As I was reading this I was already thinking about some of my pupils whom I think will really enjoy this book (P6 and P7 in Scotland). I think a lot of girls will really relate to Grace and empathise with the rollercoaster of emotions shd experiences throughout the book. It accurately depicts a lot of the difficulties of being a teenager and also deals with themes of separation of parents, grief at the loss of a parent, friendships and first love

Keeping Pace
By Laurie Morrison

Reviewed by: Dr. Susan Densmore-James
The Book Dealer

Occasionally, I receive a book from a publishing house that completely wins my heart and gives me all the feels, and, more importantly, I know it will be a hot commodity amongst students in a classroom. Keeping Pace by Laurie Morrison is one of those gems of a book.

I am 100% sure that as a middle-grade or YA author, writing about loss would be a daunting challenge. How do adults write about something as complicated as loss in a manner relevant to a middle-grade student? If a book is irrelevant to our youth, it can be almost patronizing. We often forget this: our children and young adults deal with loss of all kinds, usually at a young age, so we must provide opportunities for students to read about and discuss important topics like loss. There is no better way to do so than by utilizing an engaging book. Teens are learning how to recognize their feelings and place those into words that can be understood by those around them. Well, Laurie Morrison found the secret formula for this: providing a story that contains a young female AND male, and add in a dash of the possibility for love, all the while gently easing readers into the topic of loss.

Keeping Pace revolves around Grace, a young girl who strives to be the best. She grapples with the recent divorce of her parents, a situation that many young readers may find familiar. Seeking her father's attention, Grace sets her sights on becoming the Top Scholar of the 8th grade, a goal her father has always emphasized. Her older sister, Celia, also feels the strain of their father's expectations, adding to the household's pain after the sudden divorce announcement.

Spurred on by her father’s wish for Grace’s name to be displayed on the Scholar of the Year plaque, Grace seems to thrive on this competition despite it taking all of her energy. As the school year is quickly ending, it is apparent it will come down to either Grace or Jonah, her once-best friend turned arch-nemesis. Their daily sparring takes up much time and energy during the day, but what Grace finds completely confusing is why Josh looks so stinking cute when she feels such hostility towards him. How can those two feelings be felt at the same time?

Jonah has endured another kind of loss: the loss of his father. Morrison keeps the reader (even this adult reader) wanting to discover how this heart-felt narrative will end. Who will be the Top Scholar and have his or her name on that plaque? Will these two mend their now broken relationship? And speaking of things broken and lost, what about the mailbox that used to be Jonah and Grace’s secret place for their friendly messages? Will it continue to be missing?

I applaud Laurie Morrison for taking on tough topics in a manner that will completely engage our youth.

This novel presents us with a pair of ambitious characters who think they know everything about each other - and they don't like it. So of course they learn that other people are complex and outward appearances aren't what they seem. The lessons here are pretty clear cut. But that's okay. The characters are strong. And the arcs they go through are believable. They come to the end of the book as slightly improved versions of themselves. Grace is still ambitious and driven. Jonah is still emotionally closed off and a little oblivious. They're just working on becoming better and that's all we can really ask of realistic characters. This could be classified as a sports book but isn't too weighed down with jargon requiring explanation. It can be understood and appreciated by most middle grade readers.

Such a a perfect middle grades book! The combination of school pressure, diverse family dynamics, friend drama and competition is on the mark. I think so many middle school students could see themselves in the pages of this book. I will recommend this to all of my readers and to all of my teacher / Coach friends! A win for sure.

A cute story with a great message about friendly competition and how to keep competition healthy. As a running coach I truly hope kids read this book and catch the running bug.

This was a wonderful contemporary fiction upper middle grade book! Recommended for ages 10+. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author Laurie Morrison for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication date.

I requested this book because my 7th grade daughter is in cross country and track. Which is kind of funny because she actually doesn't like running! But she loves the social aspect of the sport, and has made some great friends along the way. Her dad and I both run recreationally, me having slowed down quite a bit as I battle middle aged injuries, so I adored the premise of two rivals with the goal of running a half marathon in 8 weeks. As someone who has run a few half marathons, I loved the training plan!

