Just Right Jillian Hardcover – February 1, 2022 by Nicole D. Collier

Description

Author: Collier Nicole D.

Package Dimensions: 0x210x454

Number Of Pages: 224

Release Date: 01-02-2022

Details: Product Description

In this heartfelt middle-grade novel from debut author Nicole D. Collier, fifth-grader Jillian must learn to speak and break free of her shell to enter her school’s academic competition and keep her promise to her grandmother.

Fifth-grader Jillian will do just about anything to blend in, including staying quiet even when she has the right answer. After she loses a classroom competition because she won’t speak up, she sets her mind on winning her school’s biggest competition. But breaking out of her shell is easier said than done, and Jillian has only a month to keep her promise to her grandmother and prove to herself that she can speak up and show everyone her true self.

A warm and relatable middle-grade debut novel about family, friendship, and finding the confidence to break free from the crowd and be who you truly are.

From School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-Fifth-grader Jillian dislikes standing out so much that she ends up losing a class competition, because winning would mean drawing attention to herself. When the opportunity comes up for her to compete in the school-wide Mind Bender competition, Jillian thinks she’d better skip it-but what if being invisible isn’t what she wants, after all? With the help of her loving parents, supportive teacher, and some surprising new friends, Jillian discovers she is so much more than she ever knew. Jillian perfectly encapsulates the contradicting feelings of adolescence, and her attempts to forge her own path and find her identity will be instantly relatable to anyone who has ever felt shy or small. Different aspects of the story work together to drive the plot and create well-developed supporting characters who bring their own challenges and subplots. Readers will particularly enjoy the plot line of Jillian’s class incubating eggs, and they will delight in seeing how the hatching chicks are a metaphor for Jillian’s own emergence from her shell. Jillian is Black, and the vast majority of her classmates and neighbors are BIPOC. VERDICT Readers will feel a fast kinship with Jillian, who is right at home in any library seeking authentic coming-of-age stories about developing self-confidence.-Kristin Brynsvold, Tuckahoe Elem. Sch., Arlington, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
“Jillian perfectly encapsulates the contradicting feelings of adolescence, and her attempts to forge her own path and find her identity will be instantly relatable to anyone who has ever felt shy or small.”—
School Library Journal

“A heartwarming novel about developing the courage to stop hiding.”—
Kirkus Reviews

“This relatable and emotional novel reminds readers that everyone might be fighting their own private battles and that losing or failing at something doesn’t mean you’re not a winner.”—
Booklist

About the Author

Nicole D. Collier, Ph.D. is a former elementary school teacher turned executive coach. She’s also a non-competitive runner and salsera, and has been known to turn cartwheels from time to time. The Georgia native writes contemporary middle grade fiction.