Review by Booklist Review
Thanks to redistricting, Bunny Baxter has to start seventh grade at a new school this year, despite the fact that all her friends get to stay together at Wade's Run Middle School. Bunny's anxiety is spiking at the prospect of being the new kid, especially since her height (very tall) and hair ("flaming-red" curls) make it impossible to fade into the crowd. Believing (incorrectly) that if she gets kicked out of her new school, she'll get to attend Wade's Run instead, Bunny starts trying to get herself expelled. Unsurprisingly, the scheme doesn't work as Bunny hopes, but she gradually learns how to make friends and find her place at E. D. Britt Middle.This novel is perfect for any anxious middle-schooler, who will not only relate to Bunny's struggles but learn about using "box-breathing," which she uses repeatedly throughout, to calm anxieties. Roberts (Nikki on the Line, 2019) adds further complexity to Bunny's evolving character by beautifully incorporating complicated emotions that come from being adopted--not to mention the girl's endearing love of bugs and gardening. Readers who enjoy character-driven stories will readily find a friend in Bunny Baxter, as will fans of Jamie Sumner and Barbara Dee.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Because of school redistricting, shy Theodosia "Bunny" Baxter starts seventh grade at a different middle school than her best friend Alex. Practicing deep breathing techniques to calm her nerves, the redheaded, bug-loving tween attempts to go unnoticed (like "a tiny, tiny ant") but gains notoriety on her first day due to separate incidents involving a cute boy named Kyle and Paige, a bully who mockingly dubs her Bug Eater and wonders aloud about Bunny's feelings around being adopted. While relaying woes about mean peers to her father, his offhanded comment--"kids with discipline problems can be sent to an alternative school"--inspires Bunny to concoct a plan: she'll get herself expelled, mistakenly believing that she'll be transferred to Alex's school. Bunny soon dedicates herself to troublemaking, even as she starts making new friends. This heartfelt tale by Roberts (A Rose Named Peace)--distinguished by a distinctive, layered cast with authentic-feeling motivations and relationships--nimbly explores subjects such as the ecological importance of pollinators alongside a fine-tuned emotional exploration of adoption. Main characters cue as white. Ages 10--14. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (July)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Due to redistricting, Bunny starts seventh grade at a new, unfamiliar school. It's a rough start -- so bad that she tries to misbehave enough to be expelled -- but Bunny eventually finds joy, and friendship, in planning and planting a pollinator garden as a class project. Bunny's passion for insects and plants is evident, even contagious (gardening resources are appended for those interested in learning more) and her "metamorphosis" from wanting to escape her situation to finding a place to belong is deeply satisfying. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A nature-loving seventh grader starts school determined to be kicked out as soon as possible. Thanks to her great mop of flaming-red hair and some unfortunate incidents on the first day, Theodosia "Bunny" Baxter's hopes of invisibly blending in at her new middle school may be dashed. But the ensuing notoriety leaves her alternative scheme--being expelled, so she can go to school with her best friend--all the more doable. Or so she thinks. As it turns out, she's not very good at bad behavior, among the many endearing qualities that will draw readers to her. Bunny fumbles her way toward successfully coping with many things, including bullying, pressure to sign up for an athletic competition, complex feelings about being adopted, and anxiety attacks that manifest in part as serious rashes. Roberts tucks engaging classroom activities into this already thematically robust tale--like the fizzy social dynamics in an experimental initiative-building class called Discoveries, the ins and outs of creating a garden of native plants, and tagging monarch butterflies--as she artfully tracks a profound transformation in her protagonist's sense of self. The changes may be Bunny's doing, but she's helped along by a generously sized cast of almost uniformly supportive adults and peers (plus one great dog). By the book's buoyant end, even one prickly girl's repeated insistence that she's not Bunny's friend is sounding hollow. Bunny is cued white, and there's some racial diversity in the supporting cast. Sweet, smart, and sensitive. (author's note)(Fiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
