Slouch

Wyman, Christina. Slouch. 

October 22, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The first thing that people notice about seventh grader Stevie Crumb is that she is 5'10", and they always feel a need to comment on it. Her older brother, Ryan, is slightly taller than she is, but he's a high school basketball player. Her parents, who weren't able to go to college because they had Ryan right after high school, go to all of his games, and don't seem to care much about what Stevie does as long as she supports Ryan, too. Money is tight in the household, and they eat a lot of pasta. There seems to be money for new shoes and clothes for Ryan, but not always for Stevie, who has grown enough that herr new pants are short and tight, so she often steals Ryan's sweats to wear to school. She gets along fairly well with Ryan, although he'll do annoying things like asking her to do extra credit homework for him for $5. Stevie's best friend, Arianna, is fashion obsessed, and lives in a bigger, fancier apartment on one of the upper floors in the New York City apartment building. When Arianna goes home sick, Stevie has to take the train home alone, and notices that men, some older than her father, are starting to violate her personal space and make inappropriate comments. The first time it happens, she asks her father to meet her at her stop, but doesn't tell him about the occurrence because she's afraid that he won't let her take the train alone. Stevie's parents have mentioned that she needs an activity, and when she hears Mrs. Crenshaw and the school Opinionators discussing debate topics, she ends up joining their debate team. This means less time with Arianna, who is starting a business selling bracelets on Instagram without telling her parents. It also means that she has to take the train alone more and more. Fiona is the student who wanted to start the debate team, and she is quite mean, telling Stevie that she doesn't want anyone else on "her" team, calling her Crumb-Dumb, and making fun of her height and clothing behind her back. On the bright side, Cedric is welcoming and friendly, and Stevie rather likes him. When she tells Arianna, her friend says that she can't like Cedric because he's shorter than she is. Arianna runs into problems with her business, taking pictures in a forbidden ally and even meeting strangers who say they want to buy her bracelets. This concerns Stevie so much that she tells her parents, and Arianna is angry with Stevie for a while. She eventually understands, and offers to go to the first debate with Stevie because she is bored with being grounded. Stevie has prepared well for the debate, but is so uncomfortable with her I'll fitting outfit and so intimidated by the fancy private school that she completely blows her debate and forfeits for the team without asking them. Her parents weren't at the debate, choosing instead to go to a scrimmage of Ryan's. Stevie finally has a talk with her parents, and tries to get them to understand that it's not okay for family friends to make comments about her body, even if they seem complimentary, that she needs their emotional support, and that she has to have a bare minimum of clothing that fits and makes her feel comfortable in order to be able to go to school and get things done. 

Strengths: Like this author's Jawbreaker, Stevie's family is struggling to pay bills, which is a situation not often depicted in middle grade novels. While Max Plink had one parent who had problems and a very bad relationship with her sister, Stevie's parents are doing a good job at trying to support their children; they just don't fully understand Stevie's needs, and do change when she talks to them. I also liked that she and Ryan generally get along, even though she resents him. There are some very interesting scenes where Stevie grapples with her height; she lets Arianna cut her hair (with disastrous results) because it will "make her look shorter" and she practices different postures. I loved that Mrs. Crenshaw was also tall, and wish that the two of them would have talked more. The balancing act that the parents have with money will be familiar to many children; Stevie and her brother have most of what they need, but there's always the chance that they might lose the apartment, that they won't be able to pay to have the car fixed, or that things like new clothes and shoes will have to wait until the next pay day. This also realistically addresses the sexual harassment that many young girls face, and has an informative author's note about her own experiences. There's also a lot of good information about the effects of social media and safety concerning it, and Arianna's story is a realistic, cautionary tale. 
Weaknesses: I almost wish Stevie hadn't completely crumbled (sorry!) at the debate at the fancy school, because I think completely disastrous performances are rare in reality, but the scene does have the appeal of the old Seventeen Magazine "Was My Face Red" column. I also wish that we had seen Stevie stand up for herself at least once; if doing so on the train is too dangerous, perhaps she could have called out a "complement" or two, giving readers an example of tactics they might employ. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Bradley's Fighting Words, Dee's Maybe He Just Likes You or Carter's How to Be a Girl in the World informative, and is the only other book I can think of the addresses the challenges of being particularly tall, other than Bauer's 2002 Stand Tall. 

Perhaps we need a middle grade book that shows girls how to stand up to people who say inappropriate things to them. This issue is no doubt tied to many factors, like family socioeconomic status, educational level, race, and culture, but I hope that women are doing a better job of teaching girls how to (when safe) talk back to people who give them a hard time. This was also a good title to point out that it's bad practice to comment on someone's physical appearance, even if it is supposedly complimentary. I try to tell students nice things to hopefully brighten their days, but try to limit myself to the colors they are wearing or something specific about  garments (I love the cable pattern on your sweater!), because those things are choices that students have made.