I think this is probably a great children's book, but I was reading for a committee in 2021 and had to choose which books to spend my time on. This was not for list but good for reader's advisory.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me a couple of This book. This book was really great and I feel so hard for the characters and I would love to see more of them in the future

Some books really make you think and feel and this is one of them. I love the youthful coming of age happening here and how the characters come together. There is a lot of pain and struggle that feels very real and I wanted to hug the protagonist more than once. I recommend a box of tissues and some cozy slippers when reading this one.

*Please note there is a possible trigger warning: Alcoholism & Divorce*


What an emotional read. This was me in 6th grade and the years before that until about 7th grade. My parents were alcoholics and family life was no fun. Although my situation was much worse than Veronica's, I still relate as an adult and remember the heartbreak and confusion of feeling like, why can't they stop drinking?


Veronica's mother works in a law firm and is hoping to make partner. She spends a lot of time at lunch and after work meetings, where she drinks a little too much. Forced to go to rehab, thanks to her boss, Anna leaves her family for weeks as she recovers.


Veronica and her father are left alone holding the reigns of their family home. Veronica has always dreamed of playing for the All Star Softball team and it's a dream she shares with her mother. But as her mother is in rehab and not there to help Veronica through her training, Veronica is left feeling betrayed, angry, and confused.


This is a great resource to teachers for families who are going through something similar. It's tastefully done and adequately explains the disease of alcoholism, that I think if any kids today were going through something like this with a family member, this would help explain their own feelings. As adults we don't know how to talk or explain "grown-ups" problems. This is the case for Veronica and I'm sure many children today. This book can be a great tool for them.

Life in the Balance was a heartfelt, thought-provoking sort about eleven year old Veronica attempting to cope with her mother's alcoholism. She excels st softbal and shares a passion for the game with her mom, but feels too much pressure to make the All Star team and works to navigate that along with a plethora of other issues. Her best friend's parents are divorcing, dad is working my!triple jobs to pay the bills, friendship are toygh , and she has so many feelings about all if it. Loved a story that so many so many will connect Sith on some level--thank you net galley for the digital ARC!

Once again, author Jen Petro-Roy has delivered a heartfelt middle-grade novel that tackles an important topic for young readers honestly and fairly. Right when Veronica has a big softball tryout coming up, her world is turned upside down when her mother checks herself into a rehab center for alcoholism. Veronica can't understand why her mother can't be like her friends' parents and feels resentment against her mother. She also feels distanced from her own friends who have their own problems. Petroy-Roy shows the feelings kids dealing with parental addiction, including shame and confusion, but also shows that they're not alone and they can find help. Young readers will relate to these characters even if this situation isn't in their own life, and it'll give them a better understanding of what their friends are no doubt going through.

It is hard, as a child, to handle adult problems. It's enough to handle regular kid problems. Veronica has enough of those. Tryouts for the All-Star softball team are coming up. It's a traveling team and will come with its own challenges. And honestly, Veronica doesn't know if she wants to do that, or choir because singing is something she really enjoys too. But on top of all that, she has an adult size problem. Her mom is an alcoholic and has finally admitted she needs help. She's going away to rehab, but what does that mean for Veronica? To not have her mom there? Does she tell her friends and teammates about her mom? And her mom was supposed to help her with softball tryouts. It's a lot to process and understand, especially for a kid.
Jen Petro-Roy absolutely nails the voice of a middle schooler trying to figure all of this out. This book will be so important for many readers.

Veronica is a softball player, and a good one at that. It's in her genes - her mother and grandmother were known far and wide for their ball skills. She's been waiting for YEARS to be old enough to try out for the All-Star team. So now that the time is here, why isn't she looking forward to it? Is it because her mom - the one who has supported her all these years - is in an inpatient rehab facility for her alcoholism, or simply because she's discovered singing and performing bring her more joy? If she leaves softball will that endanger her mom's new sobriety?

In its purest form, Jen Petro-Roy's newest novel is a gift to middle schoolers who have a parent dealing with an addiction. It's handled really well here, not glossing over the struggles and uncertainty of the disease, yet still appropriate for this age group (I wouldn't hesitate to hand it to a 3rd grader who needed to hear the message). But it's also about learning to listen to your inner voice and what makes you happy, even if that may disappoint someone else in your life.

