School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--7--Middle-schooler Jelly kills it with teacher impersonations, but what's she hiding on the inside? Jelly is the class clown living by the mantra: if they're laughing with you they can't laugh at you. When taunted about her size, Jelly imitates a hippo or a walrus. But every jab hurts, so Jelly pours out her true feelings in poetry. With a single mom in the beauty business and a babysitter who creates perfect versions of her body on a phone app, Jelly knows she doesn't fit in. Jelly and her friends don't see any black or Indian models or fat girls when browsing fashion magazines. Jelly, who is worried about her loving but needy mother and feels the pressure of suppressing her feelings, spirals out of control. Enter Mom's new boyfriend, Lennon, and a fresh perspective. Can Jelly find the courage to read her poems in public? Cotterill's novel explores themes of body image, creativity, and self-acceptance. Following the emotional growth of a girl whose observational skills are both a gift and a curse, Jelly's poetry is an important outlet and a stark contrast to her outward clowning. The relationship between mother and daughter feels real: Jelly's mom can't hide her hang-ups about Jelly's body even as she struggles to love her daughter unconditionally. Readers will cheer for Jelly and her mom as they find the strength to stand up to a bigoted grandfather. While Lennon brings the promise of salvation, it is Jelly and her mom who begin to shape their own destinies. VERDICT An engaging story about body image, family dynamics, and the power of poetry.--Sarah Webb, City and Country School Library, NY
Kirkus Review
Eleven-year-old Angelica hides her embarrassment about her size until a caring adult encourages her to express her thoughts and emotions freely. Angelica, called Jelly, is the class clown. Known for doing impressions, she laughs off the occasional unkind remark from a classmate, then writes brief poems in her journal detailing the pain she feels. Although she talks about typical adolescent concerns with best friends Kayma and Sanvi, they, like her mother, are unaware of her inner turmoil. After a breakup with her current boyfriend, Jelly's mom connects with Lennon, a guitar-playing songwriter. It's Lennon who winds up being Jelly's (somewhat unlikely) confidant and the one who gives her the confidence to share her innermost thoughts with family and friends. British author Cotterill packs a lot into this import. Jelly's grandfather is a bully with old-fashioned (racist and misogynistic) values, and her aunt is coping with depression. Although it's delicately handled, Jelly is well aware of her single mom's sexual activity, a realistic touch that some may find disquieting. Jelly's first-person narration is appropriately self-centered but also results in most characters appearing somewhat one-dimensional. Some Briticisms have been altered but others remain, creating a slightly off-kilter tone at times. Jelly, her family, and Lennon are white; Kayma and Sanvi are black and Indian, respectively; other racial and/or ethnic diversity is implied by some names but not explicitly acknowledged. A sympathetic portrayal of adolescent angst with a feel-goodif not entirely convincingresolution. (Fiction. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Angelica, aka ""Jelly,"" has a wicked sense of humor, demonstrated in her impressions of her teachers and other adults. She is relentlessly cheerful, turning nasty comments about her weight into mini comedy routines and not letting them get to her. But they do hurt, and at the home she shares with her single mother, she retreats into her poetry, pouring her pain and her serious reflections into poems. Then she meets Lennon, a folksinger who becomes her mother's boyfriend, and she finds a kindred spirit in him. He convinces her that she can be honest about her feelings and that she doesn't always have to express herself through being funny all the time. Cotterill depicts Jelly and her friends deftly, and her exploration of Jelly's feelings is sensitive and convincing and heralds her triumph in the end, demonstrating her newly found self-respect. Jelly's poems appear in a handwritten font on lined paper throughout the novel, which adds to the appeal. Lennon makes a song out of the poems, and the lyrics and music are included.--Donna Scanlon Copyright 2020 Booklist
