Solid middle grade novel about a kid living with a chronic illness. 8th grader Tess Medina is still coming to grips with the death of her father three years prior when her family moves to a new town and a new school. Tess finds comfort in baking, something she used to do with her father. But lately, that's not even going right for her. She is plagued by sharp pain in her stomach that causes discomfort and frequent bathroom trips. Tess tries to pretend everything is still okay, even when it is clear that things are very wrong.

This is an authentic and compassionate look at living with a chronic illness. Tess is a well-rounded character and her story will appeal to lots of readers.

This book was such an eye-opener for the struggles Crohn's patients face everyday. It's wonderful that the authors have shared their experiences in order to normalize this disease and provide representation in middle grade lit. Tess has moved to a new house and gained a new stepfather. She starts a dog walking business to earn money to travel to a kids baking championship that she has been invited to audition for again. But as the days pass and Tess begins to feel more and more anxious and uncomfortable with recurring stomach issues and an ever-growing list of foods to avoid, Tess begins to think something is REALLY wrong with her. After passing out in a school bathroom in front of a girl she most definitely is NOT friendly with, Tess finally discovers she has a chronic illness that she will have for the rest of her life. The authors have nailed the perspective of a middle school girl just discovering her gut will now control all aspects of her life.

This was a FANTASTIC middle grade book about getting diagnosed with Crohn's and learning to live with a debilitating chronic illness. Told with humor and heart, this book balances newfound grief over the sudden death of a parent with a shared love of baking, a reality baking competition and the comfort found in support from friends and family. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like The year my life went down the toilet by Jake Maia Arlow. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I also loved that this was an #ownvoices novel with a great author's note included at the end.

Gut Reaction is about a girl living with Crohn's disease. She doesn't know what is happening at first, but as the pain worsens, she is forced to confront the reality that there is something wrong. This is also a story about grief and healing. I really liked this story: the pacing was good, the characters were realistic, and this will be one that students who love realistic fiction books about identity and overcoming adversity will love. Recommended for middle school realistic fiction collections.

Tess Medina, 14, has a lot going on in her life. Before her Dad died he owned a bakery and taught Tess everything he could about baking and life. He cheered her on in the Junior Baker West Coast Competition and cheered her up when she didn’t win. After he died, she hung up her apron and packed away her baking appliances not wanting to bake without him. Now 3 years later she’s starting 8th grade in a new school and wonders if baking might help her make friends. When she receives a letter from the Junior Baker Competition announcing they’d like her to audition for their 10th anniversary show, she thinks maybe it’s time to pull out her apron. She once again discovers the joy in baking and finds a great group of friends, but she’s also now plagued with gut wrenching stomach pains and an embarrassingly strong urge to use the bathroom whenever she eats. She just wants to get through 8th grade, win the competition, and figure out what’s going on with her stomach.
This middle grade book is fantastic for anyone dealing with a chronic illness. The authors, Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt, are a mother/daughter duo who wrote this to chronicle their journey when Quinn was 14 and suffering from the same thing as Tess. They captured the emotions of both the child suffering and the parent worrying perfectly which makes it a perfect book for middle grade kids and parents to read together. Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for an advanced copy of this. Gut Reaction hits the shelves on March 5th.

Tess is starting the year at a new school. She, her mother and little sister, Gracie have moved after her mother becomes engaged to Scott. Scott’s alright, but Tess is still dealing with her father's sudden death from a heart attack three years earlier. Dad and daughter had a strong connection over baking and losing him is hard. In addition, her stomach has been bothering her, sometimes a lot, and she wonders if it’s just the stress of everything she’s dealing with. Tess is careful about what she eats and avoids things that trigger the issue. She keeps her worries to herself and doesn’t even tell mother about her problems. Being the new kid at school is hard but she eventually makes friends with Elly and Rajit after bringing samples of her baking to share. She find a connection with Emmett, who also lost his father, and Brooklyn, who is trying very hard to get their language arts teacher to lose the boring classic books she requires her students to read.
One day Tess gets an invitation to a baking competition, and she really wants to go, but knows that her mother is struggling with money. Also, this reminder of her father might be difficult. That’s in addition to her worsening health condition. Her mother, one day notices that her daughter has lost weight, but it’s a medical emergency that finally gets to the root of her problem. Still in a weakened condition, Tess has to practice for the baking competition with the help of her new friends. Even so, she manages to come up with some creative and delicious entries. . The competition is rigorous and is compounded by Flora, the winner of a previous competition, who is a nasty participant. All is well, until the final round.

