Wonderful middle grade realistic fiction to add to our library. Sage is a believable protagonist who is kind, smart, and troubled. Sent to live with her grandparents, our middle school readers will be rooting for her all the way!

It had a slow start but started picking up at the 25% mark. There was a big plot twist that I did not see coming around 2/3 of the way through. Overall a good story that I really enjoyed, fun characters and strong plot. I found the narrative a little repetitive at times; there are multiple chapters where the main character imagines different endings to a scenario and they all started with the same paragraph, I found myself growing bored of them after a while.

Racing the Clouds by Sydney Dunlap takes on the serious topic of prescription medication addiction. Still, it introduces it in a way that is easy for upper elementary/ middle school students can understand. The author also does a nice job of keeping the mystery of what happened to Sage's mom a secret until towards the end of the novel. The reader likely assumes that Sage's mom has passed away, but is surprised to find out that is not the case. The foreshadowing throughout the novel hints that there may be something more than the mom passing, which is a great mini-lesson for students in an ELA classroom.

My only critique is that I feel that the relationships between Sage and her grandparents seemed a little too "perfect" in the end. I also felt like when sage had her "aha moments" about Grandmother Marion, it seemed just really fast. For example, when Grandma Marion was super accepting of the Dog when she was not accepting of basically anything prior to that.

Overall, such a cute, light-hearted novel about finding family, going through hardships, and overcoming traumatic experiences.

P.S. It was infuriating (in a good way) when Grandmother Marion didn't let her finish the ping pong tournament!

Racing the Clouds is about a thirteen-year-old girl named Sage who wishes that she made a different decision last November. If she did, she believes everything would be fine. Because she didn't, she and her dad moved. Just before summer vacation, Sage receives a note from grandparents she has never met and wants her to visit. There was a falling out between her parents and them, but Sage believes she could learn more about her mom if she went. During her trip, she befriends a girl and learns about her grandparents. She also learns more about herself. This is a wonderful story of regret, resilience, forgiveness, and hope.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

It was an honor and a privilege to read this touching, wonderful novel early. Kids will love this moving story, and parents/adults need to read it, too! This topic is so important, and the author handles things very thoughtfully and sensitively!

I read this book with my older grandchildren over the course of a few nights. It is such an emotional and touching book. As good books should, it started many difficult conversations that probably we would not have had if it were not for this book. A new classic.

Thank you so much to North Star Editions/ Jolly Fish Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Sage leaves her school project to last minute, forcing her and her mom to go and get what she needs. Whilst out they are in a car crash, now her mom is addicted to her pain meds and is seeking help in rehab. That means that Sage is staying with her estranged grandparents she’s never met, but whilst there she hopes she will become closer to her mom.

This was a really touching, emotional and heartbreaking story but so beautifully written, on such a delicate storyline too. Sage blames herself throughout and struggles to forgive herself for what happened with her mom, believing her dad blamed her too. Spending a week with her estranged grandparents, it helps her learn so much and with her new friends and her stray dog she finds they help her to see another perspective of what was going on.

This a really great read it’s hard hitting and deals with some difficult topics from self blame, to addiction, to abandonment by parent, dysfunctional family dynamics, to meeting extended family member’s and strict controlling parenting. All these topics are handled incredibly well throughout, dealing with them appropriately.

This book would be a great read for many, but especially to children and teens going through a similar situation with a parent struggling with a drug addiction, the whole subject is correctly dealt with, shared and explained and I think that readers would really find it relatable and helpful. The book also kindly features resources, help and a Q&A with the author at the end to further help the reader, which I always appreciate in books and especially ones dealing with such difficult topics.

It is well-written and emotional. It's a wonderful story that can be read by young readers but also adults. It deals with addiction, reconciliation, and family issues and how young teens can react to these when they start having a voice and a relevant opinion. It can be relatable to those who have parents or kin in this situation, but it also is a great story to learn empathy and how to be a better friend to those living in such a sad situation. Sage does what she thinks best; she is trying to keep everyone's interests in mind and make things work, but even when trying to do good, one can make mistakes. I love the reminder of what it may be to be in someone else's shoes. There are plenty of great, valuable life lessons in this story.
After 13 years of never meeting her grandparents, she decides to accept their invitation, and those seven days will change everything.
The book includes resources and help. The Q&A with the author at the end offers a lot of good information about addiction, why, and how to act. The warnings are welcomed, and I hope this book has a lot of readers.

Real life is hard. When Sage is invited to her grandparents house, grandparents she has never met, she hopes it will answer all the questions she has about her mother and why they never wanted to be part of her and her father’s lives. This heartfelt story explores the complexity of family relationships and the value of forgiveness. This book deals with sensitive issues in a caring way. (Substance abuse, withdrawal, rehab, a very controlling parent, dysfunctional family dynamics, and parental separation.)

