Taking Up Space by Alyson Gerber [MG Review]

Summary 💬

Sarah loves basketball more than anything. Crushing it on the court makes her feel like she matters. And it’s the only thing that helps her ignore how much it hurts when her mom forgets to feed her.

But lately Sarah can’t even play basketball right. She’s slower now and missing shots she should be able to make. Her body doesn’t feel like it’s her own anymore. She’s worried that changing herself back to how she used to be is the only way she can take control over what’s happening.

When Sarah’s crush asks her to be partners in a cooking competition, she feels pulled in a million directions. She’ll have to dig deep to stand up for what she needs at home, be honest with her best friends, and accept that she doesn’t need to change to feel good about herself.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

Here is another excellent book where I find myself wondering, “Why didn’t I review this right after I finished reading it?” I still remember reading Taking Up Space in nearly a single sitting, interrupted only by Sunday dinner with Grandpa. From her debut and sophomore novels alone, Gerber has a reputation for nuanced and thoughtful realistic middle grade. Taking Up Space confirms that reputation is well-earned.

Gerber’s three novels each explore a health challenge that a middle school girl has to face. In Braced, Rachel’s scoliosis has worsened and she needs to wear a back brace twenty-three hours a day. In Focused, Clea finds controlling her thoughts challenging and learns she has ADHD. In Taking Up Space, Sarah’s body is changing and so is her relationship to food and eating.

Mother-Daughter Relationship

The story hints early on at what’s to come. Sarah reflects on why her home has little food but lots of hidden candy, and starts to think about her mom – “I’m pretty sure Mom doesn’t have an eating disorder, because she doesn’t fit into the categories we learned about in health class” (pg 23). The influence Sarah’s mom has on Sarah’s eating habits is a central point of the story.

(Interlude to state that Sarah’s dad is not wholly blameless, either. He is one of many adult characters in the book who demonstrate how easily a child can internalize a throwaway comment from an adult they respect, with the adult clueless of the impact of their words.)

Eventually Sarah comes to feel that something is wrong with how food is managed in her house, but it’s difficult for her to fully accept that because her mother, of course, must love her and have her best interests at heart. But Sarah ultimately begins thinking her mother doesn’t care for her. It is so valuable to see this kind of relationship between mother and daughter depicted in middle grade, right through to acknowledgement of that the steps to improvement won’t necessarily be a smooth road.

I wish I could erase certain things Mom says from my brain, because her words feel like facts, and they start to sink in and take over the way I see everything, even myself.

Pg 199

Puberty Changes

The trigger for Sarah’s disordered eating is not her mother, but puberty. Sarah’s body is changing and it’s affecting her skill at basketball. She comes to think it’s her food intake that’s affecting her skill, and that if she can manage her eating habits, she can manage her changing body – “All I have to do is stick with my plan and I can put everything right back to the way it was before” (pg 94). Taking Up Space explores various challenges of puberty. It’s not always just about your first period. It can be about a loss of balance and coordination and the impact that has on how you play your favourite sport and the different ways your body seems to betray you.

I used to think it was weird for people to have armpit hair, and now I think it’s weird when they don’t. I’m not really sure what changed, but it feels like it happened out of nowhere, and like maybe it means something bigger about me and how everything keeps changing.

Pg. 29

Rules of Eating

Throughout the novel, Sarah attempts to follow a plethora of ‘eating rules’, some of which contradict each other and cause Sarah distress. There were so many points when my heart broke for her. I used a lot of in my notes. Example: “I know I didn’t eat a lot and I definitey ate less than usual, but it feels like maybe I still ate too much. How do I even know what’s too much and what’s not enough?” (pg 59). But Sarah has a couple good friends who realize how serious Sarah’s eating habits become! Ryan, her BFF, and Benny, her cooking competition partner, both help Sarah recognize that her experience with food at home isn’t healthy.

The conversation with Sarah has with her coach towards the end is a masterpiece. It’s strikingly written and compelling, and yet so compassionate and a model of how to talk to kids about eating and feelings and rules. When the coach tells Sarah this is a problem she (the coach) has seen with many athletes who go through puberty!! ;-; I reread the entire conversation while I was writing this review and teared up again.

“The link you’ve created between basketball and food doesn’t exist. The real link is between basketball and puberty. And puberty is going to happen no matter what you eat.”

pg 176

The Bottom Line 💭

Another hit from Alyson Gerber, Taking Up Space should be recommended reading for all fans of contemporary middle grade.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt
🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ MG Book Village
🍂 Reviews: Kathie @ Bit About Books, Laurie @ Bit About Books,
🍂 Related: Other contemporary middle grade stories featuring kids working through big changes which I highly recommend include That’s What Friends Do, The Best Liars in Riverview, and Other Words for Home.

What’s your favourite realistic middle grade book about a kid working through a significant life challenge?