GUT REACTION, by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt, Scholastic Press, March 5, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl’s chronic illness threatens to take over her life in Gut Reaction, by Newbery Honor-winner Kirby Larson, and her daughter, Quinn Wyatt.
Tess Medina is still dealing with the loss of her father when she starts at a new school. One way she is still able to feel close to him is by doing what she does best: baking. He taught her everything she knows. But when tasting her creations causes a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen, she tries to power through and be strong in the same way she powers through her emotional pain. She doesn’t mind too much — she’s okay with sharing her baked goods at school in the hopes of making new friends.
Lucky for Tess, her baking skills attract the right kind of attention, and she assembles a ragtag team to help her taste her new and classic creations in preparation for the Jubilee Flour Junior Baker West Coast competition. This is a chance to redeem herself and prove that she’s a star baker. Above all, Tess is desperate to win first place and make her dad proud.
But leading up to the competition, Tess’s pain gets worse and worse, and, soon, she finds that she’s avoiding so many foods that she’s barely eating. When the physical pain becomes too great, Tess will be forced to confront everything she has been trying so desperately to hide. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
Gut Reaction is personal for authors Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt. It’s inspired by Wyatt’s own experiences with Crohn’s disease. The duo hopes that “by writing a hopeful, honest, and sometimes humorous story about living with Crohn’s disease” that they can add to the conversation normalizing physical and mental health issues.
This upfront approach to something so personal adds some weight to an authentic book that is heartfelt and humorous.
At the center of Gut Reaction is Tess. Tess just wants to be normal. She wants to make friends. She wants to enjoy the food she bakes. But her digestive system keeps getting in the way.
As a family member of someone who has gut issues, I could immediately relate to Tess’s pain, mad dash to the bathroom and avoidance of certain foods. It can end up ruling a person’s life, and my heart immediately went out to Tess.
Tess’s passion for baking is a compelling juxtaposition to her Crohn’s. It raises the stakes and helps put things into perspective for readers who are new to the topic.
Most importantly, though, Gut Reaction is a story of friendship and family and the desire to be there for someone you care about. It’s a great read that should appeal to a fairly large cross-section of readers.
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