While this is a good and well written story, I feel the audience us quite limited to those who are really into the processes of baking.

I didn't really like this book. I'm giving two stars because it wasn't necessarily bad, it just didn't do it for me. I think this had too many very modern references for me. I personally don't like when books really harp on naming current media, and it was extremely over done in this book. Within the first few chapters one of the characters is introduced by essentially naming off a bunch of well known authors.

Also, as a librarian I don't like the hardcore library pandering. I love that authors love libraries, but what 8th grader would mention ALA in real life? For me, this was a miss. It was less about the character having Crohn's and more about the baking contest. It wasn't bad but there are certainly better books in the genre.

Great representation of chronic illness that doesn't shy away from the tough parts of Crohn's. The baking competition added a really interesting layer that I really enjoyed that I think will be an easy selling point when recommending this to middle graders!

Tess and her younger sister Gracie have moved to a new place after her mother gets engaged to Scott. Scott is fine, but Tess is still dealing with her father's sudden death from a heart attack three years ago. He was a baker, and Tess has followed in his footsteps, although since he died when she was in the middle of a children's baking competition, it's sometimes hard. Her stomach has been bothering her, sometimes a lot, and she suspects that all of the stressors are piling up. She tries to watch what she eats and avoid things that trigger her, but doesn't tell her mother about her problems. Things get off to a rocky start at her new school, but she eventually makes friends with Elly, who is into older music by artists like Nina Simone and Jimi Hendrix, and her friend Rajit, by bringing baked goods to school. There's also Emmett, who also lost his father, and Brooklyn, who is trying very hard to get their language arts teacher to update the books that the students have to read. When Tess gets an invitation to another competition, she really wants to go, but knows that her mother is struggling with money, and also that this reminder of her father might be difficult. There's also her worsening health condition. Her mother eventually catches on and notices that Tess has lost weight, but it takes a medical emergency to really finally get answers. Still on the mend, Tess has to practice for the baking competition with the help of her new friends. This is tiring, but she manages to come up with some good ideas. The competition is tough, and it doesn't help that Flora, a winner of a previous competition, is a nasty participant. Still, things go well until the final round.
Strengths: I am all about weaponizing baked goods, even if I will never have enough patience to measure flour by ounces instead of cups! It was good to see that Tess managed to integrate into her new school, and eventually found some friends, and also to see that her stepfather to be was a good guy who was supportive. These are both important messages for young readers; there are too many books where these occurrences are portrayed in very dire ways. Tess' health problems unfold in a realistic way, with enough drama to appeal to young readers. Author Wyatt's own struggles add a nice level of depth to the experience. It's been almost ten years since the We Need Diverse Books movement; now that we have more variety in the ethnic and cultural connections, the new frontier seems to be health issues and LGBTQIA+ characters. It's nice to see a growing number of books with these concerns, and there's certainly room for more of them.
Weaknesses: I wish there had been more about Tess and Emmett's interest in each other, especially since Elly also had a crush on him, but we don't hear much about that after the competition begins. While I loved that Tess was involved in the competition, I could have used more information about Crohn's disease and fewer details about the baking competition.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Arlow's The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet or Eliopolis' Will on the Inside informative, but has more in common with books involving cooking competitions, like Harper's Lights, Cameras, Cook!, Delaney's Alice Fleck's Recipe for Disaster, LaMotte's Measuring Up, Schroeder's It's Raining Cupcakes, or Negron's The Last Super Chef.

This book was really good! I really appreciated the chance to learn about Crohn's disease and what that is like. The story was super interesting, I loved the idea. It was really well written! This book is really good both as an educational tool and just a fun book to read!

Inspired by Quinn’s personal journey, Tess starts 8th grade in a new school. She finds she gets occasional stomach aches and her mom thinks it’s stress. Tess is still grieving over the loss of her dad and has many memories of the two them baking together. When she’s invited to compete again in the Junior Baker competition, she wonders if her family can afford it. Tess finds she can walk the neighbors’ dogs to earn money. Tess passes out one day at school and winds up in the hospital. After tests are run, the doctor tells her she has Crohn’s disease. Tess thinks she wants a normal life, and her friend Elly says everyone has flaws and she can help Tess deal with her disease. Mom says Tess can still do the bake-off and the family watches Tess make it through to the final round. At the beginning of the final round Tess collapses. Is she able to finish the competition?