Oh boy. I'm not quite sure what to think. On one hand, the humor was great but there was more than one downside.
I almost DNF'ed at chapter two. This is so awkward to even type but by the end of the second chapter, the (male) author had already spent six pages on periods. It was way too much. I kinda feel bad for whatever female he questioned to be able to write it.
Secondly, this is a middle-grade book and it was trash-talking people with different political opinions than the main character's family. This isn't about me taking one side or the other but rather, the fact that it got into politics from such a biased standpoint. Quote the book, "The political talk was the worst, because normally my father would have been the firry liberal in the mix, but this year, my most right-wing uncle was all, 'More guns! Less government! Yay, white people." Yeah. In a middle-grade book.
Third was the language used. This had stronger language than any other middle-grade that I've seen and many times even referenced stronger language. ( )

Eighth-grade Claire’s life is difficult. Her best friends have surpassed her in dance class, the mean girls at school are...mean, and she’s in competition for first-chair saxophone status with Ryder, her nemesis. Then, her dad has a stroke. As life becomes unrecognizable to Claire, she finds support in the unlikeliest of places and the unlikeliest of friends.

*Thanks to Scholastic and the SLJ Teen Live virtual conference for providing me a free copy to review*

teen/middlegrade fiction. As if being in 7th grade isn't painful enough, Claire's famous teen novelist dad suffers a major stroke and loses his ability to talk, eat, or walk without lots of help. This was the first Sonnenblick I've read and while the 2nd-4th chapters were on the whiny/angsty side (while the setting and characters were being established), I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the drama and laughter and yes, I also cried. I liked the thoughtfully researched realism of the medical/paramedic parts and look forward to reading JS' other works. ( )

Falling Over Sideways brought back memories of my dad. Claire and her Dad have a close connection and like many of the same things. Claire is like I was and sees her Dad as invincible and strong until he suffers a stroke with only her to call 9-1-1. He is rushed to the hospital and Claire sees her Dad as vulnerable and weak and is not sure he is still the same person. I remember seeing my own Dad in the hospital and struggling with the change of perception. Will Claire realize how many people care about her and want to help her through this tough time? Will Dad recover? Multiple 7th graders recommended I read this one and I am glad I did-although my eyes may have leaked a bit❤️. ( )

I can't tell how much of Claire's whininess was the audiobook performer and how much was the book itself. Nor have I gone back to the text to check if Sonnenblick somehow wrote an Apu-from-the-Simpsons accent for the doctor with an Indian last name or if that was the performer's invention. (I'm guessing the latter, and seriously, Brilliance Audio, who approved that?) But I found the whole thing unbearable to listen to, and the story not compelling enough to read in print instead. Sonnenblick is generally a good writer, and I suspect this will be a fine recommendation for middle schoolers with an endless appetite for "realistic fiction about family challenges" books.