When it comes to double Dutch, thirteen-year-old MaKayla knows she has the game on lock. In contrast to her constantly bickering parents and annoying little brother, theres a steady rhythm to the sport MaKayla loves and excels in. Her talent results in her team (shes the captain of the Double Dutch Jets) qualifying for the regionals leading up to the National Jump-off competition at Madison Square Garden. Happiness soon turns to heartache, however, when MaKayla and her brother are sent to North Carolina to stay with relatives while their parents attempt to work out their rocky relationship. Away from her Brooklyn home, MaKayla resigns herself to a dull summer with her snooty cousin, Sally. But then she experiences the truth in her mothers wordsBe open to the possibility that people might surprise youand is soon back in the running for the top spot in double Dutch alongside her cousin and two quirky, well-meaning novices. The path to victory will require teamwork, as Sally confronts her former-friends-turned-competitors and MaKayla battles her fear for her familys future. Hers is a story of both competition and collaboration, with other issues such as religion and race occasionally coming into play. eboni njoku (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Thirteen-year-old African-American Bed-Stuy native and double Dutch fiend MaKayla has one goal this summer: to make it to the National Jump-off at Madison Square Garden. After her team, the Double Dutch Jets, qualifies for regionals, MaKayla is sure that this will be her chance to win. But her bickering parents dash those hopes when, after another shouting match, they announce that she and her little brother will be spending the rest of the summer in Charlotte, North Carolina, with their aunt and uncle. Not only will MaKayla be separated from her team, she will be living with Sally, her archnemesis and princess cousin. When she arrives, however, she starts to discover that the South is not what she imagined. At Charlotte Sports Day Camp she finds another opportunity to do double Dutch and have a second chance at Madison Square Garden. But between her cousin and two misfit double Dutch novices, she is not sure they can get competition-ready. Plus, Sally's old teammates on the Bouncing Belles taunt them every chance they get. Spicer-Dannelly's debut novel is a fun, well-paced read bubbling with energy and charming, diverse characters. MaKayla's frustrations and tomboy-tough attitude generate the friction necessary to spark interesting conversations on bullying and self-esteem. Although the brief and singular mention of MaKayla's faith sounds an odd note, it does not hinder the plot. A sincere story of friendship, camaraderie, and family. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 5-8-MaKayla is a girl from Brooklyn with only one thing on her mind: taking her Double Dutch team to the National Jump-Off at Madison Square Garden. That is, until her parents send her and her brother to stay with relatives in South Carolina so they can work on their relationship. MaKayla wonders how she'll survive the summer without Double Dutch and under the wrath of her cousin, Sally, who dumped the jump-roping game for ballet. But when MaKayla's aunt signs the girls up for a sports camp, MaKayla discovers not only that Double Dutch is huge in the South, but that she now has a chance to make it to Madison Square Garden after all-if she can convince Sally to jump again despite the bullying that made her quit, and put together an award-winning team and routine in time. With a clear tie to one of Spicer-Dannelly's previous projects, the Disney Channel movie Jump In!, this title offers a similar wish-fulfillment story line. While some of life's realities are addressed in the plot (such as race, socioeconomic status, junior high crushes, bullies, and more), readers may find MaKayla's almost grown-up perspective on most of them unrealistic and slightly didactic, especially when the narrative reads younger than her rising eighth grade age. A few insensitive assertions that "Fighting is for savages" make this title difficult to place in a collection. VERDICT Unless your library has a huge Double Dutch scene, skip it.-Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove Public Library, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Fans of sports-related novels will be delighted to meet Kayla, a Brooklyn girl with an attitude and a single-minded drive to make it to the double Dutch nationals. Things aren't going so well for her at home, though, and in an effort to figure out where they stand with each other, Kayla's parents send her and her brother to stay with some relatives over the summer. Just when she thinks she'll have to table her dreams for next year, she finds a way to form a new local team with her cousin down south. Though parents of younger readers might balk at a few instances of profanity, Spicer-Dannelly's ultimate message that nobody's perfect, and that's more than OK is important and unimpeachable. Kayla gets all of her great energy by channeling her frustrations and pouring it into her jumping, which is another great lesson for readers of any age. Keep this on the shelf next to other fierce sports novels, like Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl (2015) or Thatcher Heldring's The Football Girl (2017).--Pino, Kristina Copyright 2018 Booklist