Highly recommend for kids in grades 3 and up.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Macmillan's Children's Publishing for an early copy to review.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Veronica has much to balance in this middle grade novel by Jen Petro-Roy. She is a talented softball player hoping to make the All-Star team when her mom's alcoholism gets bad enough to require an in-person rehab. Suddenly Veronica is balancing life without her mom around, managing her own schedule since her dad is now working multiple jobs, worrying whether her family can afford her being on the All-Star team, and trying to figure out how to share this private family information with her best friend. Petro-Roy takes a challenging topic, parental alcoholism, and handles it with such sensitivity that I know it will impact readers for which the story is a mirror and those for which it is a window. The stress kids feel around competitive sports will also resonate with readers.

Okay, seriously when did this book end? I was reading it all engrossed and boom I see that I was on the last page and I definitely wanted to read more. But, well, I guess all good things come to an end and what we are left with are all good memories. Look at me being all poetic lol.

To talk about this book, I don’t know how to describe it. It was like your standard Middle Grade books – the usual pattern you see in them (I am not going to give away any spoilers, I am determined) but at the same time it was so much more different. Yes, it dealt with loss but it navigated through it very nicely, especially putting forth the message that not always a person is capable of figuring stuff out just like in the case of Veronica and her family. It talked about alcoholism and what effects it has in general to the person and their family. It talked about expressing your emotions even when you feel like there is nothing going your way and you think that everything would just crumble and fall apart. More than that I guess it talked about dealing with those emotions, to accept them and work around them. I personally loved Veronica and Claudia’s friendship and the other friends that we got to see through this book. Libby was a powerful and an important aspect in Veronica’s life and I am so glad she got to meet with her. And Veronica’s parents were really amazing too because at the end of the day they communicated honestly with each other, them accepting their faults and wrongdoings and striving to work towards them.

Even though Life in the balance is a Middle Grade book, I believe everyone can read it to better understand life choices and all. Especially how sometimes you need to be firm in your decision about what YOU want. It was one of the things that made it reading so pleasant. I honestly enjoyed it a lot!

Trigger Warnings: Alcoholism, Divorce

I am not gonna lie, it took me a while to get the hang of reading Jen Petro-Roy’s Life In The Balance. There was something I simply couldn’t relate to regardless of how much I tried to emphasize with Veronica, our main character.

Life In The Balance is narrated by a middle grader and the vocabulary, and voice reflects it nicely. I almost didn’t finish the book because of it. However, once I was able to determine what was putting me off, I realized it had to be written that way. Veronica is showing us what is currently happening in her life and she is talking to us uncensored: tone and all. With that said, it’s easy to get upset with her at times. I constantly find myself reprimanding her for something a person her age would do or think. However, I think Petro-Roy did a good job on showing how overwhelming the world could get especaially for a kid.

Life In The Balance also dealt with more mature things that I never would’ve expected. It talked of alcoholism and what it does to a family, and to a person. It talked of friendship and the different ways people could become friends. It also showed what pressure to perform and to fulfill a legacy can do to a kid.

I did enjoy reading it closer to the end when everything was starting to make more sense for Veronica, especially since you can see a little bit of growth in her character.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for review. This did not affect my view and thoughts of the book.

Thank you Jen Petro-Roy, the Publisher, Netgalley and Turn the Page Tour team for sending me a digital copy of Life in the Balance in exchange for an honest review.

Life in the Balance is a truly a heartfelt story about a tween character named Veronica who's been trying to cope with the struggles of having an alcoholic mother. Veronica loves her mother so much to the point that they share the same thing; the passion for softball game. Before the condition of her mother being an alcoholic getting worsen, she always trains Veronica to be a good softball player. Veronica even dreams to be accepted into the most accomplished softball team; the All-Star softball team. But to no avail, her dream seems slipping through her grasp when her mother goes to rehab for 2 months in order to treat her alcoholism. Throughout the story, I felt pity for Veronica because she yearns for her mother's presence at times she feels lost and alone. The author did a great job in giving Veronica a distinct voice because it felt so real when she's pressed about the financial problems (she couldn't afford the fees for the All-Star softball program) and the miscommunication she has with her dad (who's juggling about 2-3 temporary jobs in order to support the household and the rehab's cost). This book is written from the first point of view of Veronica. It's undeniably heart-wrenching to read the course of the story from a child's point of view. I didn't know that a simple narration could give a huge impact on me.

