Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

I love stories with meaningful messages for kids and this was right up that alley. The question remains, how much pressure is too much to put on children. How much of a push do we want to give our young people to help them strive for excellence while also realizing it is ok to still be "learning" as we go through life. I really enjoyed the quick chapters and the way the story flowed with Ash and Tilly both. I'd recommend this book to any young person but especially those who are still in the beginnings of learning how education systems work. Young elementary school kids or middle school kids both would enjoy and learn from this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for this ARC.

I requested this one so long ago I forgot about it, but it would have been a perfect book to order when I was a media specialist at the middle school level. The Golden Ticket is a book for elementary school students in grades four through six. Ais is placed in accelerated learning programs at her school. Ais is having a hard time keeping up with the academic standards set by her family, teachers, and peers. Ais decides to cheat on a quiz to improve her English grade/standing in the program. Ais's cheating scheme is thwarted when a fellow student finds out about it. There is a lesson here for kids about cheating and for parents and teachers about the pressure our kids are under to achieve well in school. Ais is the family's scholar, but she has never been allowed to join in the fun she sees her sister and friends had with their friends, playing sports, and going on hiking camps. Having a gifted child myself and having taught many others, I can attest that this is a vital book on the pressures that come with high expectations.

I gave it 4 stars because it was enjoyable and worth recommending to readers interested in the genre. I plan to check out the author's future works.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and RB Media sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ash's story of struggling where you once succeeded is so relatable! Middle school is hard on lots of kids and they'll empathize with Ash in this story.

Great little book!
Tackled some topics that would be good conversation starters for kids
I liked Ash as a main character and would love to see a book about her or Gracie
I do wish some parts had been a little more fleshed out but overall a great book!

3.5 Stars

Golden Ticket asks the question, “When is good not good enough?” From the beginning of the novel, Ash’s academic anxiety is palpable. Her fears of not keeping up with her advanced classmates practically drip off the page. And as a parent reading this book, it made me really angry that her school/parents essentially set Ash up to fall. If you’ve never been taught how to cope with failure, things are likely to blow up in your face. And that’s what happens to Ash.

Author Kate Egan’s exploration of this brings into focus the effect it has on all aspects of life, particularly friendships and self-worth.

Golden Ticket was a hard read for me, as I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters. That lack of connection made the book only OK for me. However, I’m still recommending it because of its important topic, and because I can’t really put a finger on why I personally didn’t connect.

I recommend a quick read of the first chapter at your local library to see if Golden Ticket is a good fit prior to purchasing.

Ash is in the gifted and talented program, which is exactly where she wants to be, but when a less than perfect grade comes through, she knows she has to do whatever it takes to be the kid her parents and teachers expect her to be. Unfortunately, this means sacrificing friendships and possibly so much more.

While this story features cheating and lying, I'm delighted that there's a lot more to it and the confession and punishment aren't the end of the story. Ash is such a relatable character as she struggles to balance everyone's expectations with her own idea of what she wants to be. This is a rather quick read and endearing. I recommend it for fourth and fifth grade students who enjoy stories about friendship, but I would love to see it in the hands of parents and teachers with high expectations as well.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Sir Walter Scott, 1808)

Aisling “Ash” McNulty is a go getter fifth grader who strives to be the best in everything she attempts. So far she’s excelling at it. In the small Maine town, everyone comes out for the Quigley School Quiz Bowl, an annual fundraiser, plus a party and a contest all rolled into one. A fifth grader almost always wins the top prize, but in last year’s upset, then-fourth-grader Ash took home the prize which was a stuffed owl, the schools mascot. She’s determined to secure a repeat victory at the upcoming contest. To Ash, this is vitally important since she’s been secretly falling behind in the school’s gifted and talented program. Her parents are unaware of this as Ash signed their name on her report card and turned it back in. Now the the deception has begun. The GT or gifted and talented program has critics or maybe jealous mothers to be more exact. One parent criticizes the program, calling it a “golden ticket” for the 2% of students who ace a test in the second grade: “The best teacher, for such a tiny group of students. Who wouldn’t succeed in a class like that?” For Ash, her identity and hopes for the future involving her Irish emigrant parents’ pressure regarding getting a good education, are based on her success in the GT program. Lot of pressure for an eleven year old. One day Ash is sent to the seemingly empty classroom to retrieve a roll of tape. When she opens the drawer to retrieve the tape she sees a folder containing the quiz bowl questions and answers. Shockingly, she pulls out her phone and snaps a few pictures. Well she doesn’t have to actually look at the pictures or will she? But this would certainly be a clear route to keeping her good name. And since nobody saw her take the pictures and she’ll delete them, then no one will be the wiser.

