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Table of Contents
About The Book
A girl with cerebral palsy navigates loss, grief, and the aftermath of trauma following a school shooting in a world that wasn’t built for her in this deeply affecting novel in verse from Jamie Sumner, the acclaimed author of Roll with It.
There is a Before and an After for sixth grader Bea Coughlin. Before the shooting at her school that took the lives of her classmates and teacher and After, when she must figure out how to grieve, live, and keep rolling forward. But as her community rallies in a tidal wave of marches and speeches and protests, Bea can’t get past the helplessness she felt in her wheelchair as others around her took cover.
Through the help of therapeutic horseback riding, Bea finally begins to feel like herself again. And as she heals, she finds her voice and the bravery to demand change.
There is a Before and an After for sixth grader Bea Coughlin. Before the shooting at her school that took the lives of her classmates and teacher and After, when she must figure out how to grieve, live, and keep rolling forward. But as her community rallies in a tidal wave of marches and speeches and protests, Bea can’t get past the helplessness she felt in her wheelchair as others around her took cover.
Through the help of therapeutic horseback riding, Bea finally begins to feel like herself again. And as she heals, she finds her voice and the bravery to demand change.
About The Author
Photograph by Bethany Rogers
Jamie Sumner is the author of Roll with It, Time to Roll, Rolling On, Tune It Out, One Kid’s Trash, The Summer of June, Maid for It, Deep Water, Please Pay Attention, and Schooled. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and has written extensively about parenting a child with special needs. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at Jamie-Sumner.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (April 15, 2025)
- Length: 240 pages
- ISBN13: 9781665956093
- Ages: 10 - 99
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Raves and Reviews
* “Intimate, lyrical . . . . an accessible and cohesive interpretation of what it means to live with grief and find a way to feel like oneself after tragedy, as well as an homage to young voices and their impact on society.”
– Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"Poignantly portrays the devastation that gun violence wreaks while leaving room for hope. . . . Bea’s gradual improvement via equine therapy and Max’s emphatic support are heartening, and readers will root both for Bea’s recovery and for adults in power to ‘please pay attention / and then / act.’ . . . Heart-wrenching yet hopeful.”
– Kirkus Reviews
“[In] this haunting, painfully relevant verse novel . . . Sumner proves yet again to be a deft hand in matching cadence and form with her subject . . . Bea’s story gives voice to the frustration and fear of students, teachers, and parents living in a world where young lives are collateral damages to people’s political beliefs.”
– The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“. . . this novel in verse invites the reader to feel Bea’s every emotion while still rooting for the growth we know is coming. Well-paced with care taken in more sensitive scenes, this is a must-read book for fans of Erin Bow's Simon Sort of Says and Barbara Dee.”
– Booklist
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Please Pay Attention eBook 9781665956093
- Author Photo (jpg): Jamie Sumner Photograph by Bethany Rogers(0.1 MB)
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