{Synopsis} – In this delightful debut, Kyle Constantini discovers what it takes to navigate middle school: good friends, a crusading spirit, and her lucky blue fedora.
On the first day of sixth grade, Kyle Constantini lands in the principal’s office after standing up against (that is, punching) Ino Nevarez, who was teasing a deaf girl at school. Her punishment? Join the NAVS program, which teaches constructive problem-solving (that is, not punching).
Kyle loves NAVS, where her team competes in a challenge to navigate a maze. But her parents refuse to let her participate . . . so Kyle may just have to fudge the truth a bit to get around them. Then her best friend starts to crush on a cute new English boy, who seems to be interested in — Kyle? As the NAVS competition approaches, she has to trust her instincts, take some good advice, and figure out her way through the amazing maze of middle school.
Rich characters, a big heart, and a witty, warm voice make Kyle Finds Her Way a debut worth discovering.
{My thoughts} – Kyle is not your ordinary sixth grader. For starters she has a twin brother that is a year beneath her in school. How many twins do you know of that are in that type of situation? She is also one for the youngest sixth graders in her class. On her first day of school she finds herself in enough trouble that her parents end up grounding her, but not before her principal has her join the schools NAVS team. This team at first doesn’t interest her, but eventually she begins to see that it is fun and engaging and it becomes what she thinks most about over the course of the book.
Kyle is not what I’d particularly call smart. She doesn’t seem to learn from her mistakes right away, but once she does the issues and circumstances that had caused her to get grounded end up being resolved. She makes some new friends and almost loses some old friends. It takes sometime before Kyle starts to realize that she needs to think things through more carefully before making her mind up on some of the things that she wanted to do. Once she started to take time to think things out things started to get better for her.
I recommend this book for any middle grade child. Middle school is hard, it’s confusing and it can be difficult to stay on point. This book helps to show children that it’s okay to make mistakes, to take time to find your way, because even though you may get into some trouble, that in the end your parents will still love you and your school will still appreciate you. Some children don’t know that it’s okay to make mistakes, that it’s okay to not be perfect, that it’s okay for things to take some time to better understand. This book helps to show them that and I think that many middle school children can benefit from reading it.
{Quotes I Enjoyed} –
{01} – “There’s a lot of dirt wads in this world, Kiki. Don’t let them turn you into one of them.”
{02} – “Anger isn’t about what you feel,” he says. “It’s about what you do when it comes.”
{03} – “I think finding a way to make someone understand you is probably the hardest thing on the planet,” I tell her. “Especially when everything is different. It’s easy to feel like things are nutso butso at first.”
{04} – The stars move and the earth moves and we move and we have to look for when things are moving our way and hop on for the ride. You can’t shoot down the stars. You have to learn them and feel them and watch how they rise, and trust.
{05} – It’s strange thinking about what mMowsie said – how some people bring out different sides of you that don’t exist when they’re not there. I wonder if it’s the same when certain people are around. Do other sides of you disappear?
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
