Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

A fun story of friendship! This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers with its fat rep and disability rep as well as queer themes. Kapit expertly weaves all of them together to create a universally appealing story with relatable themes of friendship and standing up for yourself.

I felt very mixed while reading this book. My inner child felt so seen through Maddie perspective as the fat kid with a clueless popular friend, but it was a bit of a chore to get through Chloe's chapters. I don't think it was necessarily unrealistic, but it was not enjoyable to be in her head.
I will probably purchase for the collection because there is SO few books with proper fat leads, but it wouldn't be my first choice to recommend.

As a former middle school girl, this book rang true in a lot of ways. I had a lot of friendships dissolve during those years. I can only imagine being stuck at the same camp (in the same cabin!) with some of those girls -- yikes.

This was my first Sarah Kapit book, and there were times in the story that the adult author's voice seemed to come through her tween characters in a very strong manner. In the final third of the book, there were a lot of heavy-handed messages about forgiveness and acceptance. Good messages that I totally agree with, but it seemed more "tell" than "show."

As the mom of two girls, I struggle when middle-grade books have nothing but hands-off adults. The director-counselor Audrey helps Maddie at times, but no girl should have to feel like they have to handle their real problems on their own. I worry that the overall message of this book is just a version of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" when I want my kids to learn to advocate for themselves and reach out to trusted adults when they are struggling.

Note: there are 20 uses of fat/fatter in this book. As a plus-size woman, I am all for body positivity and reclaiming the word fat, but this just seemed like Maddie talking bad about herself...over and over again. I worry that some girls will internalize this negative self-talk and miss the "lesson" of self-acceptance that is trying to be passed on.

With this book, Sarah Kapit has really cemented herself as one of my favourite middlegrade authors. Each of her books is so different but so incredibly well done.

This book is dual POV and follows two timelines. Our main characters are Maggie, a fat Jewish girl with dyspraxia, and Chloe, who figures out she's a lesbian over the course of the book. They used to be best friends, and in the "then" timeline, we see what leads to their friendship breakup. In the "now", they've ended up at the same summer camp, and have to figure out if they can be friends again, or if they're better off without each other.

I don't think there are nearly enough books to center friendships, and particularly friendship breakups, which are something everyone goes through, but which we don't get to read about a lot. Both characters go through a lot of growth in the book, and I thought it was a very heartfelt story.

I was definitely Team Maddie throughout the book (although I wasn't a big fan of her revenge attempts - they were below her). I have some knowledge about dyspraxia and was so disappointed with all of the adults in Maddie's life who couldn't be bothered to look up the disorder to understand why she might need some accommodations for musical theatre dance numbers. Much like Chloe they seemed to think that if she just tried harder she would be fine. I found it hard to believe that Maddie couldn't make any friends of her own. She's nice, she's smart - there had to be other kids in her school she could have befriended. The biggest problem with Chloe was that everything came so easily for her that she didn't understand some people might not have it as easy as her. She gets upset with Maddie about not telling her what she needed, but whenever Maddie tried to tell her anything she just brushed it off or truly didn't get it. I also hated when she told Maddie that she needed to stop being jealous of her (it was as though she had learned nothing and still didn't recognize that maybe Maddie was "jealous" because everything came so easily to Chloe and everything was such a struggle for her). And her attitude that no one at a drama camp could possibly be as talented as her just showed the level of arrogance that she carried with her. There were parts that were written to try to add something likeable about Chloe and fit with the "we all have problems" concept. I found myself feeling bad for her struggles, but still not liking her all that much. I also found it difficult to believe that a summer camp would be doing Wicked, but whatever. And how crappy was it that the screenwriting camp Maddie wanted (and paid for) was just up and cancelled and she was forced to do the acting classes? I'm glad this didn't end with Maddie and Chloe going back to being best friends. That wouldn't have been realistic and I'm not sure it would have been good for either of them.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Sarah Kapit and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Former best friends Maddie and Chloe end up at the same summer camp and the same cabin! What will they do? Maddie is still upset with Chloe because of how their school play went and Maddie never being there due to her acting career. Will the girls give up on their friendship or learn to accept each other for who they are?

A great middle grade read on friendships, being you and growing up. Middle school and friendships are so hard. I wish I would've had this book when I was in middle school and I hope it will help middle school kids now.

