Time to Roll, continues to move with middle school, mglit ease

You don’t need to read Roll With It in order to enjoy Time to Roll. As a matter of fact, that first book snuck up on us because it adhered to the age-old saying of not judging a book by its cover. Time to Roll follows that formula so successfully that it doesn’t feel like a sequel to another book, but it is. Part of that is our fault because we’ve seen too many follow-ups, sequels, or properties that intended to make themselves multiple entries; but instead merely check off formulaic boxes. Middle school readers, if they give Time To Roll an opportunity, will find themselves enjoying a story that they never thought they would.

Ellie is our titular character and the one who’s in the wheelchair on the book’s cover. She looks like she’s coming up with some scheme as her eyes are shifting towards another character. That’s Coralee, wearing bell bottoms, big sunglasses, and singing into a microphone. Performing on stage is much more her thing, whereas Ellie is more comfortable supporting her friends. However, they’re both friends and spending a lot of time together this summer.

That’s because Ellie’s mother is getting married again and going on an RV honeymoon for a month. Unfortunately for Ellie, that means she’s got to stay with her dad whom she barely knows. It’s a parallel living situation, nothing too drastic is changing, but Coralle is joining a beauty/talent competition and needs moral support.

The backdrop of a talent show might not seem like story fodder that you’d enjoy but think about what goes into it. You’ve got to get costumes, there are rehearsals, and a certain level of camp that those involved in will either relish or not be aware that they’re swimming in it. Coralee relishes it. The pageant organizers are unaware and Ellie is an unwilling participant gamely going through the motions so that her friend can be happy. As a middle school reader,  you might not seek out a book about this circumstance, yet it’s the storytelling ability of author Jamie Sumner that makes the book take flight.

Sumner is telling a story that’s very natural, confident, and paced in a way that mglit ages can understand. Realistic fiction can be a tough genre for middle and high school readers to embrace. I think that part of that reason is because they fear that it’s going to be too depressing or real, and their teen lives have enough of that. Time To Roll is realistic fiction, but it’s real, without being depressing or too much of a turn-off. It’s the story of three friends and how they deal with this one thing that one of them really loves.

You could insert baseball, anime, cup stacking or anything else into “pageant” when describing Time To Roll. Kids that have different interests are the social building blocks of life. You may not like my hobby, nor I yours, but it’s fun to support one another and hang out with your friends. Ditto when you’re with co-workers in the office world, you won’t have everything in common with them, but you need to make pleasantries at the worst.

Time To Roll tells a story that you possibly didn’t think that you’d like in a manner that makes you emotionally invested in the characters. Again, for you emotionally reluctant readers, this is not an overly dramatic book. It’s just realistic fiction and the fact that it doesn’t have wizards, post-apocalyptic vampires or characters doing something that you or your friends don’t do is OK. Embrace change you reluctant middle school readers. If you’re the showy type then look at Coralee and read it for her story. If you’re the quiet type you can read it for Ellie’s take on how she handles the situation. This is the down to Earth storytelling that tells us about two people that we don’t know but seems a lot like someone that we might.

Time to Roll is by Jamie Sumner and is available on Antheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

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