Ellie is a typical middle school student struggling with life - an overprotective mother, an absent father, and a grandfather who is descending into Alzheimer's. She also happens to have been born with cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. When her mother decides to move back to Oklahoma to support her mother, Ellie is nervous about being the new kid whom no one pays any attention to and has to navigate not only her disability, but class struggles about being from "Trailerland" -- the trailer park community on the edge of town.
The authenticity, raw voice of Ellie stayed with me long after I finished the book. The interludes of writing to famous bakers (and her absentee father) lent another layer into what Ellie was thinking and how she dealt with all of her challenges. This book was excellent, with memorable characters I wanted to spend more time with, especially Coralee and Bert. I hope that we get another peak into this world as the characters are well-written and have more stories to be told. This is an easy must-have book in your middle grade library!

This book was really good! I only wish it was a little longer, I would be interested to read a sequel.

I really enjoyed the middle grade book. Jamie Sumner's portrayal of a girl with cerebral palsy was extremely well done. It wasn't Ellie's defining characteristic, just one aspect of her. She was just a girl trying to help her family and trying to fit in at school. I think this title could help young readers relate better to kids with various conditions.

Fun and engaging! It's great to add this title to the growing collection of YA materials that deal with disability honestly. While I don't think it is intended to be a series, I'd certainly be excited to hear more about Ellie's adventures in additional books.

This book is delightful. Ellie is 12 years old, and she has cerebral palsy. Due to health concerns with her grandpa, Ellie and her mom move to Oklahoma to be near to him and Mema to help out. ElIie gets a fresh start at her new school . In no time, she has met a couple of friends, something that she didn't have when she lived in Nashville. Those friends help her through the transition.

I thought Ellie is such a strong character. A disability or disorder doesn't define you. Ellie has this mindset. I thought the author did a great job accurately showing what someone with cerebral palsy experiences. I also thought the depiction of Alzheimer's in the book was accurate and will spur great conversations.

What a great book about family, friendship, and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I can't wait to share this story with my students.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Ellie is tired of people looking at her and thinking that she's not capable of being independent. In some ways, she's used to it. After all, she does have cerebral palsy and spends most of her time in a wheelchair. But that doesn't mean she's happy about it. 

Her life suddenly goes through upheaval when her grandpa in Oklahoma finds the keys that her grandmother hid and accidentally drives a truck through the front of the local grocery store. Her mom makes the decision that they are going to help whatever way they can in order to prevent Grandpa from going into an assisted living home. 

Unfortunately for Ellie, that means that they are moving to Oklahoma for six months. 

However, as Ellie gets situated, she unexpectedly finds herself truly making friends for the first time while dealing with her grandpa's dementia. But when something happens, Ellie has to try to convince her mom that Oklahoma is where she is meant to be. 

Roll With It was written by a parent of someone who has CP.  What this means is that while obviously CP plays a roll in Ellie's life, it's not the whole story by any means. It's sensitively done, and it makes clear that the author wanted to a write a story where having CP was NOT the story. That's what makes this refreshing among other middle grade novels I've read where the main character has a disability.  

Roll With It will be a great addition to any upper elementary and lower middle school library. It releases October 1.

so much to love with this title and so much going on. Cerebral palsy of main character, memory loss of grandpa, moving into grandma’s without easy access for wheelchair. Add on just trying to be “normal” and getting through middle school and you just have to admire how well the author handles everything. Highly recommended and please, more diverse perspectives like this!

5 huge stars!!!! I LOVED everything about this book and plan to use it as a read aloud in my classroom along with recommending it to students to read.

Lily- excuse me, Ellie- has always been different. Largely due to the fact that she needs to use a wheelchair in order to get around, thanks to having cerebral palsy (CP). What doesn't make her different is she too has dreams and ambitions along with a family that she loves, yet drives her crazy at the same time.

Despite being in a wheelchair, Ellie is stubbornly independent and often speaks her mind (even if it means getting into trouble).

When Ellie's grandpa's Alzheimer's gets worse, Ellie's mom makes the decision to move her and Ellie from Tennessee to Oklahoma during winter break. The move means starting at a new school, which isn't easy to begin with let alone when you are in a wheelchair and have CP. Ellie expects the change to be challenging. What she doesn't expect is to make friends for the first time in her life.

While Ellie's mom contemplates if the move was right for them, Ellie has to work to convince her mom that it is the best thing to ever happen.

I adore this book with the theme to me, all about family love and loyalty. I don’t have a handicapped child but I do have the privilege of working with special needs children in the public school system. This book has a special place in my heart.

This middle grade novel tells the story of a normal girl with cerebral palsy whose life takes an unexpected turn when she moves to a new town. You will understand the word normal after you read this amazing book.

Ellie’s is a middle school girl who pulls no punches in her relationships. You will live Ellie and all the characters who surround her. Ellie has big dreams: She loves cooking and one day she’s going to be a professional baker. She writes fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, and practices recipes on her friends and family.

Ellie and her mom move from Nashville to a small town in Oklahoma so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa. Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. She’s not just the new kid—she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the poor side of town. The school is very small and not suited for a student in a wheelchair, but the staff go out of their way to make it work. At her old school, she was never able to make friends, but here things are different. She starts to make her first-ever friends who are fun and a bit quirky.
There are lots of problems here, But she is happy in Oklahoma living in a cozy trailer with those she loves. She just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Besides the overwhelming theme of family, there is Ellie who was born with cerebral palsy, an absentee father, a bit of a helicopter mother, a friend who might be on the spectrum and a grandfather who is rapidly losing his identity to Alzheimer’s.
As I read, I fell in love with this family.

I loved this book so much. Representation MATTERS and it was so refreshing to read a middle-grade book where the focus of the story wasn't a kid coming to terms with their disability, but a kid dealing with regular every day stuff (grandparents with dementia, moving to a new school, making friends, cultivating hobbies) while ALSO living with CP. Ellie's voice captivated me from the very first line and kept me rooting for her the entire story. I will absolutely be checking out this author's future novels.