Spin with Me

I have been waiting to read this since I heard it was coming out and it was absolutely worth the wait! The characters are beautiful and I just didn’t want it to end. Great for middle schoolers, but I’m an adult and loved it just the same. The message, the writing, it’s all just so good. Getting it for everyone I know!

Just finished the last page of SPIN WITH ME by Ami Polonsky. What an absolutely wonderful, inclusive and heartfelt MG novel this is—one of the first to feature a nonbinary lead character. This book will enlighten, entertain, and make plenty of underrepresented readers feel seen. Ollie and Essie are characters I won’t soon forget.

This is such a beautiful coming of age love story between two very likable, very relatable middle school kids. Adults will love it too! It's an invigorating read!

Our family loved this book! The story is real and told in an interesting way, and our non-binary tween, who is a big reader, loved “seeing a someone like them” in a book. As a parent it also gave me more insight into what my tween is experiencing.

Spin with me is beautifully written. Amy Polonsky tells tells us what it’s like to be non binary, young, unsure, and then confident about who they are.I highly highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

A great job showing a genuine non-binary kid. My daughter could not put it down. Another great book from Ami Polonsky. A must read.

SPIN WITH ME is a heartfelt middle grade contemporary about labels and love. Essie has been moved across the country to do the first semester of seventh grade away from her friends. Her father has brought her to North Carolina for a visiting professorship, and her mother has stayed behind. Although Essie thought she couldn't like it there, she has started making friends and even has a crush on Ollie.Ollie is non-binary, something Essie did not fully understand. In her search to understand and decide how she fits into this crush with this knowledge, Essie has much to learn. At the same time, she is dealing with her family and the situation that feels stranger as time goes on. The first half of the book is told by Essie and the second half is the same story told from Ollie's point-of-view, an intriguing and revealing addition to the story.What I loved: The way that the book is told first from Essie's point-of-view and then from Ollie's gives it some unique flair. The reader is immersed in each perspective, making them each seem really heartfelt. There are some great themes about labels and finding your place in the world that will resonate with middle grade readers who are just beginning to find their footing. It's also really great to see a non-binary rep in the book along with a cute and sweet romance. There is also some added fun in the format that includes text conversations between friends and the two main characters, also making the book move really quickly.Final verdict: Overall, SPIN WITH ME is a cute and sweet contemporary middle grade romance with just the right amount of zap. Important themes and non-binary rep really make this one shine.Please note that I received an ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Such a sweet book!I loved the way this book was set up--Essie's "butterfly" narrative counting down the days she has left in town, while Ollie's "hand" chapters count up the days since they met her--and that both voices sound unique and genuine. There is a bit of repetition, but considering we're seeing the same time period twice, the author does a nice job of keeping it fresh and showing us new angles. Ollie's texts with their older brother Max were some of my favorite bits; their relationship is just so adorable.I loved that Ollie has so many people in their life that 100% support them, but also that they manage to get across to their mother that they don't really need *quite* as much help now as they did two years ago. Both Essie and Ollie had issues to resolve with their mothers here, and I think the author did a nice job of letting the teens show their mothers what they needed from them without being bratty and overly me-centric.My one complaint is that some aspects of one character's story that end up being fairly important to them--the best example being Ollie's after school Stage Combat class--are barely or not at all mentioned in the other character's POV. Sure, Essie wasn't involved in the activity, but since Ollie ends up having to make a fairly major decision around it and Essie does help out, it's odd that it doesn't even get a mention on her side of the story.(And can we just say? Stage Combat class? Where do I sign up? ;))Altogether, this was a really fun read and I'll definitely keep an eye out for more from this author.Rating: 3 stars / A-I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.