be allowed to “feel their feelings” and to be able to acknowledge when things are not great without constantly being told to “look on the bright side” or that “things will get better”. However, I think this book could have made its point sooner. I loved that Natty had people in her life who were willing to be honest with her about her attitude and how it was affecting them, but I think it was a bit too drawn out to the point where Natty was getting on my nerves towards the end, and I don’t think enough time was left for her personal revelation and transformation.

I found this book somewhat slow and uninteresting. I usually like Lisa Greenwald, but this one missed the mark for me.

Solid MG title about using forced/sustained enthusiasm to address stressors. Book lags in middle without going anywhere, and ending is abrupt. Still a realistic look at challenges tweens confront.

Voice Galley Review - This is a fun middle grade read. This is a great book to use for a mindfulness unit in the classroom or for a mindfulness discussion at home. Recommended for all middle grade collections.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
Natty is toxically positive. She learns that not everything has to be ok. This is good to show younger readers that they don't have to be ok. They can face the bad things in life.

Natty's motto was Good Vibes only and she attempted to live that to the fullest, even when things were falling apart around her. Her parents were separated, her Dad moved them back to his childhood home and basically shut down, and Natty had to start over at a new school and making new friends. Through it all she kept an upbeat, positive attitude, which ended up influencing those around her, much to their dismay. When she hatches a plan to start a pep squad so that her Mom can't help but see how wonderful things are and move back in with them things get interesting.

While Natty tried to look for silver linings and positive spins on things she was borderline annoying at times. She completely ignored anything in her life that might bring her down, which actually caused her to be rather self absorbed. There were several mentions of being Jewish and planning a Bat Mitzvah and I thought there was going to be something that came out of that, but it never did. It didn't really make sense to even put it into the story other than as a claim to a diverse character. I just feel like there could have been a lot more to this story... even the way it ended left a lot unsaid.

2.5 rounded up for tenacity and for befriending the goth group and making them join the pep squad. That was pretty epic.

his book is a good book for middle school students to read because I think they would be able to relate a lot to the characters in the book. There are several characters with very different personalities so I think students would be able to find one to relate to. This would be a great book to have in the classroom and the school library. It would also be great to read as a class novel and then have interesting discussions either as a class or in groups. Topics could include: being a new student at a new school, making friends, having positive attitudes, growing apart from friends, divorce, depression, school spirit, sincerity, and supporting others. I recommend this book to teachers, parents, and students (middle grades and up).

This is a fantastic middle grade novel filled with well-developed characters and important life lessons. I laughed, I cried, I got up and danced. Some of the pep-squad movies were hard to visualize as someone who doesn't do actual dancing/cheer/whatever but I was able to power through.

I really enjoyed this one. The voice was so perfect and Natty was so real. At the beginning I was like, "I really like this girl! She's so positive!" And then later I was cringing, "Ooh, this is not healthy." Then near the end I just wanted to hug her and say, "Oh, Natty, no." Great one to read and talk about.

I really liked this book, for many reasons. Primarily, Natty, as a main character, is not like many 7th graders you will find. Her life is seemingly crumbling around her, and yet, she is so positive it’s a little scary. She moves to a new town, away from her Mom, and, deciding her school needs some help with spirit, starts a pep squad. You’d think a character like Natty would be grating, but she tries so incredibly hard, despite being surrounded by normal seventh graders and grandparents and a Dad who is going through it. Not only do you recognize the positive facade she’s putting on, you also just want her to succeed. Not how I would describe myself in junior high, nor would be the type of person I would hang out with, but I really enjoyed this book.

While this middle grade contemporary is really strong in terms of its main character and message regarding toxic positivity, allowing yourself and those around you to experience a full spectrum of emotions, and the importance of support even when things are difficult, it falls down a bit toward the end in terms of some of the side plots. Although you do root for Natty throughout, and in some ways this ending carries forward the theme that some life events will just remain unresolved, but there were so many dangling plots (Natty’s relationship with her mother and Grace, her parents’ relationship with each other, the strike, the economic downslide of the town, Grandma’s lunch servitude) that it just seemed a bit unfinished.

