Engaging characters with a realistic portrayal of the impact of anxiety and the tightrope walk of meshing two families into one.

Dad's Girlfriend and Other Anxieties is a realistic portrayal of a pre-teen dealing with not only an anxiety disorder but growing up and facing possible changes in the makeup of her family (her father’s possible remarriage, gaining a stepmother and stepsister.) And despite all of Ava’s attempts to sabotage their entire vacation and even her dad’s relationship, it’s a warm and wonderful story.

Ava is a great character, and her anxiety has its hooks into her deep. As a result, she researches and overthinks everything. Although Ava consciously makes decisions to sidetrack everyone else’s plans but genuinely feels terrible doing it. But she faces her fears and takes brave steps to admit her actions and try to make things right. Z is a wonderful, spirited girl dealing with her own insecurities and struggles with ADHD. Jenn and Eric are both good parents who have potentially found a new partner to love and share their lives with. They have their hands full with these two girls.

Fitting into a new situation is difficult for most people and especially tough at the pre-teen age. The story portrays the girls dealing with the possibility of their two small families becoming one and having to share their parents with new people. It dramatically explores some of the typical issues that come up, but there is a satisfactory resolution. I felt for both of these girls and the situations they were experiencing, and was quite affected by some emotional scenes.

The fun mountain resort setting is a bonus with all the cool activities going on. I loved the mud race. The young resort host, José, was an admirable role model/mentor with definite summer crush potential.

With its engaging pre-teen characters, realistic representation of the impact of anxiety, and the tightrope walk that meshing two families can be, I recommend DAD’S GIRLFRIEND AND OTHER ANXIETIES for middle-grade readers, especially those with anxiety, ADHD, or related issues.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Book Tours. ( )

A fun, insightful, and heartfelt story about Ava, a girl with anxiety who's trying to stave off big changes that may come from her dad's deepening relationship with his girlfriend. When he springs a Colorado mountain vacation on Ava with his girlfriend and her daughter, Ava is beset with anxiety and embarks on a quest to sabotage the trip and the relationship. Kellye Crocker does a masterful job of putting the reader in Ava's mental space, showing her anxiety with empathy, humor, and nuance. A wonderful read that I highly recommend. ( )