Eb and Flow are preteen girls that get into a fight at school. They get suspended for 10 days. The book is over the 10-day suspension. The author has written this novel in verse and was well-written.
The cover of the book is on point. The illustrations are vivid, colored, and detailed. The characters are realistic, likable, and relatable. The characters went through real-life situations. The themes in the story are single-parent homes, poverty, siblings, and consequences.
I thoroughly enjoyed this middle-grade book. I recommend this book to middle-grade students. I give this book 4 stars.

E ARC provided by Netgalley

DeKari, who prefers to be called Flow, gets into an altercation with Ebony (Eb) after a kerfuffle where Eb spills barbecue sauce on shoes his father gave him before being deployed and Flow hits her in the face. This is caught on security cameras, and results in a ten day suspension for both of them. Their families are not happy. With Flow's father away, his mother looks to his Uncle Reggie for help in filling his time away from school and making sure he gets his homework done. For Eb, it's even more complicated. Her father is in Texas, and her mother is nearby, but Eb and her sister and her sister's son are all living with their grandmother, who taught school for 38 years. The two struggle to find ways to fill their time during their suspension, and Flow takes up swimming. Flow's brother Cas and Eb's sister Poke have a surprising relationship that leads to some problems with rival groups, and that causes a lot of stress as well. Are Eb and Flow sworn enemies who are always in trouble, or children dealing with challenging lives who have a misunderstanding that snowballs?
Strengths: My students love Baptiste's work, especially The Swag is in the Socks, and one of my 8th grade boys was so interested in this book that he came in every day during study hall to read it on my E Reader! The cover is great (same artist as the aforementioned title, I suspect), and the story dissects Flow and Eb's baggage that is brought to their confrontation, and unpacks it as the book progresses. The supporting characters that swirl in and out of their lives are interesting, and the depiction of how they spend their time while out of school will be appealing to students who have wondered what happens to their classmates who are suddenly out for a long time, or who have spent a bit of time away from school themselves. The concept that we share similarities even with our "enemies" is thought provoking.
Weaknesses: The verse format from two perspectives, along with the speech patterns, made this one somewhat difficult for me to follow. I'm curious to see how the page formatting looks in the print version, because I think part of this difficulty might have been caused by the way the page layout was displayed in the E ARC.
What I really think: There are more books about children getting suspended than I suspected: Broaddus' The Usual Suspects, Farmer's Malcolm and Me, Ross' The Amazing Beef Squad, Cho's Troublemaker, Lucas' Thanks a Lot, Universe, and Johnson's Playing the Cards Your Dealt are just a start

This was a quick read middle grade novel of two kids getting onto a fight then suspended.

I liked going back and forth between their two perspective and their family dynamic.

Eb and Flow are opposites, but their paths have crossed in an unfortunate way. As the story alternates between their perspectives, you begin to understand who they are...and why each has made the choices that have led to their current situation. Kelly J. Baptist has created two strong characters that will stick with readers long after finishing this story.

Always a huge fan of Kelly Baptist, and once again, she has a winner of a book! I didn't get a chance to finish this in time, but this is a really fun, important read. I'm not entirely sure about the verse form here, but the dual POVs are so stellar--I love both Eb and Flow, and love seeing their different perspective on what really happened at the "shoe incident," as well as the unique vulnerabilities each of them hide behind a strong exterior. Lots of kids will relate to Eb and Flow. Particularly highly recommended for a classroom read.

Eb & Flow is a relatable book. Written with the audience in mind and has a good message. Easy to follow and understand it weaves the characters together nicely. The structure also plays nicely to all of this. Each character is connected but has their own story and their connections and own personal struggles are released in a satisfying way. I would recommend this to students.

This may be my favorite Kelly J. Baptist book yet. The story, told in alternating viewpoints of verse, invite us into the lives of Eb and Flow, who get in a fight in school and are sentenced to a 10 day suspension. It is such a simple plot device, but we learn so much about these two characters: their friends, families, and struggles they face.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readers, and Kelly J. Baptist for the opportunity to read Eb and Flow in exchange for an honest review.


This novel-in-verse depicts an excellent story for a middle grade audience featuring two Black students who get suspended from school. During that time, their family and home life is explored, as well as looking inside themselves to reflect on the choices they made.


It all happened in the cafeteria when Ebony "Eb" accidentally scuffs De'Kari's "Flow's" special shoes. After calling her a nasty word, a fist-fight ensues, leading to their ten-day suspension. Nasty thoughts toward each other fill their heads during that time, but they both have other concerns when it comes to home and family. Both come from single-parent families with siblings and struggle financially. Middle school is already hard enough to navigate, with the joys of puberty and such. The last thing they need is to be kicked out of school...


Eb has been suspended three times that school year already. And this time was all just a fluke. She didn't mean to scuff De'Kari's shoes, but he ended up making such a big deal about it. And of course Eb being who she is, she is more than ready to stand up for herself. Nobody calls her the B-word and gets away with it. Eb knows the key to survival is fighting for herself.


Flow misses his dad. With a father off fighting in the war, the shoes Flow got from him as a gift are one of the only things he truly cares about because he may lose his father any day. He's not one to throw dirty words or hit girls, but when it comes to his dad and everything the shoes symbolize, he only knows to defend his family in the moment. Eb doesn't know that though. To her, they are just shoes.


As they spend time with family and explore their actions, they see visions of possible consequences. Can they learn to be civil to keep their friends and family safe?


