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The Kate In Between Hardcover – May 18, 2021

by Claire Swinarski (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 62 ratings
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In this timely, call-to-action contemporary middle grade novel from Claire Swinarski, author of What Happens Next, a twelve-year-old girl must face herself, and the truth, after her participation in a bullying incident goes viral. 

Kate McAllister is desperate for a change. Something to hit refresh and erase the pain of her mother leaving town without her. So when a group of popular girls folds Kate into their clique, it feels like the answer to all her problems—even if it means ditching Haddie, her childhood bestie.

But when Kate’s new friends decide that Haddie is their next target, Kate becomes a passive participant in a cruel incident that could have killed Haddie…had Kate not stepped in, at the last minute, and saved her. The next day, a cell phone video of the rescue goes viral, and Kate is hailed a hero. But Kate knows the truth—she was part of the problem—and it’s only a matter of time until the full version of the video is released and everyone knows it too.

With so much at stake, Kate must decide who she wants to be: a liar, a follower, or someone greater.

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    304 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 7
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.01 x 8.25 inches
  6. Publisher
    Quill Tree Books
  7. Publication date
    May 18, 2021
  8. ISBN-10
    0062912704
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0062912701
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5–7—Seventh grade couldn't toss any more twists and turns at Kate McAllister. Her mother has left for Utah to try to move up the ladder in her multilevel marketing cosmetic company, leaving the girl with her police officer father. She and her childhood best friend, Haddie, have stopped hanging out since Kate became science lab partners with popular Taylor, who pulls Kate into a new group of cool friends. But when the new friend group focuses their teasing on Haddie with a game of keep-away that sends her falling through thin ice to retrieve her hat, Kate jumps to the rescue. The video Taylor films of Kate rescuing Haddie goes viral, and Kate is thrust into the media spotlight as the poster child for anti-bullying. Kate starts to question her role in what happened to Haddie and who her true friends are, eventually confronting whether she really is "Kate the Great." Swinarski adeptly presents multiple, and at times conflicting, sides of Kate in her struggle to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. Kate is cued as white. VERDICT With a well-developed protagonist, this book tackles bullying, friendship, and parental roles. For library collections seeking books covering issues of social media and social justice.—Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb, IL

Review

"An engaging and inspiring novel about standing up for what's right, being your authentic self, and finding the strength to use your voice." — Lynne Kelly, author of Song For a Whale

"This messy middle-school drama shines a light on what it means to develop identity. Illuminating." — Kirkus Reviews

The Kate In Between is a perfect portrayal of the middle school struggle to fit in and find one's true self. Kate's voice had me hooked from the first page. Outstanding!  — Lisa Greenwald, author of the Friendship List series

Well written and on point, Swinarski’s middle-grade take on the mean-girls novel will resonate with readers looking for a realistic story that doesn’t gloss over choices or consequences, giving them complex ideas to contemplate. — Booklist

"Swinarski adeptly presents multiple, and at times conflicting, sides of Kate in her struggle to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. With a well-developed protagonist, this book tackles bullying, friendship, parental roles, social ­media and social justice." — School Library Journal

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quill Tree Books (May 18, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062912704
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062912701
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.01 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 62 ratings

About the author

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Claire Swinarski

Claire Swinarski

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Claire Swinarski is the founder of the Catholic Feminist Podcast. She's written for The Washington Post, Vox, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and many other outlets. She lives outside of Milwaukee with her husband and two kiddos.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
62 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LPL
5.0 out of 5 stars Paperback-good for tweens
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book was purchased for my 11 year old daughter. She used for a book report project. It's a cute story about friendship, loyalty, and honesty. We enjoyed reading it together. She was reminded how to be a good friend, avoid talking behind one's back, sticking up for our friends, and being kind. It also addresses some family issues including divorce and parental abandonment which age appropriate.
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BonnieEngstrom
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
My 7th grader and I both read The Kate In Between and loved it. She read it in less than 24 hours because she was so engaged! I loved the story and characters, Swinarski did a great job of showing us that hurt people hurt people. It's a great take on bullying and the tangles of middle school friendships.

