Braced by Alyson Gerber

Braced by Alyson Gerber was published in 2017 and is the story of Rachel, a girl with scoliosis who needs to wear a back brace 23 hours a day. This story covers Rachel's experience of trying to play soccer, fit in, do all the things she wants to do and wear a back brace. 

Rachel's mom also had to wear a brace, but her brace didn't work and she needed surgery. The brace causes a rift in Rachel's relationship with her mom as comparisons in their experiences are made. 

Rachel has good friends, but her friendships are changed by her needing to wear her brace. I like how the characters in this story grow, how the reader can see what it takes to be a good friend, and how kindness is always a good choice. This story shows how hard it is to feel like you belong when you are a teen. 

I like that the story shows how to set healthy boundaries, and how the things we go through often help us know ourselves. 

 Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book project registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.