This book has so much heart! Natty is trying to make the best of her situation, no matter what roadblocks are put in her way. She's the new kid at school, and she handles it with enthusiasm, doing her best to make friends in a broken down town with a broken down middle school, while her parents are in the middle of splitting up. This book tackles problems head on, with hope and empathy. I adored it and will recommend it to any middle grade reader.

Natty is just starting middle school, for the second time, in a new city with her parents living separately. As if that wasn't enough, the kids in Miller Creek are a little prickly and growing up in a new city is just hard. Being a positive influence in a city that seems to be a little down is like trying to scale a very high wall with no footholds.

This book was an absolute delight. Children's literature could use a million more Natty's to keep us positive. I loved the realistic look into positivity and letting people address problems not sweep them under the rug. Natty is a character I will love for a long time.

The AI narration was not for me, but I'm sure the real narrator will do an awesome job. Even through that you can't help but love Natty!

This is a story about a girl who uses positivity and cheerfulness as her defence mechanism. Natty's mom leaves the family to go live a life of her own and Natty and her dad move back to her dad's hometown with his parents. Starting in a new school, in a new town, with no one to lean on, Natty remains peppy and is sure that everything will turn out to be okay. She believes that being positive and starting a pep club is exactly what she needs to do to get the town and the school to be more cheery, which will help her get her dad off the sofa, and show her mom how cheerful and fun the town is that she needs to come back to them.

But things don't always turn out the way you want them to. No matter how hard you try to remain positive. In all the positivity, Natty fails to notice the real struggles of the people around her.

I really enjoyed this story and am glad there are middle grade books like this to show young ones that it's okay to sit with your feelings, whether they are good or bad. And that the only way to process your feelings and move on from them is through those feelings. I would recommend this one to middle schoolers to show that you don't always have to be positive and how to navigate negative feelings.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and Lisa Greenwald for the listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Natty moves to a new town, she starts sharing her positivity. But that positivity turns negative when it begins to cover up the bigger issues in her life. A story about dealing with tough situations in life, this is a good middle reader story.

This was really interesting. I've very rarely seen a book tackle toxic positivity and I've especially never seen a middle grade book tackling it. This book did a great job of tackling such a difficult and complex subject in a way kids can understand. This is definitely a book I'll be recommending.

This review is based on an audio ARC read by an AI narrator. Go-o-o-o, TEAM! Every school needs a Natty, a positive person who seems to be the shining light to lift all around them. When all seems dark and dreary, Natty is there to find the positives. When friends are feuding, Natty tries to help them come back together. When friends' parents are feuding, she tries to help her friend cope. Who is helping Natty? Or do they all believe it when she says she doesn't need help when she and her father move away from her core of friends since kindergarten and in with his parents while Natty's mother tries to find her own happiness without absolutely, positively Natty's help? "Absolutely, Positively Natty" is a great title for those trying to understand when parents separate or have people going through a dark time in their life.

Absolutely, Positively Natty is a very sweet story of how 7th grade Natty learns to be a good friend and how to stop ignoring her feelings.

Natty’s parents are going through a separation. Her dad takes Natty back to his (declining) hometown to live with her grandparents as Natty’s mom tries to get her life together during/after depression. Natty has a great attitude about starting a new school, living with her dad and grandparents and living in a town that has severely lost its mojo. But that continuously positive attitude doesn’t always suit her real feelings or help her along the way.

Her new friends in Miller Creek and a lifetime friend from New York help Natty “feel her feelings”, stay positive and develop herself into a really good friend.

This is just the type of book I would have loved in late elementary school or early junior high. Just pretending to be happy or ignoring negative feelings really doesn’t help anyone. But how does a kid balance staying positive with hard times and not so positive feelings. Natty and her friends have some great ideas.

I listened to the automated voice audiobook at 1.5 speed.