I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to add it to our collection. This story is so crucial to kids who have family members struggling with addictions, and helping other kids understand how to be supportive friends to those in need. Thank you net galley!

This book was packed with emotions and a great read for kids 11 and up. Racing the Clouds follows 13-year-old Sage as she moves to the middle of nowhere Virginia from Philly. Suddenly her grandparents on her mom's side invite her to come visit them in Ohio and with that invitation comes the idea of learning more about her Mom, what happened with her grandparents, and what led to such complicated family dynamics. I loved the friends in the book, Alejandro and Marla, who surrounded Sage and were able to speak the truth about her when she could not see any other perspective. Don't even get me started on Sylvester. The approach the author took on some of the harder topics in the book was done with such grace. This would be a great read for those kids who feel stuck in complicated family matters, or who have parents struggling with addiction and mental health issues

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I’m reading by this author and she has such a power with words and talking about hard topics for young readers. She does not shy away from big things that happen to children in real life and creates beautiful stories that are engaging and also open conversations.

Racing the Clouds by Sydney Dunlap is a heartfelt and moving tale that brilliantly shows how addiction impacts the entire family system. Through thirteen-year-old Sage’s journey, we see how guilt and unspoken pain can fracture relationships. Dunlap captures the complexity of family dynamics as Sage navigates her strained bond with her father and tries to reconnect with her estranged grandparents.

With touching moments of friendship and healing—and a cute rescue dog!—this book beautifully illustrates the resilience it takes to overcome family challenges. A must read sophomore novel from the author of It Happened on Saturday.

Something happened that Sage feels responsible for. She was more interested in practicing the drums than doing her project for school, so waited until the last minute to tell her mother that she needed poster board. She keeps thinking of what she should have done differently. If only she had gone earlier. If only she had gone with her mother. If only.
Her maternal grandparents have had nothing to do with her life. Then, out of the blue they ask her to come and visit. She knows that if she could just go visit them, that perhaps things would be better, so she agrees, against her father’s wishes.
She figures that if she can find things that were her mother, that things will improve, but she doesn’t tell her grandparents that that is what she wants. She figures she can just find them.


It is a heartbreaking story, because we don’t know the whys and wherefores, just that Sage blames herself for something that happened. Telling what it was, would give away part of the story, so suffice it to say it is a shock when we do learn. But, as is always true with any story, if people just talk they can also solve so many problems. Communication is ever so important.


Didn’t make me cry, but it did make me second guess what I thought I knew.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.. This book will be published on the 18th of February 2025.

A heartbreaking middle grade story of grief and forgiveness where a girl must come to terms with her mother’s opioid addiction to move forward with her own life. 13yo runner Sage blames herself for the car accident that led to her mother needing pain killers and plays the day of the accident over and over in her mind, each time making a different decision that she believes wouldn’t have led her mother to be in the intersection when her car was side-swiped. In clear and compelling prose, Sydney Dunlap helps us feel Sage’s anxiety and yearning for something to hope for in this new normal where her cherished parent is in rehab and her entire life has been turned upside down.

Racing the Clouds goes on my must-read list! Author Sydney Dunlap provides a touching, important story of courage, family, friendship, and forgiveness. The plot engages the reader, and the characters are realistic, especially the grandmother - she is next level! I definitely recommend this book. Great for ages ten to fifteen.

Sage doesn’t want to talk about that fateful day. If only she had done one thing differently . . . if only. But when her grandparents who she’s never met ask her to spend a week with them, this is her chance to repair their family’s relationship. But when Sage arrives, she realizes this is a mistake. Can she find the courage to face her past, forgive, and move forward when her world is falling apart?

Thank you for the ARC Jolly Fish Press and NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

I received an electronic ARC from North Star Editions through NetGalley.
Fully admit tears are coming down my face as I type this after finishing this powerful book.
Readers meet Sage as she is still adjusting to living in a new state with her dad. She lets readers know her mom is gone. Dunlap shows her reimagining a particular day when her mom had an accident and Sage makes different choices to stop it from happening. Sage also receives a letter from her mom's parents inviting her to come and visit with them. This is the first time she has heard from them and readers see her struggle to decide what to do. She does go and wants to find something of her mom's to bring back. Readers can see the support she has from so many people but she can't always see that as she has closed down her emotions and refuses to deal with what happened with her mom.
Dunlap weaves hints throughout the story but connects them with the reimagining Sage does from that November day. I appreciate the connection to the actual running Sage loves and the running from facing situations she has chosen as well. Readers will connect with her and understand complicated family dynamics.

