If This Were a Story
If This Were a Story
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Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Annotation: Ten-year-old Hannah copes with the bullies at school and trouble at home through the power of her imagination.
 
Reviews: 3
Catalog Number: #168457
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Copyright Date: 2018
Edition Date: 2018 Release Date: 08/28/18
Pages: 249 pages
ISBN: 1-534-42061-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-534-42061-8
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2017043725
Dimensions: 19 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Fifth grade is rough for Hannah: her parents are fighting, her best friend is becoming mean, and someone is bullying her with anonymous notes. With the help of her imagination, which gives voices to inanimate objects, Hannah recognizes her own worth. Turley shows how kids can be both victims and perpetrators of bullying, and it's gratifying to see the introspective Hannah go from fragile to stronger.

Kirkus Reviews

In her debut novel, Turley presents introspective fifth-grader Hannah, who discovers a note on her classroom floor that says, "Nobody likes Hannah."No one admits to writing it, but it could have been Kimmy, whose mother died the year before and who's obviously unhappy and acts out. She resents Hannah, who always beats her in spelling bees. But there's more unhappiness in Hannah's life. Her angry father frequently berates and fights with her mother. Once he tried to hit her. Meanwhile, one of Hannah's two best friends, Courtney, has turned away from their friendship and become something of a bully. Only her other friend, Ryan, remains steadfast. Trying to cope with her emotional issues, Hannah gets some support from objects that suddenly, surreally, develop voices: Her favorite stuffed animal, a penny, even a stop sign on the way to school (and others) all offer advice, sometimes taking over the narrative and speaking directly to readers. Whether this is her imagination, emerging mental illness, or an odd literary device remains unclear. A school counselor, Ms. Meghan, whose notes are included, meets with Hannah, but the meetings feel more invasive than helpful. The book subscribes to the white default; brown-skinned Ryan stands out notably as a child of color.Although this unusual tale offers some insight into bullying and family problems, the useful message is somewhat obscured by the perplexing voices. (Fiction. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Hannah keeps her feelings bottled up tight, but after she finds a note saying -Nobody likes Hannah- in her fifth grade classroom, her stuffed elephant, Ambrose, starts speaking to her, and she begins a slow journey toward opening up. Hannah is sent to the school counselor, whose official write-ups of their meetings appear along with Ambrose-s observations throughout the story (hints of a traumatic event in Hannah-s family may hold the key to her emotional block). More bullying notes appear, causing a rift between Hannah and one of her best friends as well as escalating tension with the class bully, Kimmy. But all is not as it seems, and everyone has a story in this vibrant debut that leads to a twist readers won-t see coming. Turley deftly conveys how much it costs Hannah to hide her feelings, walling her off from loved ones. The Kimmy subplot may conclude too easily, but Hannah-s growth is organic and well earned. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Word Count: 38,114
Reading Level: 4.4
Interest Level: 4-7
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.4 / points: 5.0 / quiz: 198765 / grade: Middle Grades
Lexile: 660L
Guided Reading Level: V
If This Were a Story

The Note


I measure how happy a day is with sounds. Happy days sound like a TV on low volume or birdcalls through a screen door. Sad days sound like dishes crashing into each other in the sink. Sad days sound like too-loud voices. Once a day is stained sad, it's hard to make it happy again.

My class copies vocabulary into our notebooks. I write the words like an astronomer discovering a new planet, as if the definitions can unlock the secrets of outer space. "Instantaneous": when something happens without any delay. "Iridescent": the quality of changing colors when viewed from different angles. "Intention": an aim or a plan.

The tip of my pencil breaks. I walk to the back of the room and shove my pencil into the sharpener. The grinding sound is a happy one. It means a new point, a shiny do-over.

On the way back to my desk, I see a small piece of paper crunched into a ball on the floor. I pick the paper up with the intention of throwing it away, but it looks like my name is written on it. I unravel the note and read the three words on a torn sheet of lined paper. The words fill my head with the sound of flying arrows, quiet and quick and aimed in my direction. A sad-day sound.

NOBODY LIKES HANNAH.

Excerpted from If This Were a Story by Beth Turley
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

“An imaginative debut.” —Booklist
“Hannah’s growth is organic and well earned.” —Publishers Weekly

In the tradition of Crenshaw and The Thing About Jellyfish, ten-year-old Hannah copes with the bullies at school and troubles at home through the power of stories in this sweet and sincere debut.

Tenacious. That means strong-willed. My mother calls me that.

I wish I felt the same way.

If this were a story, I would discover I was a direct descendent of a famous soldier who won countless battles and protected hundreds of people. This resilience running through my veins wouldn’t be damaged by the notes; it would fight off bullies and prevent my parents from yelling at each other.

But this is not a story. This is real life. My life as ten-year-old Hannah Geller, who is the only girl in fifth grade to have little red bumps on her face, is unable to let the sad thoughts escape her mind, and leaves heads-up pennies wherever she can to spread good luck.

And who also finds magic in the most unlikely of places.


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