This is a fast paced story where the reader has their own ideas of what Ash should and should not do. But you know there always seems to be consequences for our actions. Lots of discussion points in this story

The Golden Ticket tells a story that isn't well represented in middle grade books. The inner struggles of students identified as smart or gifted are very real. As a middle grade teacher, I have seen these struggles come to light when students have to work a little harder or classmates catch up. Ash put so much into her identity it was devasting for her to imagine herself being seen differently. This lead her to make a poor choice. It was a relief to have her own up to what she did and face consequences for it... something middle grade readers need to see.

Great Middle Grade book with a great story line. The characters were really relatable for middle grade students. The description were very colorful and you could feel like you were in the classroom with the main character.

I received an ARC of, The Golden Ticket, by Kate Egan. Growing up is hard, as Ash, the main character in this story knows. School is not always fun.

This book touched me so much. I too was one of those gifted and talented students, in grade school, who would go off to the special classroom to learn things that my fellow students didn't get to learn, because they were not as intelligent.

It is a sort of prejudice that cuts through Ash in this book, because she feels as though she has imposter syndrome. That , perhaps she is no longer gifted, because she is not understanding concepts that the rest of the class is.

Tilly, the new girl, scoffs at the designation. As she puts it, anyone can memorize facts. There is something different in thinking.

This is a book about a different kind of prejudice, one of expecting those who are labeled as smart and gifted, are, no matter what they do. No matter how dull their final project is. It must be good, because of who they are.

And when Ash is "demoted" back to the regular class, she realizes that.

There is more to the story than that, but that is really what the author said she wanted to get across.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Ash is a fifth grader who spends much of her school day in a special class for gifted students. She tested into it when she was in first grade and has been there ever since. Her problem is, now that she is older and the work is harder, she can't keep up. Is she still special? What will happen when her parents see her report card? Will she be able to keep her winning streak in the Quiz Bowl? When Ash makes a bad decision, life starts spiraling out of control. Is it time to reveal her secret?
Would make a good read aloud - for teachers as well as students - to discuss labels and how they effect the students who are given them.

Golden Ticket
by Kate Egan
Pub Date 21 Jun 2022
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends
Children's Fiction


I am reviewing a copy of Golden Ticket through Macmillan Children’s Publishing group and Netgalley:




Ash Mcnully is an eleven year old, one of the gifted talented students at her school who spends most of her day in a special class with a few other advanced students. As the end of fifth grade rolls around, she should be on top of the world. According to everyone, she’s going to rock junior high!




Ash has a secret though, she can’t keep up with her advanced classmates anymore. The minute she asks for help though, everyone will know she’s not who they think that she is. She’s not so smart. She might not even be that special. And her parents will be crushed to discover the truth.




If Ash can win the Quiz Bowl, though, that will prove to everyone that she is still on top. If she gets a lucky break ahead of time, all the better.



Except the “lucky break” backfires . . .



ZAnd Ash is left to question everything she thought she knew about school, friends, and success.


I give Golden Ticket five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This was a very important story and a beautiful book. I liked the main characters and the struggles that she dealt with. Definitely wish I had been able to read this growing up!

Ash is in the gifted and talent program part time, but because she’s the slowest feels she doesn’t always belong. She’s excited for Quiz Bowl which she won in 4th grade. When she accidentally sees the questions and answers, she takes pictures of them. After she wins, someone threatens to tell on her because they saw her take the pictures. Ash confesses to the principal. Because of her actions, she is taken out of the gifted program. Now she wonders: what group do I fit in? She wonders do I always have to be the best?