Bad Cheerleader

Though having dyslexia makes reading difficult, seventh grader Maggie, aka Bag, loves spending time at the library. But when her mother’s schedule changes, instead of being transported to the library after school, Bag is forced to wait for her older sister, Minerva, to wrap up cheerleading practice. Initially, Bag gives Minerva and the rest of the cheer squad a wide berth, until she notices that Minerva has been acting out of character. Determined to uncover the cause, Bag inserts herself into Minerva’s cheer squad. Along the way, she wrestles with self-doubt—relating both to her learning differences and bookish persona—and discovers more about her sister and herself. Pragmatic and sometimes philosophical first-person narration (“The body knows before the mind when something is wrong”) thoughtfully conveys the layered interpersonal challenges that Bag must contend with over the course of her investigation, including her parents’ separation, the family’s move from New York to Rhode Island, and her recent dyslexia diagnosis. Somber prose by Thayer (Happy & Sad & Everything True) approaches each compounding conflict with sincerity, while an optimistic overarching tone makes for a comforting tale of overcoming spearheaded by a persistent and resilient white-cued protagonist. Ages 10–up. Agent: Alexander Slater, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Nov.)