Review Detail

Rolling on is the companion to Roll with It and Time to Roll, in this book Ellie is faced with first love and loss. Ellie is at the end of eighth grade but while everyone is looking forward to moving on to high school, Ellie isn’t too thrilled about this next step. Ellie is a bit confused as she navigates this step as her feelings for her best friend have changed, and it seems like all the other girls are noticing him now too. Alongside this, her grandpa isn’t doing too well health wise so she isn’t sure what to do.
What I liked: While Rolling On is a companion novel for two other books, it works great as a stand alone and properly introduces the characters included. Once you have read this book you will want to go back and read the other two so you can get more of these characters.
Ellie express much of her feelings and processes those feelings through writing letters to various bakers that she admires. These letters give you a glimpse into her innermost thoughts and allow you to understand her intentions through the things she does.
The twist that happens near the end of this book is one that will catch you off guard and break your heart. In this moment Ellie learns the importance of letting go and moving forward with the memories that you have of someone. Rolling On navigates the loss of a loved one with grace and shows the grieving process through various people in Ellie’s life as well as the importance of leaning on one another through tough times.
I appreciated Coralee’s honesty throughout the book and her friendship with Ellie. It's important to recognize how Coralee was there for Ellie and Bert as they both navigated their feelings towards one another but also expressed her feelings towards the situation. Coralee expresses the reality of being in the middle when Ellie and Bert would not speak to one another which helps you see how actions can impact others.
Final Verdict: Rolling On is a fun book about first love in which children will relate with Ellie as she navigates these new feelings. This book exemplifies how grief presents itself in others as Ellie isn’t able to continue with her favorite thing, baking, and how her grandma is throwing herself into various tasks to remain busy. Children ages 10 and up will enjoy as they read about the antics that Ellie gets up to in this book for her friends and her family.