Coming Up Short is catch-all realistic fiction for the mglit set

One reason why mglit realistic fiction is challenging for some middle school readers is that life is not always 100% happy. There are sad, chaotic, confusing, and disappointing moments that everyone lives through. On the surface, those feelings don’t exactly roll out the reading red carpet to those 12-year-olds who are juggling their own personal issues, locker combinations, family issues, school work or sports. However, dig just a bit past the surface and those readers will discover that their issues, despite how unique and utterly end-of-world they might seem, actually have commonalities with realistic fiction characters. Coming Up Short easily falls into that category. It’s mglit that seems unique, end-of-world, and happens in a place where it could never really happen, but again, dig just a bit past the surface.

Bea is an early teen girl who loves playing softball. She’s active, has a crush on a boy who watches the games, and a family that supports thoroughly supports her. But, she’s also a teen and her dad, who has his own accounting business, has made a mistake at work. It’s less of a mistake and more in the theft Venn diagram of accounting, but either way, his poor choice of actions is making big waves in their small town.

The closest my non-accountant brain can categorize his actions would be classed as embezzlement. In actuality, it was a case of money being used from an account that he knew he should access, but did. He quickly paid back the account, but somehow his financial shenanigans have become public news and people love to gossip.

Bea is made aware of this news and how it could impact her life. Her teachers would treat her differently, her friends will talk behind her back, and even her softball games would be thrown into chaos. Bea’s mother grew up on Gray Island, a resort area that’s hours away from their home, and also has a reputation for producing great softball players. The family decides that it would be best for Bea to spend some time there, while they figure things out with this situation and let the headlines die down.

So, a teen girl goes to a remote island to attend a softball camp where she only knows her aunt that lives there. There are a lot of real threads for middle school readers to jump onto the realistic fiction train in Coming Up Short. Obviously, those sports kids can enjoy the book as they follow along as Bea tries to keep her softball skills up to par, and without choking when she’s at-bat. But the book is much more than a sports book that can only interest them.

It’s realistic fiction that feels real, without feeling dour or depressing because there’s always something else, which is just the way that life is. Teens might be going through something earth-shatteringly crummy in their family world, but there’s something positive happening somewhere, such as school, sports, or their hobby.

In Coming Up Short our main character has things that are going sideways, but her softball skills are going gangbusters. However, the teeter-totter of life is mysterious and just as her personal life is ebbing, her big softball game is nigh and her skills are on the verge of choking. So, after all of this, will middle-grade readers enjoy Coming Up Short?

Yes, mglit readers will dig into Coming Up Short and like the book. It treats those ages with the accumulated years that they’ve lived while containing the story in a package that’s relatable. It’ll also provide a learning opportunity for those middle school readers, not that they’re looking for it or need it by any means.

Coming Up Short is by Laurie Morrison and available on Amulet Books an imprint of Abrams Books.

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