Roll With It by Jamie Sumner

My name is Ellie, not Lily. Most people notice my wheelchair first, and that really bugs me. My mom and I are temporarily staying in my grandparents' Oklahoma trailer park, since my grandpa's Alzheimers is getting worse. I mean, he found out where Mema had hidden the car keys and drove right through the front window of the grocery store! Enrolling in the tiny middle school would have been worse if it hadn't been for Coralee. My first, and only, best friend gets me and doesn't judge me because of my Cerebral Palsy. She's going to be a famous actress someday, and I'm going to be the world's best chef. I practice cooking whenever I can, even though most kids don't understand me. The next step in my cooking career is winning the Bethlehem Methodist Bake-Off, if I can only figure out what to make.

This book was a finalist for the 2019 Cybil's Book Award in Middle-Grade Fiction. Ellie's disability was a central topic, as she dealt with the complications and tried to be "normal". Her mother made this more difficult, as she tended to be overly protective. The other main topic was her grandfather's deterioration with Dementia. He had good days that evoked Ellie's fond memories, but the more serious ones had the family discussing his future in assisted-living. The highlights of the book were Ellie's interactions with her friends. Coralee immediately became her best friend, although Coralee's bluntness and openness weren't always welcome. She liked to tell Bert to work on his filter when speaking, but she needed to heed her own advice sometimes. Social status was an issue too, as Coralee said being from the trailer park made other students view them as inferior. All of these problems, and others, had Ellie's mind all jumbled. Again, she just wanted to be like everybody else, but her troubles would continue until she accepted herself. The book was a wonderful blend of humor and serious, and I recommend you give it a shot.