THIS WAS AN AWESOME BOOK!!! What great representation. We have Quinn, who is just a kick-butt girl all around, basketball player and really cool big sister to younger brother Julius who loves facts and order and has autism. Last year at her old school, Quinn’s friends pretty much abandoned her when she lost her hair to alopecia. I love the way this book showed Quinn’s myriad reactions to this autoimmune disorder and the loss of her hair, her bravery, her decision to go bald at times and wear a wig at others … it really took us through a spectrum of emotions.

I also loved Nick, athlete and artist, who is in a wheelchair after his legs were crushed in a snowmobile accident, and he had to have a double amputation. It was a good contrast, I thought, because where Natasha pretty much rolls with the punches and is a beacon of positivity, Nick is in a darker place at times and needs support. Living with a serious disability, the latter is definitely a reality as well and I liked how the book didn’t shy away from that. Really great supporting characters, especially Quinn’s family. One of my favorite books of this year!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. ( )

I was looking forward to reading this book, but it didn't quite deliver. The characters felt younger than they were and a lot of the focus was on Julius, Quinn's severely autistic, nine-year-old brother, rather than Quinn herself who was struggling with alopecia. Julius took up a lot of his parents' time, especially his mother, and I felt sometimes she didn't give Quinn the attention she needed.

Then there was Nick, a fellow student who had lost both his legs in a horrible snowmobile accident. I felt there was just too much drama and trauma in "How We Roll" making the plot unrealistic. Also, the romance between Quinn and Nick was fairly bland. They would have been better off as just friends.

Despite these negatives, I thought Ms Friend handled Quinn's alopecia instructively and with sensitivity. Even though I didn't like Quinn's so called friends at her old school, her new friends were much nicer and more accepting of Quinn's condition when she finally told them. However, i hated how the author phonetically wrote their Boston accents. I also thought that most of the characters, including Nick, needed more depth.

"How We Roll" was, overall, a sweet story for younger readers about acceptance, courage and moving forward. ( )

I saw this book on the 2020 nominated Lone Star list and noticed that the author usually writes a good book for middle schoolers, so I downloaded it from the public library. I really, really liked it.

Quinn is an unusual character because she is upfront, honest, and doesn’t fall to peer pressure for the most part. Due to a medical condition, Quinn lost her hair over a year ago. Needless to say, her best friends, who were very different from her, and the other kids at school distanced themselves. An incident at an 8th grade party sealed her fate and her reputation--even though she clearly stood up for herself and told the truth. Because her brother is autistic, the family moves across the country so that he can attend a school for special needs. This move becomes a new beginning for Quinn.

Quinn wears a wig to her new school in order to try and have a group of friends, especially after her experiences in her former hometown. It’s a small town, so Quinn is noticed by everyone. Three fairly popular girls take her into their friendship circle immediately. She discovers quickly who the “hot” high school boys are. She also learns that their best football player with great potential, Nick, lost both legs to an amputation above the knee after an accident. She also meets Nick’s brother, Tommy, whom the girls are severely crushing on. At first Nick is rude, but they strike up a quick friendship. She knows what it’s like to be judged on appearance and to be stared at because of her bald head and because of her brother’s behavior in public. She encourages Nick as he struggles with his physical therapy steps to regaining walking mobility with prosthetics. Tommy doesn’t act like the typical high school jock with an attitude. He befriends Quinn as well despite Nick’s hostility toward him. The three become a good team.

I liked the novel because the characters are like people should be. When Quinn’s friends look to become the typical “mean” girls we find in books that the main character has to deal with, Quinn talks to them and it gets worked out. Quinn has conversations with her friends, with Nick, and with Tommy which allows them all to be better friends. She also has to learn to trust again--trust friends and trust boys. It’s a good, quick novel. If you like realistic fiction, check this book out! ( )