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Sally Engelfried

Learning to Fall Kindle Edition

by Sally Engelfried (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.9 24 ratings

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Twelve-year-old Daphne reconciles with her father, who left her stranded three years ago, and learns forgiveness one fall at a time in this heartwarming debut by Sally Engelfried. For fans of The First Rule of Punk.

Daphne doesn't want to be stuck in Oakland with her dad. She wants to get on the first plane to Prague, where her mom is shooting a movie. Armed with her grandparents’ phone number and strict instructions from her mom to call them if her dad starts drinking again, Daphne has no problem being cold to him. But there's one thing Daphne can't keep herself from doing: joining her dad and her new friend Arlo at a weekly skate session.

When her dad promises to teach her how to ollie and she lands the trick, Daphne starts to believe in him again. He starts to show up for her, and Daphne learns things are not as black and white with her dad as she used to think. The way Daphne’s dad tells it, skating is all about accepting failure and moving on. But can Daphne really let go of her dad’s past mistakes? Either way life is a lot like skating: it’s all about getting back up after you fall.

Print length

273 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date

September 6, 2022
Grade level

3 - 7
File size

3085 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Engelfried performs quite a trick mixing joy, struggle, and healing in this relatable, wonderful book. Grab your pads and helmet, and get ready to drop in to a touching and inspiring read."―Lisa Moore Ramée, author of A Good Kind of Trouble and Something to Say

“Learning to Fall is something rare and captivating: equal parts family story, coming of age novel, and sports book. Readers' hearts will dip and soar as Daphne learns not only how to ollie and kickflip, but also who she is and all she's capable of being.” ―Tricia Springstubb, author of Cody and the Fountain of Happiness

“An honest story about alcoholism and forgiveness.”―Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Sally Engelfried was the recipient of a writer’s merit grant for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2018 and the Golden Gate Writer’s Award from SCBWI in 2014. She is currently a children’s librarian in Oakland, California, where she lives with her husband, two cats, and a dog who is fond of stealing slippers. Learning to Fall is her first novel. She invites you to visit her website at sallyengelfried.com.
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09PL61V1N
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 6, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3085 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0316367974

Best Sellers Rank: #1,592,958 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,460,009 in Kindle eBooks

Customer Reviews:
4.9 24 ratings

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Sally Engelfried

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Sally Engelfried is author of middle grade novels and a children’s librarian in Oakland, California. Learning to Fall is her first novel. She invites you to visit her website at www.sallyengelfried.com.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5

24 global ratings

5 star		93%
4 star		7%
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sftblmem

Great Book for Middle Grades

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

6th grade teacher here that stumbled upon this book for World Read Aloud Day. This is a quick read that your 11-12 year olds will connect with. Daphne has to live with her dad for the summer while her mom is on an acting gig in Prague. She still holds resentment from years ago when her dad, two years sober now, stood her up at the skate park. Coming back to her dad's ignites her spark for skating and she builds up the courage to ask him to teach her some skate tricks. Englefried describes the skating community in a positive light. You won't want to miss this!

Helpful

Lane Erokan

Best middle grades books I’ve read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2023

Verified Purchase

I loved this book, as a parent of a 12 year old, I found it interesting, funny, thoughtful and real. I have bought it for every birthday party my son has been invited to this year - his friends are readers, and one said “it’s the best book I’ve ever read!” HIGHLY Recommended for tweens or teens or adults!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

I don't skate, I never learned how, but my friends all did growing up. With that said, I really enjoyed it, and I'm excited to read it with my daughters when they're a little older.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

M. Rich

Loved it!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is a wonderful coming of age story and teaches one of the most valuable lessons you can learn at this middle-year age. I highly recommend it for parents, kids, and any fans of YA!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

A fast read, interesting characters, learned plenty about skateboarding. I was reminded of middle school challenges. Author captured those challenges well.

