Dec 29

Dec 29 Redwood and Ponytail

Told in verse in two voices, with a chorus of fellow students, this is a story of two girls, opposites in many ways, who are drawn to each other; Kate appears to be a stereotypical cheerleader with a sleek ponytail and a perfectly polished persona, Tam is tall, athletic and frequently mistaken for a boy, but their deepening friendship inevitably changes and reveals them in ways they did not anticipate.

Author: K.A. Holt | Publisher: Chronicle Books

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Rating: 5 / 5

Big thanks to the team at Chronicle Books for sending me a finished copy of this beautiful little novel in exchange for an honest review!

Here is pretty much everything you need to know about this book in order to know how great it is: Redwood and Ponytail is a novel about two 12-year-old girls who “fall in like” with one another and then work their way through all the joys and difficulties that come with that — and it’s written entirely in poetry. That’s it, that’s the review.

No, just kidding. But if that doesn’t make you go “YES I NEED THAT,” then I’m not sure what else you’re looking for. This book will help so many young people (and doubtless many older people, too) and is so transparent and sweet. I read it in one sitting, and my little heart practically exploded.

Everyone knows Kate, and Tam knows everyone. Kate (who always wears a perfect ponytail) is on track to become captain of the cheerleading squad, just like her mother always wanted. Tam (who is tall, like a redwood) is the star of the volleyball team and high-fives all her classmates in the hallways. But the day 7th grade starts, they’re drawn to each other in a way they can’t explain — yet.

I really, really loved the way K.A. Holt used echoes, flip-flopping the same lines in two perspectives. That was really beautiful and effective at bringing the experiences Tam and Kate were simultaneously having to life. It showed how similar and different they were to one another, and it called forward the common experience of our shared humanity.