You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

How I Heard About It:  I recently saw a post from Colby Sharp where he was sharing how much he enjoyed this middle-grade novel.  The cover looked familiar to me so I went to check out my "box" of books that I haven't gotten to.  Sure enough this title was right on top and I recalled that I picked up an ARC during #NCTE17.  I brought it upstairs to begin reading and finished it two days later.  Colby was right, this story was incredible!  

What It Is About:  Charlotte has a lot on her plate.  She is dealing with a family health crisis when her father suffers from a heart-attack.  Charlotte can't quite bring herself to the hospital to see her father who she shared a special relationship over the game of Scrabble.  Ben also has a lot on his plate.  He is thinking his parents are going to tell him they are moving, but instead they share that they are going to be divorcing, but everything in their family life will stay the same.  Ben makes it a goal to run for a position in the student government.  His classmates don't make it easy on him, but he is determined.  Charlotte doesn't have many friends, but does have one best friend.  When that friend decides to spread her "social" wings, Charlotte isn't sure where this leaves her.  Ben has never had a group per say, but during his election he may just find the true friend he has been looking for.  The one thing that connects these two young characters is an online game of Scrabble.  But it may be more than Scrabble that bonds them for life.  

What I Thought Of It:  Oh my gosh!  I adored this story.  It was unique, special, and a complete page-turner.  I loved that the chapters were short and each one has a special touch related to either Charlotte and/or Ben.  The characters were real.  The characters were thoughtful.  The characters were two people I would like to know.  A strong point was that there were two plots within the book, but as the story moved forward, I could tell each character needed the other in more ways than one.  There are just so many elements that I enjoyed about the book that it is hard to put down into words.  All I can really say is that this is a MUST-READ!  

Who Should Read It:   I can see this novel being used in fourth, fifth, and/or sixth grade classrooms.  I know it would also be a hit in the middle-school literature classes. It could stand alone in the hands of a reader or could be used as a class read aloud.  There are so many factors that could be discussed as the class shared the story.  If a reader has read other titles by this author, they for sure need to put this newest title on their TBR list.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars