Takedown

by Laura Shovan (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

Discover what happens when one girl wants to break barriers in a sport dominated by boys in this exciting and thoughtful novel by the author of The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary.

Mikayla is a wrestler; when you grow up in a house full of brothers who wrestle, it's inevitable. It's also a way to stay connected to her brothers and her dad. Some people object to having a girl on the team. But that's not stopping Mikayla. She's going to work hard, and win.

Lev is determined to make it to the state championships this year. He's used to training with his two buddies as the Fearsome Threesome; but at the beginning of sixth grade, he's paired with a new partner--a girl. This better not get in the way of his goal.

Mikayla and Lev push each other to excel, and become friends. But when they face each other, only one of them can win.

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Paperback
$9.99

Kirkus

Mikayla and Lev are winners.

ALA/Booklist

As the chapters alternate between the characters' perspectives, readers will quickly become invested, particularly when the tweens' goals eventually merge and they discover that a true wrestler is anyone with the courage to step on the mat.

Review quotes

Honors and Praise for The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary:

Winner of a Cybils Award in Poetry
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
An ILA-CBC Children's Choice
Nominated to multiple state award lists

"This gently evocative study of change in all its glory and terror would make a terrific read-aloud or introduction to a poetry unit. A most impressive debut." —School Library Journal

"Sure to inspire the poet in all of us, young and old." —Mark Goldblatt, author of Twerp

Laura Shovan
Laura Shovan's debut middle-grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, was a NCTE 2017 Notable Verse Novel and a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, and won a Cybils Award for poetry, as well a Nerdy Book Club award. Her son's experiences as a member of a travel wrestling team were the inspiration for Takedown. Laura and her family live in Maryland, where she is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council. Visit her online at laurashovan.com, or follow her on on Facebook (facebook.com/laura.shovan.poet/) and on Twitter at @LauraShovan.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780553521443
Lexile Measure
610
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Yearling Books
Publication date
April 14, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV032160 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Wrestling
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Family life
Schools
Middle schools
Sex role
Competition (Psychology)
Wrestling

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