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

This middle grade chapter book is about Lyla, a girl who lives with her parents and her older sister. She's missing her best friend, who goes to a different middle school and committed to being a great writer. She has a great idea for a fantasy novel but is struggling to get it onto paper. It turns out the main character in her story is mirroring Lyla's life so it's complicated! Barbara Dee has such a great way of writing characters-they are so completely developed, that they feel like people you know. Kids will be able to relate to many of the characters in the story and I think they're going to like this one a lot.

Barbara Dee is a master at understanding the complicated social dynamics of being a tween. In Unstuck, readers navigate family dynamics, sibling rivalry, changing friendships, and self-confidence as the main character finds her voice to write. As always, Dee has written a novel that hooks the reader and touches the heart.

Great title for middle grade collections. The voice of the main character is authentic and believable. I would definitely recommend.

This book makes me feel called out -- in a good way.

Like our main character Lyla, I too decided in 7th grade to become a writer. And like our MC Lyla I too have gone through the back and forth discussion with myself about the story I am writing.

This is one of those books I am hyping to my writer friends. If you have ever been a writer this is a story for you.

While Lyla is struggling with an English assignment and her submission for an upcoming writing contest, she starts to lose sight of the things others around her are also going through because she is so stuck inside her story.

Unstuck is about a girl struggling with writer’s block, but it’s also about a girl trying to help her sister and navigate middle school friendships. Barbara Dee weaves all three stories together in a way only she can.

Perfect for fans of Just Pretend by Tori Sharp and Say It Out Loud by Allison Varnes.

I thought Barbara Dee's take on the way middle schoolers act in Maybe He Just Likes You was insightful and nuanced, so I was excited to dig into another one of her titles. The subject matter was so on point--who among us hasn't been so overwhelmed by the opportunity to write whatever they want and the idea of how good it will be that they are unable to even write a single sentence?
I also really appreciated the portrayal of Lyla's older sister Dahlia who faces her own struggles as an academic overachiever who has hit a wall.
Throw in an elementary-school friendship that has run its course, and you've got a book dense with emotions but able to support and explore them all.

As a person who enjoys writing, I have never related to a character more. Throughout the book, Lyla struggles with writer's block. She has great ideas but is scared to commit them to the page because they may not be perfect. With the help of a supportive teacher, she is able to make some progress.

I think this book could easily be incorporated into a language arts curriculum and it would help students explore the creative process.

Unstuck!
What a treasure of a book!
Barbara Dee creates an extremely likeable and relatable character in Lyla. Her anxieties, her friendships, her family dynamics are all so real which made it so easy to connect to the story. Even as a media specialist and former ELA teacher, I often feel stuck with writing, and I know students feel this way every single day. Having Lyla's story to share with students will hopefully give them hope that their story is worth telling, too.
I'm excited to add this one to our school collection!

Barbara Dee always writes relatable characters with great development and empathy. Unstuck is another one of those books that I would not hesitate to bring within my classroom. It is a relatable story of a student stuck and unable to write a book. On top of that, the sibling relationship is a wonderful example.

Things I loved about Unstuck:
1) Whether you feel stuck with writer's block, stuck on a path that feels like the one you "should" follow, but not the one you want for yourself, stuck in "old" family/friend dynamics or stuck in a way I haven't already mentioned, you can relate to the feelings the characters in this book are experiencing.
2) The teacher shares ideas about how you can help yourself "shake things up" that are not only helpful to the main character, but can be helpful to the reader as well
3) The side characters are all intriguing on their own and you are not only glad to spend time in their stories, but they make you feel willing to spend more and more time with them
4) The importance of sidekicks and a support system, and having people you can share things with
5) Sometimes when a character in a story is writing too and they share tidbits of their writing, I find myself uninterested or wanting to skip past it, but that was not the case here. It flowed, was interesting, and the way it was interwoven into the main character's feelings was done beautifully. In other words, it added much value to the overall narrative.
6) The emphasis on problems being "figureoutable" and researching and brainstorming to find solutions
7) The 25 item lists of ways to get unstuck is a fabulous resource.

I think Unstuck is a book that many students ( and adults alike) will enjoy! It would be great for small group class discussions, as well as for a family read and discussion. I see it having potential to helping families manage their expectations and pressures in regards to what feels like the "achievement rat race" and the struggles of feelings that surround the idea of "never being enough". This book has layers of ways it can be helpful, on top of being an interesting story that keeps you turning the pages. Barbara Dee's stories always speak to the human experience in a meaningful way, and I am always glad to be reading her words gaining insight from taking a stroll inside her character's shoes.

Lyla is like so many of my students, with all the ideas but nothing on paper! So glad that now I have a book to hand them!

Barbara Dee has such a strength in tackling real-life issues of middle school readers in a way that acknowledges, respects, and opens minds. Lyla enters middle school as a writer and is thrilled to have daily creating writing time in class and to have her shot at entering the local writing contest, like her sister once did in middle school. Her excitement soon becomes overtaken by writers' block, friendship issues, and troubles at home between her sister and parents. Dee does a superb job at getting the reader to care for both Lyla's worries and those of Dahlia, Lyla's older sister. A must read for middle-grade students and adults who have them in their lives!

Barbara Dee's writing is intricate and compelling as always. Our character is having writers block as she has so many ideas in her head but can't seem to get them right.
The subject of family is strong here too as we watch these sisters find their way through their trials and tribulations.
A relatable YA novel that explores writing and finding yourself.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novel. Though I've loved many of Barbara Dee's novels, this one was just okay for me. Though I think many kids will relate to being loaded with ideas, and having nothing to put on the page, I wanted so much more from this one.