In the eagerly anticipated sequel to Jamie Sumner’s acclaimed and beloved middle grade novel Roll with It, Ellie finds her own way to shine.
Ellie is so not the pageant type. They’re Coralee’s thing, and Ellie is happy to let her talented friend shine in the spotlight. But what’s she supposed to do when Coralee asks her to enter a beauty pageant, and their other best friend, Bert, volunteers to be their manager? Then again, how else is she going to get through this summer with her dad, who barely knows her, while her mom is off on her honeymoon with Ellie’s amazing gym teacher? Ellie decides she has nothing to lose.
There’s only one problem: the director of the pageant seems determined to put Ellie and her wheelchair front and center. So it’s up to Ellie to figure out a way to do it on her own terms and make sure her friendships don’t fall apart along the way. Through it all, from thrift store deep dives to disastrous dance routines, she begins to form her own definition of beauty and what it means to really be seen.
Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.
Jamie Sumner is the author of the Roll with It trilogy, Tune It Out, One Kid’s Trash, The Summer of June, Maid for It, Deep Water, Please Pay Attention, Schooled, Glory Be, and Wish You Well. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and has written extensively about parenting a child with special needs. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at Jamie-Sumner.com.
Chapter 1: Happily Ever After 1 Happily Ever After
Peach is not my color. And silk is definitely not my fabric. But what am I going to do—boycott my own mother’s wedding? Pull a runaway bride, except it would be a runaway maid of honor? I’d be hightailing it out of here with flower petals trailing from my wheels. Actually, that doesn’t sound half bad. I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead with the handkerchief Mema tucked into my bouquet. It’s about five thousand degrees too hot for nuptials.
“Okay, wedding party, one more shot and then we’re golden!” Coralee shouts from where she crouches on her knees in the sand by the lake. She’s trying her hand at photography. Apparently, that’s the quadruple threat in her plan to take over the world and become a famous celebrity. Now she can add photographer to her actor/singer/dancer résumé. Pretty soon, she’s going to over-qualify herself right out of the running. But that’s just my personal opinion, which I do not plan to tell my best friend. Coralee does not take criticism well. In fact, she could probably handle a live scorpion better than one word about her outfit, hair, or singing ability. One time, during a rehearsal for the spring musical at school, the chorus director told her to “maybe tone it down a bit,” and she snapped, “Excuse me? Do you even want people to come to this show?”
“Ellie, it’s not the zombie apocalypse.” She sighs. “Smile like you think somebody’s not about to eat your face.”
I blink in the hot Oklahoma sun. “Shut it, Coralee.” I give her my sweetest, most evil grin.
“Baby, you need a break?” Mom leans down from her spot two steps above me in the gazebo and tucks my hair behind my ear. Her cheeks are rosy from heat and happiness. Mema made both our dresses, but hers suits her to a T. It’s cream silk and sleeveless and stops at her knees. On anybody else it’d be plain, but on Mom it is perfection. I smile up at her, and she winks just as Coralee snaps a picture.
“Got it!” Coralee yells. “That’s a wrap, people. Now go get hitched!”
“There’s still time to make a run for it,” Hutch whispers to both of us. Coaching middle school football camp the last couple of weeks, since school ended, has given him a fierce farmer’s tan, but he still looks handsome in his white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His tie is peach, like my dress. When Mom punches him in the shoulder, he grins and she blushes and I rock back on my wheels so I do not have to watch yet another display of affection. I love them both. I do. And it is their wedding day. But come on. They’re worse than middle schoolers.
Behind us, up near the tree line, gravel crunches and car doors slam. “Come on, let’s go hide.” Mom nudges my knee with hers before letting me take the lead down the dirt path to the tent they’ve set up by the water for the reception.
When Hutch and Mom started getting serious, I thought it might be weird having my gym teacher around all the time. But then it just… wasn’t. My world expanded to three after it being just Mom and me for so long. After a while I couldn’t even remember what it was like without Hutch mowing the lawn and challenging me to knuckle-cracking contests and stepping on his own two feet while Mom tried to teach him to line dance in our teeny tiny kitchen.