An excellently written novel full of empowerment for a tween age group, the Black community, and learning how to take responsibility for one's actions. A thoroughly enjoyable read worthy of praise!

✨ Review ✨ Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist

Baptist writes this middle grades book in verse, alternating between the perspectives of Ebony and De'Kari (aka Flow). We follow them through their 10-day suspension from school for fighting, and as the book progresses, the reader is constantly challenged to deepen their understanding of Ebony and Flow. While at first we might assume they're "bad kids," increasingly the author shows us the complexities of their lives and the ways that the initial situation grew from a misunderstanding. The book tackles a range of deeper topics like drugs, gangs, and family struggles, and did so in a way that makes the topics accessible between the lines. Baptist did an incredible job writing this book and it's clear her passion for helping students resolve their issues through a variety of healthier / safer approaches.

This is a great read about labels society places on kids who sometimes just need a little extra support rather than condemnation. I'm guessing it is targeted more toward older middle grades readers (maybe 5th or 6th grade and up?). Writing this in verse makes it lyrical and the writing is really incredible.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: middle grades, fiction written in verse
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ middle grades books
⭕️ books written in verse
⭕️ defusing conflict through communication

Thanks to Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readersand #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

Kelly J. Baptist is very quickly becoming one of my favorite childrens/middle grade writers. Anytime I see a new book with her name on it, it goes right to my TBR. I am also a fan of novels in verse, so when I saw this I just knew I had to read it. The author did not let me down. I loved the dual perspectives from Eb and Flow. It was especially cool to see how their stories mirrored each other and also how the paths of the characters crossed in different ways. The author's note was very insightful. It proved how very realistic the story was and the reasons why this story needed to be told. Highly recommend to fans of realistic fiction and/or novels in verse.

Ebony and Da-Kari are two middle school students who get a 10-day suspension after getting into a fight. This story examines their lives and how each of them sees themselves and how their suspensions affect their families. Each sees their altercation in a different way. Beautifully written in verse captures the soul and spirit of the characters. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this booking in exchange for an honest review that is my own.

Kelly J. Baptist crafts a wonderful verse novel, ripe for young readers and ready to share widely. I loved the way this author dove into characters’ heads and wove the poetic form to match. Highly recommended for young readers.

This was such a good read! I like the dual stories that come together. I wish there was a little more overlapping like it alluded to.

This will be so relatable for middle grade students and tweens. I really enjoyed hearing from Ebony "Eb" and DeKari "Flow" about a fight that led to a suspension. There's more to this story than the initial fight would lead the reader to believe, and through their out of school suspension we learn more about the problems they are experiencing and how home life can affect school life so strongly.

As a former public school interventionist, the characters were so authentic to me, and I was rooting for both characters. When they are finally called back to school, much has changed, but the author does a great job not to tie everything up with a neat bow. She gives everyone a way to move forward though, which I really liked.

i love the lyrical style of the writing. The two perspectives back and forth. It like a duel only this back and forth narrative shows each kids perspective and background. In this story we know the event that has happened but, the rest of it gives so much insight to where each child comes from and why they may have looked at things in the way that they do. The two kids are processing and dealing with the after math and consequence of a fight. It is interesting the way it is laid out and how they come to terms with it. I enjoyed the unique way of telling this story and getting to look deeper at both perspectives.

“I don’t hit girls,” grabs the reader immediately, because the reader knows (with that said) that Flow did in fact, commit the crime. “Eb & Flow" then takes the reader through the aftermath of a fight that occurs in one of the most public places in school—the cafeteria, with a video record that is soon posted on social media. The story is told in verse using a back and forth perspective of the main characters, Ebony and De’Kari.

The author creates authentic characters, through the language, conversations, and reactions of the two middle schoolers. Their struggles are real and to some extent unseen by the adults in their lives. Ms. Baptist gives an interesting interpretation of the thoughts, activities, and process of their suspension from school. This book will make a good window and mirror for middle grade readers.

This book was difficult for me to read at first. However, I was able to quickly connect with the characters and became eager to see how the feud between them would be resolved. The ending was unexpected and very satisfying!

Rating: 8/10
Eb & Flow is a Middle Grade novel in verse that follows two middle school kids, Ebony (Eb) and Da'Kari (nicknamed Flow), during their 10-day suspension from school after they get into a fight with each other. During the 10-day suspension, we see two kids from a rough school and difficult lives who are frequently told that they are bad kids even though it's more complicated than that. I could definitely tell that the has a background working with kids in a teacher setting and she brings that knowledge of how kids in difficult situations can bring attitudes and sometimes lash out in violence as a defense mechanism. This novel explores that while also making sure that the kids learn that that isn't the correct way to handle situations.

I love novels in verse, but I'm picky about them since sometimes the topic or writing isn't right for verse. This book is a perfect example of a book that should be in verse and benefits from it. It does a really good job with nuance and metaphor. There are a lot of heavy topics that are sneakily woven into the story that let the story be complex without being outright graphic. The words "drugs" and "gangs" etc are never outright mentioned but subtly implied in the lyrical writing.

I read this book in one sitting and think it's a great book for the age category. A lot of kids will be able to see themselves in it.

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Have loved all of Kelly’s book and this novel in verse did not disappoint. Told from two perspectives, we find Eb (Ebony) and Flow (De’Kari) suspended for ten days. As their ten days go by, we find their suspensions don’t define who they are. Both of them live in single parent homes, have financial struggles, and all kinds of sibling dynamics happening. At the end, they have to spend the tenth day in ISS in school with a teacher. Can they move on after what has happened between them?