In IT'S ALL OR NOTHING, VALE, months after an accident and intensive physical therapy, fencer Vale is focused on working her way back to competing. While she has improved, she continues to have a lot of pain in her leg and is frustrated to find that she can’t compete at the level she used to, leaving her uncertain about how to move forward and who she is if she isn’t a fencing champion. The arrival of a skilled new fencer leads to even more complicated feelings, especially when Vale begins to wonder if her feelings for her sporting rival are more than just friendship.

There’s lots going on in this novel in verse, including identity, family and friendship issues, chronic pain, and first crushes. These big topics are all beautifully woven together as Vale grapples with physical, mental, and emotional challenges as she comes to terms with her future. While not all readers will relate to Vale’s issues as an athlete, the larger themes will resonate with many readers and reassure them that it is okay to grow and change.

Great verse novel about our middle school title character who is fiercely competitive - and that's an understatement. And I loved that about this. I loved how there were no illusions on the page; Vale says, in her own words, "I love fencing, and I want to be the best fencer there is, and I'm so upset that I was injured because I can't do what I love." The entire story is about her ups and downs regarding her wading back into her former passion, seeing if she still has it, dealing with other competitors, and realizing how else in her life she might cope, grow, and heal. Just a wonderful, well-told story with beautiful, poignant verses.

Andrea is an auto buy author and I love each book more than the last. This one was extra special to me because of Vale dealing with her injury and the mental health that surrounds that, which is one aspect of why I went into the field of athletic training. I loved the scenes with her physical therapist and the conversations they had. I loved the crushes and her finding her new normal and coming to peace with maybe not fencing again.

One of my picks for Middle Grade March was It's All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango. This is a beautiful MG novel in verse, my daughter and I had read this author’s previous MG novels that deal with Mental Health and the fallout of parents substance abuse, and highly recommended them.

Valentina, Vale, is about a young Puerto Rican girl competitive fencer. After a serious accident she has to undergo surgeries and therapy. This seriously derails her training and competitions. When she gets back, she realizes that she can’t just will away her chronic pain, and adding to the mix, a new fencer joins her class who’s everything Vale wishes she could be.

Vale struggles with dealing with her frustration, having been raised very competitive, she has a hard time reconciling what her brain wants her to do and what her body can actually do.

I found this story incredibly deep, it introduces the topic of dealing with a disability, what it can mean to different people and how one person can choose to define themselves or not.
It also deals with different feelings than her previous books, in particular with learning to live in a nody that has permanently changed. It also has a cute queer rep in the plot, that though small , can be very meaningful. I would have liked a bit more introspection from the parents as to how their attitudes affected how Vale saw herself. But I did love how they discussed her feelings as a family towards the conclusion of the book.

I love how MG books that tackle difficult topics, when they can achieve it with care and attention. Overall the story was beautifully told in verse, and I kid you not, had me tearing up in the Walmart parking lot. There’s something about the way this author can capture the voice and feelings of her young characters so well.

The audiobook was wonderfully narrated by Vico Ortiz, they did a fantastic job bringing Vale’s voice to life. Highly recommend for everyone.

After months away from fencing after an accident, Valentina, Vale for short, is finally cleared to go back, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move as it once did and some days’ pain is better than others, but what’s worse is the new girl, Myrka. Myrka is everything Vale once was and more. As Vale pushes herself to make up the lost ground, she realizes the injury isn’t the only thing holding her back. If she can’t get over her accident how will she ever move forward?

How do you explain pain to someone
when they can’t see it
when they can’t feel it
when a scale from one to ten feels useless
but metaphors and verbs like
stabbing
hammering
digging
scraping
feel like words I could shout til I run out of steam
but Papi and Mami and Manu
would never actually understand?

As someone who suffers from chronic migraines and who spent nearly five years trying to figure out what was causing them, I felt this passage above. Watching Val learn that her value does not equal what her body can and can’t do was something I needed when I was a lot younger. I started my migraine journey in my early-mid twenties and having to remind myself I wouldn’t always be able to do stuff was hard! I’m excited for younger children to see this story earlier in life so that they can have that already in their mind.

Overall, this is a great novel in verse - both for the younger generations as well as a small reminder for older generations that you may have injuries, or your body may not run like everyone else’s, but having to slow down, take your time with things, or modifying how to you do something is perfectly okay!

Vale excelled in fencing. It was something she devoted her life to before the accident. She's been out of fencing for months, working on recovery. However, the day finally arrives when she can try fencing again. Will it be the same?

This beautiful novel-in-verse explores the changes that come with a serious injury. Questions of identity, belonging, and how one fits back into the world when one's life has been changed swirl throughout this book. Life changes can happen to anyone at anytime. None of us are immune. How will we handle them?

I recommend this book for upper elementary and middle school students. Those ages are filled with the questions Vale grapples with. Even if children haven't yet had a life-altering experience, they can relate to the friendship and crush dynamics with which Vale deals. This book can open up discussions about all of the above. It would be a wonderful literature circle read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinion are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I read this MUCH later than publication date...whoops. I do enjoy a good middle grade verse novel, and I love the diverse voices and how it also brings in sports for young girls. I also appreciated how it's queer (somewhat) and also discusses mental health. I do feel like that the novel just kind of....ends? It doesn't really resolve a whole lot and I'm left wanting to know more about Vale's journey and to find out what happens.

Vale's entire life is fencing. It is what she's great at, all she thinks about, and what she puts before everything else. That is, until she's in an accident and her injury brings all of that into question. Will she ever fence again, because who is she without it?

This book was wonderful.

This book perfectly captures the experience of growing up, struggling with pressures about who you are, who you should be, and what you really want from yourself, your parents, and everyone else around you. It's hard enough for most kids, but developing a physical disability - which for Vale completely changes her life - and unpacking the stigma around it is a lot to handle.

She feels alienated, misunderstood, and overwhelmed. And the author tackles this beautifully. Every single character was filled with life and every situation is so realistic I could either recall a time like it from my own life or someone else's. The verse was also excellently well done, it was a great use of the form to pack full of emotion while not losing any details important to telling the story - this is a balance that can be really difficult to find.

I cannot recommend this book enough, and I highly recommend to anyone with an interest is stories about disability or sports - or really, just anyone looking to read a great book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Books for a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Review 9.5/10💙 Middle grade verse novels are some of my favorites and this was no exception. I’d previously read this authors first verse book (Iveliz Explains it All) and enjoyed it, but this one I liked even more!

This book follows a young girl name Vale who is extremely passionate about fencing. But unfortunately Vale was in an accident and her body can no longer preform in the way she wishes.

My favorite thing in the book was the chronic pain + invisible disability representation and Vale’s journey in accepting her disability. As someone with an invisible disability I felt Vale’s struggle deeply and yearned to give her a hug. The story also showed how different people behaved around Vale’s new disability including her parents, siblings, coaches, and friends and how that affected Vale.

The dynamics between all the characters were great and made the story so rich with emotion. There was also a queer crush storyline🥹 It was a wonderful read all around!

Thanks to @netgalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for an ecopy of this book! I loved it so much I’ll be getting a physical copy for my shelves😍

This novel in verse is about a girl named Vale, who is recovering from a serious leg injury sustained in a motorbike accident. A serious fencer, Vale is struggling with the fact that she cannot return to fencing at her previous skill level. She's having a lot of pain in her leg; despite this, she resists using her walking cane and often asks her doctor when she'll be "done" with her physical therapy. The idea that she might be disabled feels, at first, devastating.
A new girl at her fencing gym, Myrka, becomes her competition and her measuring stick: If Vale can train as hard as Myrka, surely she can beat her. Though she feels envy of Myrka, she also finds herself developing a crush on her.
There were a few things I'd have liked to see more fleshed out, but overall the writing is very strong, and there's so much to appreciate, including Vale's relationships with her parents and brother, her competitive spirit, and her changing attitude toward disability.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand more times…. I am NOT a fan of novels in verse. But every so often I’ll hear about a book that’s such a Nikki book that that doesn’t even matter. And this is one of those times! There’s sports, romance, and the main character is not yt. lol

I can’t lie… The reason I was so excited for this was the sports aspect. I’ve read exactly one book about fencing like last year, and it was so good. So basically I added this to my TBR as soon as I heard about it. That book was a MG graphic novel and this one is a MG novel in verse. This one doesn’t have as much fencing dialogue as the other, but I still enjoyed it. There IS some internal dialogue that the main character has that any athlete can relate to. She does mention some fencing terms, but it’s not a lot if that makes sense.

Usually I don’t like novels in verse because of the way they make the story feel choppy or they don’t tell an entire story. But this one doesn’t feel like that. I felt every emotion that Vale had lol So basically I was so emersed in the story I didn’t notice if there were any scenes that felt choppy. The information about her accident isn’t really there and her diagnosis isn’t exactly clear, but I thought that was more intentional than just being left out. I loved this book and I am happy to add this to some lists to help more people find it.

