Donna GephartIn Your Shoes

I was given an ARC of this book to read through my #bookexpedition group.Absolutely loved this middle grade story about family, friendship, loss, grief, and healing. Miles, Amy, Randall and Tate are four characters I won’t soon forget. I know my 5th grade readers will lose themselves in this story and the way these characters’ lives intertwine. Also really enjoyed the way writing (by students) was celebrated and the book titles that were mentioned. Excellent end matter by the author added to my processing of this story. But be warned: grab some tissues.Preordered for my classroom.

Donna Gephart has done it again—warming and mending broken hearts. This time we follow Miles, an anxious boy missing his sweet Grandmother, and Amy, devastated at the recent loss of her Mother and her uprooting to a new town and school. Told in their alternating viewpoints, the story shows how they cope with life’s heart-wrenching challenges with the help of dear family and friends. Donna Gephart offers hope from despair—life after loss—a promise that things will get better.

It is easy to feel Gephart’s heart and the love she has for her readers in this beautiful coming of age tale of facing grief and finding friends.

It is refreshing to read a book, targeted at the 9 – 12 year old group, like “In Your Shoes”. It is simply a heartwarming story that does not focus on dysfunctional families, violent parents, or a multitude of social issues. It does focus on building and maintaining friendships, adjusting to being the “new kid” at school, and on understanding.Amy Silverman moves to Buckington, PA and lives with her uncle above the funeral home he owns and manages. Her mother died after battling cancer and her father, a former pastor, is now studying mortuary science so he can join his brother’s business. Miles Spagoski loves his grandfather, who owns the local bowling center, and bowls every morning at the lanes. While Miles’ father would like to update the center, his grandfather wants to maintain it as it was when Bubbie, Miles’ grandmother, lived. Miles and Amy meet when his best friend, the dapper Randall, become angry with one another and a thrown bowling shoe hits Amy in the head. Later as she seeks to escape the loneliness of the lunchroom, Amy takes refuge in the school library where she meets the unique Tate McAllister, a fashionista and friend of both Randall and Miles. The final chapters are both heart-warming and life-affirming.Alternating chapters focus primarily on Miles or on Amy. Sometimes the narratives overlap, sometimes one is a continuation of the action begun in the former chapter, and sometimes the focus is solely on the individual named in chapter title. Amy’s chapters often include portions of a fairy tale she is writing; each segment relates to something she experiences or an emotion she feels.The characters peopling “In Your Shoes” are recognizable and relatable. Miles is a worrier; he is fascinated by unusual deaths and on things that might go wrong. Randall is a confident individual; he seems to have everything together, but he has difficulty in telling Tate he now thinks of her as more than a friend. Tate has taken up body-building; she is focused and confident. She loves to read and is creative, knitting and selling animal-themed hats. Amy is recovering from her mother’s death; she must deal with a physical difference, one leg is shorter than the other one.Donna Gephart does an incredible job in this novel having the characters deal with physical differences, emotional issues, friendship and the death of beloved family members. Accepting yourself and having others accept you are critically important to young people. For ‘tweens and teens, this is one of the most daunting challenges they face as they mature. Donna Gephart’s “In Your Shoes” handles this challenge in a sensitive, thoughtful manner.“In Your Shoes” is not a difficult book to read, but it is not so simple that adult readers will find it juvenile. Language and situations are appropriate for every reader, regardless of age. Donna Gephart is an extraordinary author; she creates stories and characters that are memorable.

Donna Gephart has a way of reaching her readers that very few authors possess. She writes what is real. She makes you feel what the characters feel: embarrassed, sad, disappointed, heartbroken, happy, scared... all of it comes through in her writing and this book is wonderful.I am a huge fan of her book Lily and Dunkin, it is definitely a top ten favorite. I was so happy to receive a copy of her new book, In Your Shoes and it touched me the same way Lily did.Amy is the new kid at school. She is coping with the loss of her mother and her father being away for a month learning to be a funeral director. And she lives above a funeral home.Miles is a kid who wants to bowl the perfect game. He has been bowling forever, since his grandfather owns a bowling alley. He pretty much lives for bowling.Miles and Amy have a funny meet-cute moment and their friendship continues to blossom. When Miles suffers a loss of his own, it brings he and Amy closer together. This is a story of great friendship and recovery when your world is turned upside down. It is a novel of heartache, laughter and joy. Even if you are not a bowling fan (the majority of this does take place in and discusses a bowling alley), it is still fun to watch Miles and Amy evolve as the story goes on. I will definitely read this book again.