But this book was so much more, and I really appreciated the themes woven in. Dealing with the death of a parent and the grief and uncertainty that follows for one of the characters, and dealing with divorce and opposing parents for another one of the characters. There was also a lot about friendship, ambition, flexibility, and some romance for these two 14 year old rivals! Who used to be best friends during elementary school, then turned bitter rivals during middle school, to add to the background.

A very enjoyable read that I think my daughter will enjoy!

Grace works through what it means to win and at what costs, as well as who she wants to be in life. Her relationship with Jonah is so perfect for middle graders, with all the ups and downs and craziness!

Grace is a super goal-oriented girl heading to high school. Her list making, aims-to-please, go big or go home attitude will resonate with readers. Her writer father doesn’t give her much attention after her parents divorce, so joining a writing camp and training to run a half marathon are two new activities. Much of the book is centered around her confusing relationship with her ex-friend/rival/crush and it was realistically portrayed in my opinion as a middle school teacher. The summer before high school teaches her a lot about what’s important in life, who she needs to prove herself to, and what makes her happy.

Really engaging book on a topic that will have great appeal for many middle-grade readers. The main character is 13, making this perfect for upper-MG readers, and there's a romance many readers will really enjoy. I love that the book's main character is moving from middle school to high school. This is an important transition for kids, and I don't know of many books that deal with it.

Excellent, writing, an engaging plotline, and authentic characters make this upper middle grade novel worthy of 5 stars. I especially appreciated how flawed the protagonist is and how she evolved over the course of the story. A lot of high achieving tweens will relate to Grace's story and (hopefully) redfine their own ideas of success because of it.

I read this book straight through in one sitting. I absolutely loved it. I wish I'd had it to read and share in my classroom when I was a teacher, because the characters are so relatable and the theme of being more than our achievements is such an interesting and important subject for young readers (and also adults) to think about.

When Grace fails to receive the award she has been working toward her entire eighth grade year and dosen't get accepted to the intensive writing program she hoped to do over the summer, she has to rethink her goals and priorites. She is a list-maker, and she brings a competitive edge to pretty much everything. She is hard on herself when she makes even small mistakes, and she has to learn that maybe it's okay not to be perfect if you've tried your best. I've lived and taught in areas where kids push themselves so hard, and I hope this book will find a home on many, many bookshelves. In addition to being beautifully written and engaging, with true-to-life friendship challenges and a sweet first romance, its message is needed and likely to open the door to some very important discussions, both at home and in the classroom.

🏃‍♀️After finishing Addie LaRue I was in a major reading slump. Nothing was appealing to me. After some fortunate coincidences I got a digital copy of Keeping Pace by @laurielmorrison.

🏃‍♀️It was the perfect read to wake me up from my reading slump. I literally finished it, in one sitting.

🏃‍♀️Gracie finishes eighth grade second. She misses the first place in her class by half a point from Jonah, her former friend turned arch enemy. She signs to run a half marathon to enrich her summer holidays. Guess who's also participating. Jonah! This is her opportunity to take revenge and beat him in the marathon. But....fine, fine, you can read the book, I won't spoil it.

🏃‍♀️Now, I don't know if @laurielmorrison has kids in their teen phase but oh, boy can she write about teens. I'm a grown woman and I felt like Gracie, all over again. Gracie was such a cute character with insecurities that she tried to overcome. Without being extremely over the top -which don't get me wrong, it wouldn't be bad, I mean, hormones? Hello?- she didn't always dealt her problems with maturity but come on, she's only 14 years old, cut her some slack, will you?

🏃‍♀️I really love books that teach you a lesson. And you know what Keeping Pace taught me? That even if you strive to be the best it's the effort that counts. And sometimes, all you can do it's keeping pace. And that's okay.

It is great to see a book specifically written for upper middle grades. Thank you! We need more of these!

In this realistic fiction novel, eighth grader Grace is set on winning at school and on the running trail, especially against childhood friend turned nemesis, Jonah. There is romantic tension as the novel progresses and as Grace begins to realize that winning at all costs may not be everything she wants. Plenty of running action, heart-to-heart girl chats, and (of course) some heartache make this a well-rounded, worthwhile novel. Recommended!

