I received an advanced copy of this book as part of an ARC-sharing group.

This title speaks of middle school insecurity so clearly! The fictional disorder that the main character has is so creative, yet it is an excellent metaphor for our own self-talk. My middle school self needed this book, and I want to share it with so many other students who suffer from low self-esteem. It would make a great read aloud for the classroom, and my hope is that a conversation would ensue about how we speak about others and ourselves. This book is frequently at the top of my recommendation list!

I liked the premise of the book.  A girl is afflicted with a condition that gives her visible skin bruises and more when people near her speak unkind words.  I thought it would be good for students to realize that words CAN hurt others even when not visible.  Feelings are hurt and take time to heal just like bruises or cuts on our bodies.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).
Having experienced bullying, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book. It was interesting to see the idea of someone who had names she was called appear on her body… and it was easy to care about Elyse. I saw a lot of how I felt when I was younger and it was hard to pull back emotionally from her at times.
It was good to see Elyse interacting with other students and I thought it was an interesting touch to have her and the other members of her class writing letters to their future selves. It was good to see the sort of things that were important to her and how she grew and evolved during the course of the book. I was a bit confused by how old she was, though, since I’d assumed she was an older teenager and then the narration seemed to imply she was younger.
I didn’t especially like Jeg and my estimation of her went down the more I read of the book. In a way, she was worse than Ami – who didn’t change who she was, even though she wasn’t a very nice person.
While I could understand why Elyse’s parents were so over-protective of her, it seemed like her mother in particular really struggled to let go. While I did think her father was quite emotionally distant, his responses did make sense as he opened up to and talked to Elyse later on in the book.
I thought there was a nice bit of mystery involved in the letters Elyse received and it was good to see them encouraging her to do more and not be so afraid to act. There was a lot of nice buildup to the trip away and although there were some areas where the storyline was glossed over a little, for the most part, I could picture a lot of the events happening inside my head.
This book wasn’t as hard to read as some books I’ve picked up, but it did contain a lot of deeper emotion and I really cared about Elyse and her goals, to the point where I was getting angry on her behalf. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author in the near future.

This is a great story about a girl with a rare (and fictitious) disorder. Strong words appear on her skin when people use them on her. The bad words (dork, geek, etc) really itch when they appear and good words (beautiful, nice etc) feel good on her skin. Elyse's self-esteem takes a hit when she enters middle school and she learns that now the strong words she thinks about herself (mostly negative) now appear as well. When she starts receiving mysterious notes encouraging her to try out for the position of 6th grade Explorer Leader for the annual 6th grade trip, Elyse begins to believe in herself and in what she can accomplish. Verdict: What an original read! This is a great book for upper elementary and middle school students who might be struggling with self-esteem issues or who just want a great story. Buy it!

I can'r imagine what it would be like to have every word every spoken to describe you appear on your skin like a tattoo, but that;s what's it's like for Elyse. Middle school will not make things any easier as her former loyal friends drift away...an excellent tale.

Elyse suffers from a strange medical condition; any time someone calls her a name, it appears on her skin. This was fine and dandy when she was a baby, and the words “cute” and “beautiful” were being thrown around. But now, in middle school, the words have become cruel, “loser”, “freak”, etc. The worst part is those mean words hurt and burn Elyse’s skin.

Elyse will soon have to learn to deal with the change in her peers and friends, and learn to use kindness to herself as well.

Cute concept for an intriguing middle grade read.