Spelling It Out follows spelling bee competitor Ben's experience staying with his grandmother during the summer before seventh grade. After placing twelfth in the 1985 Southern California regional spelling bee, Ben convinces his parents to let him spend the summer with his Nan in San Francisco studying for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. However, when he arrives, he sees that not everything is what it seemed: Nan is acting strange, and his coach is a bit of a jerk. He befriends a fellow Scripps hopeful, Asha, and has a whirlwind of a summer learning about prefixes, suffixes, and the South Asian American experience; reckoning with concepts of masculinity and memory; and working out what is going on with Nan.

This was lovely. Spelling It Out wrestles with lots of important, relevant topics: memory (collective memory, rote memory, the loss of memory); racism, sexism, and their interlacings; the fallible bully vs the strong "web" of one's inner circle; the inevitable grasp toward freedom made by many a rising seventh grader; the sickness and imminent death of a family member. On top of feeling very grounded in its 1985 San Francisco setting, the novel's prose shifts effortlessly to frame the story as appropriate. We variously hear the voice of 12-year-old Ben narrating events as they happen, and an older, adult Ben looking back, telling his story. As a framing device, I loved this, and felt that it really helped drive home the theme of memory, aging, and family. It reminded me a lot of an oral history project, actually. I can picture this book being an edited version of a transcript from a grandchild's college oral history project; at times you can hear the fondness creeping through from Adult Ben as he describes what must have been a truly transformative summer.

Ben grapples throughout with so many themes, but the one that sticks out most to me now is his process of discovering his definition of masculinity, and the responsibility that "comes with" being a man. It was delivered in a way that made a lot of sense to me - there's this recurring comparison of three stereotypes of men in three films released in 1985-6ish that I (a 2003 baby) know at least peripherally - but I wonder how that will resonate with today's 12-year-olds. Are the kids still watching Back To The Future? They'd better be. Parts of Ben's musings also came about after having heard about Asha's experiences as the only South Asian student she knows in the area, and those she gained as a girl growing up on that intersection of being othered for her race and her gender.

The only minor gripe I had was that the ending seemed to sneak up on me, and I wanted a little bit more developed closure for Ben, Asha, and the family. And, I know what happened to Nan, but I think it's an interesting choice not to really delve into it. I don't think it would have been the hardest sell of the themes in this one.

Overall, beautifully done, and I'm excited to have read it now, since I'll just have returned from my first trip to San Francisco when this one releases. :) 4 stars.

Can a female author accurately capture a young boy's voice?

Not just in words contemporaneous with the time period, but in tone and emotion?

This book answers those questions with a resounding "YES".

The author captures a snapshot of Ben's childhood with a trip to his Nan's in SF. An opportunity presents itself to hone a craft that seemed to set himself from his peers. He's at that age where his circle of friends finds their interests diverging. Perhaps this trip will sharpen his skill set. Turns out the trip will be more than he bargained for.

The discerning reader (young and old) will enjoy the clever connection between how a chapter is entitled and what is contained in the chapter. They will hear Ben's "voice" in the numerous use of italics for phrases and sentences. Reality contains some harsh truths as to illness. When you encounter a book like this that takes those harsh truths and packages them in a thoughtful, careful way, a reader whose life is upended may be left with feeling more understood.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I absolutely loved this book! I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy when it comes out in May.

Spelling It Out follows seventh-grader Ben Bellini as he trains for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The events of the story take place in 1985, but the book is narrated by an adult Ben looking back on that summer he spent with his grandmother.

While I wasn’t expecting this to be historical fiction, that aspect really only made it better. I appreciated that the author didn’t go overboard with the 80s nostalgia. The few pop culture references were relevant to preteen boys of the decade, from Star Wars to Metallica to Back to the Future.

Ben is a likable and realistic protagonist with a great sense of humor. He's the middle child in his Italian American family, with an older sister named Erin and a younger brother, Mark. He’s a little self-conscious about having a “nerdy” hobby like spelling, but he also knows the only thing that matters is that he enjoys it. When his grandmother learns of his recent spelling bee success, she invites him to stay with her in San Francisco and train with a professional coach.

He has a wonderful relationship with his Nan, a famous architect and feminist trailblazer who still designs buildings despite being retired. She offers an important historical perspective as a woman in a male-dominated field, a perspective that Ben values deeply. Nan likes to reminisce on the 1960s, when San Francisco was a symbol of social activism and revolution.

While his mother has certain rules for him in the city, "scattered" Nan usually leaves Ben to his own devices. His coach is Roger Nott, a bitter and mercurial bookstore owner and ex-spelling bee winner. Despite Roger's attempts to break him down, Ben decides he must work even harder. He visits the library and meets a girl his age named Asha Krishnakumar.

Although Roger is supposed to be the one training Ben, it’s Asha who helps Ben find his confidence. Her true passion is basketball, but she recently became inspired by Balu Natarajan, the first Indian American winner of the National Spelling Bee. The future competitors become fast friends, and Ben is thrilled to finally have met someone who’s like him.

But things aren't going so well with Nan. Ben starts to have interactions with her that make him feel uneasy. She's beginning to experience bouts of forgetfulness, even forgetting why Ben came to stay with her. At first, Ben denies that anything is wrong. After all, Nan 's long-term memory is unaffected, and she's still active and full of life at seventy-six.

Eventually though, Ben is forced to accept the painful reality. His Nan is suffering from Alzheimer's and needs more help than he can give her. Fortunately, both Nan and Ben have a wonderful support system behind them as they navigate this difficult situation. The story’s bittersweet ending is more sweet than bitter, made even more satisfying by adult Ben’s thoughtful narration. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! I can’t wait to own a copy of Spelling It Out.