I loved this book. There is so much to learn from this story. Its a look at good friendships through middle school and of figuring out who you are in those friendships.
I loved Grace and watching her learn that mistakes are okay to make. That they don't just mean you are trying, but that you are learning and working on yourself.
Grace and Jonah, that friendship through the years and how it has ebbed and flowed and grown. I liked that they were learning though each other and realizing that they worked well together.
I also loved Grace's relationships with Avery, Celia & her family. I liked how she learned from Teddy while babysitting him. And I liked that she really looked at things through a child's eyes, but realized how it changes as you grow and learn. I liked that she really looked at and analyzed her relationship with her dad.
There is so much good stuff going on in this book, so much to learn from it. I teared up a few times and I also laughed and smiled right along with these characters.
I loved the running aspect to and how it's good for Grace and teaches her some things along the way too.
There is so much that adults and middle grade readers can learn from this book. I will be putting this into everyone's hands.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I couldn't put Laurie Morrison's newest middle-grade novel, KEEPING PACE down. Grace wants nothing more to beat her old friend turned rival Jonah as the top scholar of her eighth grade class. When Jonah beats Grace by the smallest of margins, she feels like a failure. She quickly create a summer to-do list that includes babysitting her father's girlfriend's son, running a half marathon, and making a new friend. Since Jonah plans to run the same half marathon, beating him becomes Grace's new goal. However, when Grace and Jonah begin running together, they begin to reconnect and remember what made them inseparable for years. Grace will need to figure out if winning the race is really what matters to her the most. I loved this book, but will probably not bring it into my fifth grade classroom. The main characters are 3-4 years older than my students, and some of the relationships between the kids are a bit mature for my readers. Thank you so much for NetGalley for this advanced digital copy.

This is a sweet middle grade read. I loved how it handles achievement and competition. I also appreciated the sweet middle grade romance. This was one of my favorite middle grade books I read in 2023 and I look forward to it being published!

Wonderful middle grade novel that will evoke so much emotion in its readers. 8th grade graduate Grace is hyper competitive in everything she does and has high expectations for herself always. But nothing seems to be going the way she planned and she doesn’t have any back up. Or does she? With the help of friends and family, new goals are set and she takes off with her usual determination. Morrison’s title, Keeping Pace, and the cover design reveals running as Grace’s focus, but there is so much more than just a race packed into this novel. “Pacing” becomes a metaphor for the speed at which people learn as other life events that move along at different speeds for all of us. Choices and goals for cousin Avery, sister Celia and long time friend Jonah change and sometimes they “race” together and other times, miles apart. Morrison’s characters experience loss, family upheaval, disappointment as well as joy, love and success making this a book that is highly relatable for those in grades 5-8 and I loved it from beginning to end. Text is free of profanity and violence and while there is some hand-holding and kissing between a few of the characters, that is the extent of the physical contact.

Highly recommended!

I'm sure this is going to be a cute middle-grade that focuses on the academic rivals to lovers trope. I think the writing is great for the target audience as well, but it was not working for me. I would love to find a reasonably prices physical copy when it is released for the library, though!

Laurie Morrison is one of my favorite writers, and Keeping Pace is one of her best. This upper MG novel is a master class in novel writing, as each thread and story element has significance and comes together at the end in a satisfying way. The story is for older middle grade readers, in terms of the light, perfectly captured romantic interest, and the depth of thought and introspection shown by the main character, Grace. All the characters are so well rounded and developed--they feel like real people. And each situation is fully dimensional. Brava, Laurie Morrison!

Another wonderful read by one of my favorite authors. Keeping Pace fills the gap between middle grade and young adult with a sweet romance and realistic characters navigating all the feelings, choices, and struggles many modern 14-year-olds face. Grace is an overachiever who thrives on goals and checklists: perhaps it gives her a sense of constancy during a time when everything else--her family dynamics, friendships, and the school she'll be attending next year--are changing. Readers will cheer her on as she ponders the meaning of success and discovers what--and who--matters most to her.