This was a really great middle grade story about friendship and how it is a two-way street. That you have to communicate what you want or need from your friend to be able to be equals and have a good relationship. Maddie has to realize that she can disagree with her friend and that Chloe won’t ditch their friendship because she isn’t being a yes man. Chloe has to start thinking of someone beside herself and to stop trying to gain her mothers approval and go out for what she wants to do.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

When a BFF friendship suddenly ends Maddie and Chloe think that's it, time to move on, but finding themselves as cabin mates at summer theater camp changes their relationship yet again. Thin, popular and outgoing Chloe is a star with a television series to her credit, Maddie is overweight, clumsy and shy and who deep down wants to be a star too but realizes her chances of that are slim to none. Chloe has always been the driving force in their relationship and Maddie is feeling very used by her. Both girls want to conquer their inner fears-- that voice in their head that says they aren't good enough but both are afraid to share these thoughts with their parents or each other fearing rejection. As the summer progresses each girl finds themselves gravitating to wanting their bff back, but has there been too much damage done to this relationship to hope for a recovery? Told in alternating chapters, readers get to see the inner thoughts of both characters and how each in their own way has contributed to the demise of their bff status. Readers will hope for a reconciliation as these two young people search for someone who "gets them" as well as they did each other.

I love Sarah Kapit's books and look forward to every new one! This one did not disappoint. I just wish I could hear Maddie sing!

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

I'm a music teacher by profession. But as a kid, I was just like Maggie in this book. A talented kid musically with two left feet. I was in grad school before I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. Like Maggie, I had big dreams, but also a recognition of reality. And like Maggie, I had to watch friends excel without,seemingly, even trying. I was fortunate in that my falls and funbles came before the internet. And I was fortunate in that my friends weren't TV stars and professionals who seemed to have it all.

See, that's the other character. Chloe had a prior starring turn on a TV show and a few other pro credits, She also has a stage mom and dreams of Broadway. She's beautiful and popular. And, while Maggie sometimes doesn't realize it, she too envies her friend, and has a growing realization that she's afraid her mother might not accept-but Maggie's supportive moms would.

That is where this book excels. We meet the girls after their falling out. After Chloe's pressuring Maggie to join the school musical with her went horribly wrong, after their friendship was apparently over, they both get assigned to the same cabin at Drama camp. The screenwriting program is canceled, and worse, they both end up in the musical. Through a mix of flashback and current events, we get the story, with alternating perspectives.

As someone with dyspraxia, I found this book realistic, and I think kids with dyspraxia, as well as friends and classmates, will welcome it. But Chloe's story is equally valuable and relatable.

The LGBT content in this book is woven in skillfully and completely appropriately for the MG age group. It is the best kind of representation, that where being gay is simply part of the character as a whole, not their primary identity, And it's nice to see that gay kids have ackward crushes, too.

This book deserves to be read. I hope it gets the chance it deserves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital advanced copy of this book. It tells the story of two former best friends, Maddie and Chloe, who unintentionally reunite at a performing arts summer camp. Chloe has had her success as a child star, but the past year has not been the best for her career. Maddie was drawn into a school musical production earlier this year, and a mishap caused by her disability, dyspraxia went viral and caused the rift with her and Maddie. The book tells their stories from both point-of-views and from differing time periods, but was still pretty easy to follow. Overall, this was a good middle grade read.

Told from alternating points of view, Maddie and Chloe are not speaking after Maddie feels Chloe abandoned her when she needed help on stage at the school ‘s musical. Maddie has dyspraxia and fell and people made videos which went viral. Now at summer camp they find they are sharing the same cabin. When her screenwriting program is canceled, Maddie reluctantly decides to take part in the musical. Maddie and Chloe aren’t getting along and each gets revenge in little ways. When Maddie is asked to be an understudy for the lead role (one that Chloe wanted), she hesitates. What happens next? Can the girls get over the past and move on?

I really enjoyed reading this, it was what I was hoping for and I enjoy a realistic atmosphere in a young adult novel. I really had a great time getting to know the characters and the way they interact with each other. I enjoyed the story-line that was going on and loved being able to read this. Sarah Kapit has a great writing style and it did what I was hoping for from this book.

"As I get myself a new tray of food, it occurs to me that dropping things is really freaking inconvenient on top of all the embarrassment. Poor Maddie. She drops things at least three times a week. Maybe I should be nicer to her about it. I think back to my smart remark from a few days ago and wince."