So when he stopped by the trailer while Mom was at the grocery store one afternoon and asked if we could have a chat out on the porch, I knew what was coming. All the most important conversations happen on the porch. It’s the place you go to iron out the wrinkles with your people. When you live in extra-close quarters like we do, you need a spot of neutral territory.
Hutch paced the length of the porch for about ten minutes until he bumped his head on the bug zapper and retreated to the rocking couch across from me. We sat without talking for so long that I started doing mini push-ups in my wheelchair to have something to do.
“You’re getting good at those,” he said, finally.
I did my best Schwarzenegger impression. “Yeah, I’m gonna get ripped.”
He gave me a shaky laugh. “I guess I should take credit when you become a world-famous bodybuilder.”
I shook my head. Hutch has been the best physical therapist I’ve ever had. But I couldn’t let it go to his head. “It’s twenty percent coaching, eighty percent sheer willpower.” I patted his arm. “You’re all right, though. My PT back in Nashville had me take ten steps in the gait trainer and call it a day. Pretty sure she thought any kind of exercise that made me stronger in my chair was a step back. Pun intended.”
Crickets. Man, if he didn’t get on with it soon, I’d have to propose to him myself.
“I hope”—he stopped and cleared his throat—“I might become more to you than just your PT.”
“You’re a champ at lawn care.” I couldn’t help myself.
“That too, but also, I mean….” He stood and started pacing again. “Your mom and I have been spending a lot of time together, and when two people like to spend time together and, um, like each other like your mom and I do, we…” He trailed off, looking lost. “Ellie, do you know what I’m trying to say?”
“Yeah, sure. You like Mom and Mom likes you and you want to be a part of our lives permanently.”
He nodded, visibly relieved.
“Like me and Bert and Coralee. Best friends, right?”
He rubbed both hands over his face like he wished he could peel it right off. I chuckled and surrendered. There’s only so much tween torture a man can take.
“I’m kidding. You want to marry my mom, right?”
He collapsed onto the rocking couch, sending it squeaking back and forth. “Yes. I want to be part of your family in whatever way you will let me, because I think you’re pretty cool. Slightly wicked with what you just did there, but also cool and stubborn and an incredible baker, and I’d be honored if you’d let me into your inner circle.”
I looked him up and down, his shaved head shiny in the early spring air, his knee bouncing the same way mine does when I’m nervous, and I nodded.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. We’ll let you in.”
He heaved a huge sigh and pulled out two glazed tea cakes from Mimi’s Café in town that he must’ve stashed out here earlier. Total bribery, but I didn’t care. I wonder if I still would have gotten one if I’d said no. Probably. Hutch is that kind of guy.
“Hey, man, the war’s not over yet. You’ve still got to get Mom to say yes.”
“Are you kidding?” he said, grinning and taking a huge bite of pastry. “After this, proposing to Alice will be a piece of cake.”
“Speaking of cake,” I said, and pointed to a sizable crumb stuck to his chin.
Looking over at him now, under the tent with his arm over Mom’s shoulder, I have no doubt I made the right decision. I don’t remember what it was like before my real dad left. I was...
„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.
Anbieter: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Paperback. Zustand: Very Good. Reprint. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting. Artikel-Nr. 1665918608-8-1
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, USA
Zustand: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Artikel-Nr. 00099148213
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Paperback. Zustand: Good. Reprint. It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience. Artikel-Nr. 1665918608-11-1
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, USA
Paperback. Zustand: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Artikel-Nr. G1665918608I3N00
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
Paperback. Zustand: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Artikel-Nr. G1665918608I3N00
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, USA
Zustand: Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Artikel-Nr. 53644014-6
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: PBShop.store US, Wood Dale, IL, USA
PAP. Zustand: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Artikel-Nr. WB-9781665918602
Anbieter: PBShop.store UK, Fairford, GLOS, Vereinigtes Königreich
PAP. Zustand: New. New Book. Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000. Artikel-Nr. WB-9781665918602
Anzahl: 2 verfügbar
Anbieter: Majestic Books, Hounslow, Vereinigtes Königreich
Zustand: New. Artikel-Nr. 397424945
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar
Anbieter: Kennys Bookstore, Olney, MD, USA
Zustand: New. 2024. Paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Artikel-Nr. V9781665918602
Anzahl: 1 verfügbar