In Your Shoes is a touching story about unlikely friends and how friendship grows as they need someone to lean on. The story mainly focuses on Miles, an avid bowler at his family's bowling alley, and Amy, new to town and living above a mortuary. Tate and Randall round out the foursome of friends and they all share important moments about growing up.I thought this was a well written story that touches on a lot of important topics in the lives of children. I talks about the loss of a loved one, how to build new friendships and maintain existing ones worth keeping. It also shows how children must mature and grow up as life hands them challenges. The author did a wonderful job developing the main characters and expressing their feelings and motivations. The story was engaging and easy to read. It is recommended for ages 9 to 12 years. I think that is a good age to appreciate the details in the novel while enjoying the story as a whole. My kids read it and they said they enjoyed it, they just wish there were no sad parts, like the death of a mother.

This is an absolute must read books for tweens who love realistic fiction.Amy moves from Chicago to Pennsylvania after the death of her mother. Her father is going back to school so he can work with his brother in the funeral home he manages. Amy is still grieving the loss of her mother and missing her father who is gone during the week at school. She has to start a new school herself and make new friends.Miles' family owns and manages the local bowling alley. He loves his grandfather and has been saving his money to give his grandfather a special surprise for his 75th birthday.Amy does manage to find a friend, escaping the lunchroom for the safety of the library. Not only does she find Tate, an interesting and unique middle school girl, but also Mr. Schu, the school librarian (school librarians will recognize Mr. Schu as a well known children's librarian in real life making an appearance in this book) who provides a listening ear.Tate, Amy, Miles and Randall all begin to hang out with each other, and I liked seeing Amy finding a group of good kids to hang out with and her life begin to take shape in her new home.Of course, Gephart does a fantastic job of creating her characters, and after reading the author's note at the book's end, and hearing about her own childhood experience of having a mother who was sick for a time, and then having a daughter-in-law who lost her mother when she was Amy's age, I was even more in love with this story.The settings of the bowling alley and funeral home are unique and quirky. I loved that Miles loved his grandfather so much. I loved that Amy could see her father's talent in being able to comfort those who were grieving. I loved Gephart giving John Schu a spot in this book.I am excited to hand this off to my students, read it with my sixth grade daughter, and talk about it with others who have read it. Gephart has written another winner.

My 12 year old 7th grader is an avid reader. Here is her review:--- "Miles' family owns a bowling center, first founded by his Grandpop. He is always nervous, thinking about all the many ways that people can die. After her mother died from cancer, Amy is a creative girl who just moved into town from Chicago. She now lives above her uncle's funeral home, and is the new kid at school. She struggles to find a reason to be happy, and to make new friends. Then, on the first day of school after winter break, Miles and Amy meet because of a bowling shoe. Miles, who wore bowling shoes to school, has one of his shoes jokingly stolen and thrown by his best friend Randall. The shoe flies into the air -- and hits Amy right on the forehead! Could this be the beginning of a beautiful new friendship? Find out in this wonderful book! I really enjoyed this book about overcoming life obstacles and developing friendships. The book swaps between Amy and Miles' points of view, which I think helps the story. I really liked shy, imaginative Amy and unique, fun Tate. I also liked Amy's old dog, Ernest, and Tate's cat, Marmalade. The characters were all very relatable and honest. My favorite parts were the bits of "Amy's Stories" that were shared. The book made me laugh and a bit teary-eyed. Though it started out kind of slow, it gradually picked up, and kept me reading, and guessing how things were going to go. It has a really sweet ending.

In Your ShoesSuch an delightful read.Anyone can relate to someone in this story.This would make a good book club book read to really open the door to discussions about topics in this one.The characters feel so real in situations that tweens can see themselves in.What teen has not felt alone or confused about where they fit whether it be in school or their own family.This one the two main characters help each other to find their way by being there for each other.Kids of today need to know it is ok to have these mixed up feelings. That in the end they will make it through and find their way.

This is a really beautifully written middle grades novel that deals with a lot of grief which is such a difficult subject for that age level. Gephart does a brilliant job with it though. She is able to really touch on the heart of the matter in a way that is accessible but not too overwhelming.

We ordered a group of books that my granddaughter did not finish reading. Either because the subject matter was too touchy for her. She lost her mother and her brother, or it was too old for her, or in her words, she found them too boring. As she goes back and revisits some of these titles, we will update her review.

I think this book is well written for tweens to teens. I read the book and thought the story was great. I would buy it as a gift for a tween.

I love this author. This is another YA fiction masterpiece.