Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for review.

Sharon Creech's prose pulled me in to this imaginative story about Gina and her neighbor, Antonio. Gina doesn't quite fit in with the other kids. In the past, teachers have not been impressed by her creativity. Her new teacher and Antonio are bright lights to help discover "Who am I" and "Who do I want to be".

A middle grade book, the middle grade characters do not use vocabulary normally used in that age range. However, because Creech's language is gorgeous, I think it does middle graders well to escape and discover themselves - even if the actual realism isn't always there.

Miss Lightstone, the teacher, was the shining star for me. I want to be her. I want to have the permission from the school district to be her. Can you imagine using each class period to go where the class leads instead of worrying about what time you have for which standard? Her lessons were exciting and deep and I loved every one...especially silent Wednesdays where kids' needed to figure out the answers to their questions themselves. Genius! Miss Lightstone's love of literature (and Creech's nod to classic and current works) integrates the creativity she expects to see in her class.

The book is great for all ages, but I see this as a read aloud to a middle grade class. I can only imagine the discussions after each chapter.

Sharon Creech will always be an iconic children’s author. The stories she writes are so important and meaningful, unlike many books becoming popular for young readers. They should be challenged to answer the question of “who could you be?” I think that the length of the chapters and the voice of the character will make this a quick and easy read without sacrificing the lessons. I did have trouble connecting with the main character, but overall I loved the journey. This would make a great read aloud.

I loved the voice of this young narrator, the exploration and wonder, the way the teacher used writing experiments to engage deeper thinking. But I needed more of Antonio, especially given the ending.

Gina is an only child who has a very creative imagination. Antonio is her newly moved in next door neighbor and classmate. You would think there would be much to write about from these two characters, but the book really goes nowhere. At one point, Antonio is absent from school there is little to no plot development. This book was a big disappointment for me...very boring, no character development. I will not be purchasing it for my school library.

As a junior high English teacher, this middle-grades novel really hit home for me. Miss Lightstone shares her passion for writing with her students and shows them that they are all capable of telling beautiful, powerful, courageous stories of their own.

This book is a perfect for for a middle grade reader and writer. Words, stories and imagination are practically characters in this quick read from a beloved author.

Yet again, Sharon Creech introduces her readers to an engaging protagonist whose journey of becoming is completely believable in the twists and turns of imagination and relationships. Not a lot happens in this book, plot-wise-- at least not external to the main character. But her inward journey of self-discovery could be a great model for middle schoolers of observing their growing and learning.

I received this e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Gina has always had an overactive imagination, but when Antonio moves into her neighborhood, even he has her questioning reality. This new boy is captivating, not only to Gina but to her classmates, and when he suddenly stops showing up, Gina is left wondering how one person can make such an impact on so many, and how his absence can leave such a hole.

I liked this book a lot, and loved what a sympathetic parent Gina's dad was. I think this will be another middle grade home run for Sharon Creech.

This is a wonderful book about exploring who you are and who you may become with wonderful characters and relationships.Everyone should be so lucky as to have had a teacher like Miss Lightstone!

This story will have readers reflecting on words, relationships with others, and "who are you?" I enjoyed the author's language, format and word incorporation. Such an intriguing and interesting story of how our lives and mannerisms and thoughts intertwine with others!

As a fourth grade teacher who has used Love That Dog and Hate That Cat in my classroom, as well as having read Walk Two Moons as a student myself, One Time is another nice addition to the library of Sharon Creech's work. I would imagine reading this book alongside our fictional narrative writing unit encouraging students to expand their imagination and where they can draw their ideas. I appreciated the homage to childhood classics including Holes and the short story "Charlie" by Shirley Jackson. I liked reading about how this teacher inspired her class and hope my students would be equally as driven to write after reading this book.

This was a very good book that I hope to use in my classroom one day. I especially liked how the teacher used introductions of other books and had students try to use them to write. I have tried doing that in my classes, but my students have struggled understanding how to write. I think if they saw the characters do that, then they would understand better. Nicely written story with wonderful ending.

A good story to discuss about the power of imagination. Love using novels in verse in my classroom. A lot of magical realism paired with realistic fiction.

Sharon Creech is a masterful voice. I would gladly add this book to my classroom and personal library. What stands out most is Creech’s exploration of character. Yet another new classic from this author.

What a book! As a long-time admirer of Ms. Creech's books, I feel like One Time is a love letter to all her devoted readers, filled with lovely hidden gems (or "winks"). It makes me want to go back and start reading every one of them all over again. I would definitely recommend that readers try a few other Creech books before reading this one -- Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, Love That Dog, and Bloomability, for sure.

Honestly, I think the open-ended narrative leaves lots of room to inspire young authors to write their own continuation of these characters and their stories.

I was so excited to be able to review this ARC from Netgalley because Sharon Creech is one of my favorite middle grade authors. Unfortunately, this is probably my least favorite book I have ever read from her. It did not feel like the plot even developed until three quarters of the way through and even then there was not that much substance. Gina is an imaginative only child and when Antonio moves in next door and is in her same class you would think the story begins, but not much develops. When Antonio is not coming to school there is little information or plot development. My students will enjoy the short chapters, but other than that there is not much to appeal to them. I don’t even plan on buying this for my classroom; it was a miss.