Sydney Dunlap's sophomore novel hits it out of the park. Racing the Clouds is a fast read, but don't let the easiness of Dunlap's prose fool you--as usual, she manages to treat tough topics in a way that is accessible, empathetic, and thoughtful without being overbearing. Sage is a relatable character, and I found myself rooting for her from the beginning. The opioid crisis is a difficult subject to write about for middle-grade readers, but it's also an important one. What I love about a Sydney Dunlap book is that her characters always find hope and are always resilient even in the face of some serious challenges, and this is why I make a point of putting books like Racing the Clouds on all of my recommended book lists.

✰ 2.5 stars ✰

“If we wait until everything’s perfect, it may never happen. We might as well just run.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I wish I could say that I felt that emotional tug at the heart for what Sage had to go through with not only her mother, but her grandparents, as well. But, honestly, I couldn't. For a thirteen-year-old, she was really pretentious, and quite frankly, rather rude and self-involved. I get that she has the right to be judgmental and dismissive of said grandparents who have ignored her existence her entire life, but the way she went about it was just so unflattering and rude that I could not bring myself to sympathize with her. 😒 Even the disobedience she showed against her father at the start - she, somehow, forgave herself for her transgression by making his disappointment about her decision - about herself! 🤦🏻‍♀️

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Maybe it was the author's intention to show that she was making mistakes to be quick to make rash decisions and make opinions without really knowing them. but the way that it was mentioned - so deliberately, with that 'wait, what?'. I can't imagine it possible to be so narrow-minded the way she was portrayed. At times, even when she was only thinking about herself, when she even saw it from another person's eyes - like her father or her grandmother, it was always in the context of something in her favor. If that makes sense. 🙄 That did not sit well with me. I found her very disagreeable. I understand that she has also witnessed a traumatic moment and that she is still harboring some of her own dark thoughts over her mother, but it was just very difficult to convince me otherwise. 🤷🏻‍♀️

“You’ve heard that saying about how you should never judge anyone unless you’ve been in their shoes? I think it’s important for all of us to think about that here.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Sage's Grandparents - I kinda sympathized with them; even with their old-fashioned mindset, they did care for their daughter, but simply chose to ignore their granddaughter for their discomfort with who their daughter married. Grandmother Marion's dismissive attitude felt, at times, a bit too caricature-like, but, I wonder whether it was intentional or not to have them at odds with Sage at first meeting, so that she would start to open her eyes and her heart to the good qualities about them. 😥 'How can my grandmother be nonexistent for my entire life until a couple weeks ago and then act all judgy?' I did like her relationship with her Pawpaw, and how he was more forgiving and understanding of Sage's opinions, as well as her decision not to be on a leash while on her visit.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Also, I am truly all about finding yourself and your identity; but, that conversation between Sage and Marla about attraction and crushes; it felt so out-of-place that I was perplexed at how it benefited - well, anything. I did like Alejandro. I liked his matter-of-fact personality and how he was such a helpful friend to her - never afraid to voice his thoughts without fear - 'you’re judging strangers without hearing their side.'. Marla, too, was a new friend who offered her own opinion and advice as someone not familiar with Sage's family history, which helped her try and see it in a different perspective, too.

“I thought I could fix everything. That I could just meet them and talk to them about everything, and they’d finally all be able to make up.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I did like the memories of running with her mother; it was a nice reflection of how it taught her to take things slowly in life - that life is not a race and she will get there when she gets there 'I know that now, and it’s okay. I’m learning to run along with them.' As much as her behavior bothered me, it was nice to see that through her visit to her grandparents in Ohio and revisiting the places that her mother grew up, as well as the memories she shared with her father, was something that brought her closer to them. 🥺 Sylvester was a welcome inclusion to her life, and it was nice to see how he helped build the bridges between Sage and her Grandmother.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I do appreciate the message of the story and I am glad that it did leave on an unresolved note, since it would be doubtful that thirteen years of negative feelings could be erased within one week. I also appreciate how middle grade reads are approaching substance abuse and how its adverse effects affect the family. I felt Sage's troubled thoughts on her mother's tumultuous behavior to her drug dependency was believable, as well as her longing for the mother that she once was. Her guilt over the events that led to her troubles was heartbreaking and something that I could relate to. But, so many unpleasant emotions of my own radiated while reading that Sage's story that did not hit me as hard as it could have. 😔

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sage is struggling with family issues - estrangement from her grandparents, being moved to rural Virginia, issues with her mom - it’s a lot for a girl to process! As the story progresses, we learn more about Sage, more about what she’s dealing with, and I found myself wanting to just give her a big hug. Dunlap writes in a way that the reader FEELS the character’s feelings. This book is great for any young person dealing with addiction in their family, trying to mend family relationships, or just needing supportive adults in their lives. It’s also a window into what a life with addiction may be, and how to find support. Any lover of realistic fiction will love this story!