Overall, it is an eye-opening read to me. I'll definitely recommend this book to those who have always questioned about uncertainties in their life and for those to appreciate the presence of their loved ones. This story is fully brimmed with a beautifully flawed family, friendships, and the attractive vulnerabilities that lead to a heartwarming story.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I've loved every novel that Jen Petro-Roy has written, but this one may be her best yet. It's impossible not to love Veronica. She's trying so hard to keep her life as normal as possible, but her mom's in rehab (for alcoholism) and she's afraid to talk about it. And she's hoping to make the all-star softball team, because that's something she and her mom always did together. (And it's also a thing that the women in her family do; her great-grandmother was even a member of the Women's Baseball League during World War II.)

But she's also really angry and really sad and really scared (AND really guilt-ridden for it). She clearly feels like it's her job to make everything easier for everyone else, so she pushes all of her feelings down while also lashing out sometimes. (As someone who would rather be angry than sad and scared, I relate.)

This is such a great story and I think it'll help a lot of people. Even if the middlegrade audience reading this don't necessarily have a relative or family friend with alcoholism, I think everyone can relate to uncertainty and major mood swings. (Thanks, pandemic!)

Highly recommended.

This book was honest and real and relatable in a lot of ways. I'm so glad middle schoolers and other children have books like this one to show them that no one has a perfect family and that's okay.

Continuing with that thought, this book was heartbreakingly real. I love that we get to experience it from a middle schooler perspective which makes things even sadder, but that much more vulnerable as well. Our main character, Veronica, goes through a lot during this book on top of her family challenges. As she goes through these things, we get to hear a lot of the concerns she has about friends, new hobbies, and things changing in her life. Things aren't easy for her, but she makes it through and does the best she can with what she has.

Along these lines, I like that Veronica isn't perfect, but she tries. She makes a lot of mistakes in this book as she tries to figure out how to deal with so many changes in her life. She must confront these challenges and mistakes in the end and that's where we really see a lot of honesty in the main character's thoughts.

One thing that I didn't love about this book was that sometimes Veronica sounded a little older than she actually was. She would think about things a little more rationally than someone that young really would or she would say things a child that age wouldn't. This didn't affect my reading experience too much, but it was something I definitely noticed.

Overall, this was a good and honest read about family, change, and balancing the tough things in life.

Life in the Balance is a rare portrayal of alcoholism, addiction and rehabilitation in the family -- especially in a parent. Sadly, more and more people are misusing drugs and alcohol to cope with life's challenges, so more kids need books like this. I loved how realistic Petro-Roy's writing is and loved how Life in the Balance emphasizes the need for community and shows that kids can have more than one close friend. I would highly recommend this one to all interested parties, ages 10 and up!

Veronica is determined to make it onto the all star softball team. It is a multi-generational part of her identity. But when her mother enters a rehab, Veronica tries to balance keeping secrets, secrets about her mom and her own feelings about softball, with putting up a front that everything is ok.

Realistic portrayal of the impact of alcoholism on a family as Veronica faces a mom in rehab, a dad working two jobs, a best friend dealing with divorce. All while practicing for softball team tryouts and planning a talent show performance. The interactions between characters feels authentic, capturing a mix of anger, fear, confusion, dread and hope, as Veronica adjusts to change and learns what is important to her.

Veronica’s 6th grade year is not going as she hoped! Mom goes to rehab for alcoholism right when she is supposed to help her prep for softball try-outs. That is not all-she needs her mom and now she is gone, dad is working all of the time, and money for her softball travel team is on the line. Excellent read of overcoming struggles!

I loved Veronica’s story of understanding (and accepting) her mom’s alcoholism all while navigating her two big talents; softball and choir, making a new friend, a best friend dealing with her parents separation, and her father trying to hold it all together. This is a story that will be a great mirror book for some and window for others.

This book was a fresh and relevant take on how alcoholism impacts a family. Its tendency for family members to keep the secret due to the stigma. It was a unique look at how it takes a toll on kids, who are already dealing with social and friendship stress and drama. I liked the way Veronica was portrayed as a normal teen who is trying to handle things on her own, yet realizes how that’s unhealthy. I believe many of my students would appreciate this topic since they might see themselves in one of the characters.