Helpful

Kath Rothschild

Heart, family, and learning to fall with grace

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is a beautiful book perfect for middle-grade readers looking for an engaging sports book that centers a girl who needs to overcome her fears to get back to what she loves: skateboarding. The story follows Daphne, who is a former skater girl, and her reunion with her estranged dad, who brings her into the fold of his skating community. Set in the Bay Area with heart and beauty, Daphne's journey into her past pains to overcome physical and emotional challenge is a joy to read. Highly recommend!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Karen Yingling

Rare and Wonderful Skateboarding Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 22, 2022

Daphne lives with her mother, an aspiring actress, in Los Angeles, but when her mother gets a part in an important picture filming in Prague, she finds herself on a plane to the Oakland to stay with the father that she hasn't seen in two years. Her father had some problems with alcohol that lead to her parents' divorce, and he let her down very badly on her birthday a few years previously, not showing up to a skate park when he said he would, so he wasn't there when she tried to skate and broke her arm. She has decided that she will spend the summer being very aloof, but it is hard. With the help of his parents, her father has gotten a house he is fixing up. It's next door to his best friend, Gus, who has helped him through a lot of his problems and is also fixing up his house. Gus' girlfriend, Rusty, has a son, Arlo, who also likes to skate. At one point, Daphne's father skated for a living, but his alcoholism and bad choices brought that to an end. Now, he is looking for jobs in the tech field after going back to school, so often has job interviews. Daphne is fine to hang out with Arlo, or go to her grandparents' house. Her grandmother is very glad to see her again, since Daphne spent a lot of time with them when she was very young, even though she doesn't remember them. Her long range plan, however, is to ditch her father and go to Prague to be with her mother on the set. Her mother keeps putting her off, which doesn't improve her mood. Daphne was made fun of when she tried to skate at a park back in LA, and was traumatized by that and by breaking her arm, so is reluctant to do many tricks or "drop in" (See the cover. I think this is a realistic fear!), even though she is able to practice a bit in Gus' bowl in his backyard. Arlo is willing to teach her, as is her father, and she reluctantly takes help from both of them. Her father is very stressed by his job search, and at one point Daphne calls her grandmother because she is worried that her father might start drinking. He doesn't, but needs help from his AA sponsor. He does apologize to Daphne for his current frustration as well as for his past neglect. He even plans a camping and skating trip to make it up to her, but when he lands a new job and is given an opportunity to earn some extra money by filling in for someone else, he plans on sending Daphne with Gus, Arlo and Rusty while he stays in Oakland to work. This angers Daphne, who is all set to take off for Prague. Will Daphne be able to conquer her fears and learn to skate, and will she be able to navigate a new relationship with her father?

There just are not enough skateboarding books, although I was glad to see Roe's Air earlier this year. Daphne's feelings about skateboarding are realistically complicated-- she likes to skate, but feel she can't do tricks, and she almost doesn't want to learn because her father likes to skate and she's mad at her father. At the same time, she craves his attention and approval, so wants to learn from him. Watching her cope with his job search and struggles not to drink was hard but something that many young readers may face from time to time with their own parents. Certainly, many tweens have to deal with spending the summer with a noncustodial parents and will understand Daphne's awkwardness. Arlo is a good friend, and I really enjoyed the grandparents, who tried so hard to be fair to both of Daphne's parents. The skating details are exquisite, and the Oakland setting is well described. This was a very fun book to read even if you aren't interested in skateboarding and reminded me a bit of Zarr's A Song Called Home.

It is a rare and wonderful occurrence to find a skateboarding book; I've been asking for more on this topic since I began blogging in 2006. In fact, it occurred to me that Daphne's father reminded me very strongly of one of my students who is probably now old enough to have a middle school aged daughter! Definitely purchasing a copy and am looking forward to seeing more books by this author.

Helpful

Nancy T

Don't miss middle grade fiction

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2023

Fast-paced, memorable story about imperfection and tough family dynamics and how love and hard work can pave a path forward. Kids will be hooked by the super fun skate park scenes, camaraderie, and lingo. Daphne (and all the characters) are multilayered and likable, even as they make mistakes before the reader's eyes. Humor, heart, and persistence weave together beautifully in this story about the importance of forgiveness, especially forgiving ourselves. I loved it! I hope throngs of kids pick this one up and "drop in"!

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