When You Reach Me meets Starfish in this contemporary middle grade about a misfit girl who finds a way to skip the hard parts of life.
J.P. Green is not enjoying seventh grade: a bully won't stop offering her diet advice, her mom acts embarrassed by her, and her Pop Pop’s lung cancer is back. So when she discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor’s treehouse, she doesn’t hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time.
Suddenly, J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade: Fitness tests in P.E., oral book reports, awkward conversations with her mom . . . she can avoid them all and no one even knows she was gone.
But when J.P. starts skipping things she can’t miss, she must decide whether the highs in life are worth the lows and what it means to show up for the people you love—and for yourself—in this moving middle grade novel about mental health, body acceptance, and self-confidence.
Topics Portals. Middle schools. Friendship. Grief. Body image. Cancer. Mental health. Time travel. Bullying.
Lexile 670L
Trim Size 7 3/4" x 5"
JLG Span Fall
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2024-05-06
JLG Release Date Jul 2024
Minimum grade 5
Maximum grade 7
Reading level Elementary, Middle
Format Print
Middle Grade Fiction Plus (Grades 5-7)
Middle Grade Fiction Plus
Middle Grade Fiction Plus (Grades 5-7)
For Grades 5-7
This collection features fiction titles selected for upper elementary and early middle school readers who are ready for engaging, well-crafted stories that reflect their everyday lives and interests. Selections span contemporary and realistic fiction, as well as approachable genre titles, offering accessible narratives with emotional depth, humor, and heart—designed to encourage independent reading and sustained engagement.