In Your Shoes Blog Tour: Review

In Your Shoes
Author: Donna Gephart
Genre: MG Contemporary
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Description:

The critically acclaimed author of Lily and Dunkin delivers another heartfelt story that will remind readers you never know who needs a friend the most, about two imaginative tweens who help each other find new beginnings.

Miles is an anxious boy who loves his family's bowling center even if though he could be killed by a bolt of lightning or a wild animal that escaped from the Philadelphia Zoo on the way there.

Amy is the new girl at school who wishes she didn't have to live above her uncle's funeral home and tries to write her way to her own happily-ever-after.

Then Miles and Amy meet in the most unexpected way...and that's when it all begins...

 

In Your Shoes is a wonderful new contemporary middle grade novel that tackles important topics such as mental illness, friendship, trust, trying to fit in, and family. I don't normally read this genre, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The story was sweet and definitely relevant to today's kids. I also really liked how it touches on mental illness (in the form of anxiety) and makes it accessible to the age range of children reading the story. I believe it's important to tackle ignorance at a young age.

The main characters, Miles and Amy, were both easy to identify with right from the beginning and easy to connect with. They were both realistic with flaws and great traits alike and both saw and accepted these things in each other, which made their friendship all the stronger. I really identified with Miles due to his anxiety issues because I also suffer from the same affliction. Amy was the new girl who hates living in her uncle's creepy funeral home. I loved watching Amy and Miles meet and then seeing their friendship grow and deepen throughout the novel. To me, the plot was that important - the story was more about their friendship and how important it can be in someone's life. Also, the tough topics it touches on kind of take over the small details of the story, but it's something that I didn't mind at all. I felt this was more of a character study instead of an intense plot and the ideas it talks of are more relevant than the majority of the things that happen during the story. I definitely recommend this book to fans of middle grade, children's fiction, and contemporary fiction.