Write This Down

June 20, 2016
There are two things that seventh-grader Autumn wants: to become a published writer and for her older brother, Hunter, to go back to being “the best brother in the world.” Ever since starting 10th grade and joining a band, he’s been mean to both Autumn and their parents, who worry about his grades and attitude. When Hunter makes fun of Autumn’s poem about her crush in front of his musician friends, he goes too far. Autumn vents her feelings by writing an essay about how Hunter has changed for the worse and entering it in a contest. When it wins first prize, she must decide whether to accept the award and humiliate her brother when the essay is published, or spare Hunter and give up her chance to see her writing in print. In a believable slice-of-life story, Mills (the Nora Notebooks series) writes eloquently of sibling rivalry, dreams turned sour, hard choices, and the insecurities that come with entering adolescence. Readers, especially younger siblings and budding writers, will easily identify with Autumn’s plights. Ages 10–12. Agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary.

July 1, 2016
Autumn is a writer, and although she's just 12, she is fully ready to be published--or so she thinks.She's midway through writing her first fantasy novel, but it's her realistic writing that finally gets her the attention she craves. Life is made complicated by her disintegrating relationship with her previously loving older brother, Hunter. Since starting 10th grade, he's become downright mean, even reading aloud to members of his rock band the love poem Autumn composed to her serious crush, enigmatic Cameron--in front of Cameron's older brother. Autumn seeks revenge, first composing a scathing and untrue review of his band's performance but then submitting to an essay contest a description of what Hunter used to mean to her contrasted against his recent behavior. Although many of the embarrassing situations she endures will be uncomfortably familiar to readers--especially her uncertain encounters with her crush--Autumn only achieves real likability near the end of this tame outing. Her narrative voice is fully believable but lacks the amiability that would elevate her to admirable or charming. Her parents' earnest attempts to fix Hunter's problems add a subplot of mild frustration. In the absence of racial or ethnic markers, readers are likely to see Autumn and her family as white. Fellow writers will understand Autumn's quest, but others may not find her tale as compelling. (Fiction. 10-12)

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August 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Autumn Granger lives in a world of words. An aspiring author, she always has a pen in hand, waiting for inspiration to strike. Her current muse is the long-haired, free-spirited Cameron, who is back from a year abroad. She fills the pages of her journal with odes dedicated to him. If only Autumn could control people in her life as easily as she manipulates her characters. Since the start of 10th grade, Autumn's older brother, Hunter, has been increasingly mean-spirited and spends all his time with his new bandmates. Autumn would have been content to enjoy posthumous success like her idol Emily Dickinson, but after Hunter mocks her private love poems in front of Cameron's brother, she's determined to prove her worth. Getting published will validate her writing and show the world that she has a unique voice and is not just another lovestruck tween. With the first middle school dance rapidly approaching, Autumn submits her work to The New Yorker and the Denver Post, hoping to impress Cameron. Mills does a good job of showing the turbulence of being a preteen. The central focus of the novel is the sibling relationship. Classic helicopter parents, Autumn's mom and dad praise her good grades and chastise Hunter's poor ones, which builds resentment. Autumn often describes feeling uncomfortable at being treated like Gallant to her brother's Goofus. The girl's pain and confusion over being pushed away by an older sibling are honest and relatable. VERDICT Realistic situations and a nuanced protagonist make this a recommended purchase.-Jocelyn Charpentier, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017
Seventh-grade budding writer Autumn's older brother Hunter reads her love poem to her crush's brother, and to top it off, The New Yorker rejects her best work. Mills creates a warm, convincing portrait of an apprentice author in this bubbly family-and-friends story, which deepens as Autumn encounters a moral dilemma involving her hunger for publication that conflicts with loyalty to Hunter.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2016
Seventh-grade life for budding writer Autumn Granger holds some challenges. Her crush Cameron is either intriguingly enigmatic or totally oblivious. Her beloved, or formerly beloved, older brother Hunter has become sullen and uncommunicative. Opportunities for embarrassment seem to be everywhereespecially after Hunter reads her love poem Ode to Cameron aloud to Cameron's older brother. To top it all off, The New Yorker rejects her best work without even an explanation. In this mainly lighthearted and highly readable novel, Mills creates a warm, convincing portrait of an apprentice author. Autumn struggles with writerly problems such as the structure of her novel about Princess Tatiana and her wizard enemy, Ingvar, and how to channel the spirit of Emily Dickinson into her love poems, but even more with the problems of being a writerself-confidence, ambition, jealousy, and the tricky privacy issue of using your family as material. This bubbly family-and-friends story, complete with Autumn's knitting-obsessed best friend, her orthodontist father known as Dr. Jaws, and a hilarious/painful school dance, deepens as Autumn encounters a moral dilemma. When her hunger for publication conflicts with loyalty to Hunter, she realizes that life doesn't always follow the script you've so carefully crafted. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)