There is a lot of rep in this, so i would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. They are Latinx (Puerto Rican). There is plenty of rep of her culture in this, my favorite part being the dancing she does with her dad. There’s disability rep which is evident in how she comes to terms with admitting that she might need help. She has chronic pain in one of her legs after she’s involved in an accident. I related to this as a former athlete because I know what it’s like to suffer an accident and try to come back after it. It’s pretty daunting, so I can understand they heartbreak and fear.

I also loved the character growth in this. She is still learning and feeling and so much about herself, her body, and her pain. I was impressed with all the things this young girl had learned. She also learned about crushes and what its like to have one on another girl. She went through a lot and I can’t lie, I was hella impressed that she was able to keep up with everything.

I loved this book so much. The text itself is easy to read and there’s a lot of blank space on the page for those reluctant readers. But the book itself is good enough to keep even the most reluctant of readers engaged.

DNF'd this one around the 10% mark. I keep trying to love novels in verse, but they're just not for me.

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

I love when a book prominently features a hobby or sport that isn't often represented in middle grade books. As a teacher with several students who fence (and nearly of whom are huge readers), I was excited about this one, as Black Brother, Black Brother is the only other I've come across that features fencing. I enjoyed this, and the idea that it's easy for students' identities to be so tied to one things, especially in an era of year round sports.

I can't say I've ever read a book about a Latina fencer, so I was excited to pick up this verse novel. Valentina is recovering from an injury as her story opens, desperate to get back to being a nationally ranked competitor as she was before the crash. Her single-minded focus is not one I see in my students as she values her fencing proficiency even above her friendships with her peers. However, it was the same-sex crush that meant I won't be adding this one to the shelves of my Christian school classroom library.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital copy.

I just want to hug Vale. I loved how strong willed she is and how she needed to make her own decision about her future. The progression of her crush was super cute, and I loved the relationship she had with her brother Manu. I also appreciated the discussion about what is a disability and how Vale feels using that word to describe herself. Andrea does it again with another beautiful book that had me going through every emotion.

Can Vale find the courage to return to her life’s passion when all she’s worked for slips away after a life-changing accident?

Author Andrea Beatriz Arango’s It’s All Or Nothing, Vale wrestles with a girl’s desire to return to her elite fencing status after an accident leaves her with leg pain, despite months of rehabilitation. She discovers she must work harder than she ever has to regain her identity as a top fencer. But with
all the changes in her life, will she discover there’s more to who she is than just fencing? Eye-opening story for ten to fourteen year olds.

Thank you for the ARC NetGalley & Random House. Opinions are my own.

🏳️‍🌈🤺🩼💃🏻🏍️

Vale is a fencing all-star, clearly on top of the competition. After a motorbike accident severely hurts her leg, she’s grappling with the potential end of her identity as an athlete. It hurts worse when she goes back to fencing practice at the end of her therapy and finds that a new girl has taken her place at the top. To further complicate things, she kind of has a crush on her. Friendship drama, crushes, disabilities, and identity are all explored in this quick middle grade novel in verse.

Spanish phrases are scattered throughout which accentuates Vale’s Puerto Rican heritage. They’re not directly translated, but context clues are given to explain.

I also appreciated Vale’s family as they support her in trying to grapple with major change with her injury and mean girl friendship drama. Her mom, dad, and older brother are all there for her. In the end, she also recognizes that talk therapy may be helpful as she navigates all the new things in her life.

Arango disability commentary in this book is spectacular and so so needed! Seeing Vale's progression from frustrated and angry with her own body to acceptance of disability was incredibly moving and poignant. The fencing details were engaging and accurate while the family dynamic was so nice to see. A first tier recommendation, especially for fans of verse novels.

Andrea Beatriz Arango has solidified herself as a must read author for me. It's All of Nothing, Vale is less intense than her two previous works, but it still addresses hard hitting topics and involves a flawed main character than deals with a lot of anger over her situation. Valentina is struggling with chronic pain following an accident and the uncertainty over her future in fencing. As Valentina questions her identity as an athlete she also finds herself developing feelings for a rival and trying to figure out how to navigate who she wants to be moving forward. I really loved this book. It has great representation and would be a perfect addition to a classroom library as well as any middle school curriculum.

I just finished It's All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango! It is about a girl named Valentina who used to be a national champion fencer. However, after a bad accident, her leg is injured putting her fencing dreams in jeopardy. Throughout her recovery, Vale struggles to reconcile with the "new Vale." The "after the accident Vale." In her usual way, Arango has us rooting for this character through her deep character development. It's a story of broken dreams, but also finding new beginnings when things don't work out the way you want.

This is Arango's third novel, and I have loved every single one! The way she develops the main characters leaves the reader feeling like they were going through the experience themselves. I will always read anything she writes!