Middle school lit teachers and parents everywhere: you'd do well to put this on your shelves!
4 people found this helpful
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Devin Wirth
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent middle school novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book hits so many different themes and challenges facing middle school kids today. As a middle school teacher, I see many of Kate’s struggles in my own students - what makes for a true friend, who are the bullies, the slippery slope of a few wrong turns, and the dangers of social media. I can’t wait to tell all my students to grab a copy for the summer!
5 people found this helpful
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Brittany Borman
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is a must-have middle grade novel! Claire Swinarski tells a compelling and relatable story about friendship, bullying, and figuring out who you are.
3 people found this helpful
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Pete Springer
5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the Middle School Years Perfectly
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2023
Kate is a normal twelve-year-old girl with problems, caught in the allure of suddenly becoming popular. Her mom and dad are divorced, and she's moved in with her police officer dad. Her mom gets so wrapped up in her make-up business that she has little time for her daughter. Kate has always had her best friend, Hattie, who many of the other kids in middle school think is weird due to her free spirit and individuality. When Kate starts hanging out with the in-crowd and is befriended by pretty but manipulative Taylor, she feels like she matters. Taylor is big into putting down others like Hattie, who don't fit into her category of "normal." Kate faces the dilemma of standing up for her old friend or hanging with the pretty, popular crowd.

I thought author Claire Swinarski nailed the middle grade experience—sometimes joyous, often moody, and regularly dramatic. Peer relationships can seem like life and death at this age, especially when kids are trying to fit in and not become the target of bullying. The complicated family dynamics added to the plot. This story also shows how things can get quickly blown out of proportion and some of the dangers of social media. It also makes readers think about the importance of standing up for others and doing the right thing, even if it might lower their social standing. I strongly recommend this book for middle school readers, particularly girls.
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Maddy Hoff
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read.
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2023
Everyone should read this book. Good plot. Good character development. Good dad. So much goodness. Honestly reading this book felt therapeutic to my own experience in middle school. Five stars Claire.
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Faith
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and poignant story about friendships, bullying, and the places in between
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2021
Twelve is a hard age. Your body is changing, your thought processes are changing--maybe the world isn’t changing any more than it used to, but you’re noticing it now. I clearly remember spending the year I was twelve in a sort of survival mode. I desperately wanted to stay the same. My friends had no such intentions.

When I read The Kate in Between, by Claire Swinarski, I immediately found 12-year-old myself on its pages: not in Kate, the main character, but in her erstwhile best friend Haddie--the clueless but confident kid who wears weird clothes and reads tons of books and has passionate interests and isn’t troubled about fitting in as long as she has a best friend by her side. I may have been more subdued than Haddie, but boy could I feel her pain when Kate decided that a lifelong friendship wasn’t as important as fitting in with the popular crowd.

Here’s where the magic of good writing came in. Because the story is Kate’s, not Haddie’s. So I got to follow Kate--see Kate’s intentions, Kate’s rationale, Kate’s hurts. Far from being so stuck in the POV of the character like myself, I found myself cheering on one very unlike myself. This book does an incredible job of showing the reader how most of us really are somewhere “in between.” Kate is first lauded as a hero when she saves Haddie’s life, but she knows the reality is that her actions may have landed Haddie in danger in the first place. When the truth comes out, she’s reviled as a bully--but that isn’t 100% true either. Following Kate’s narration and thoughts throughout the story gives a dramatic bird’s-eye view of the wibbly-wobbly mess and wonder that is being human and being a friend--and, especially, that is being twelve.

This is a must-read for all my kids--it will go on the shelf with Shannon Hale’s Real Friends as a textbook for navigating tween friendships. Like Hale’s book, it’s also very funny and a pleasure to read. Also like Hale’s book, it’s one of the rare middle grade stories that portrays faith in a way that is at once background to the story and intrinsic to who the characters are--and I love that.
One person found this helpful
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Sara the T
5.0 out of 5 stars "Hurt people hurt people and loved people love people."
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021
In Swinarski's The Kate in Between, the author reminds us that people aren't one dimensional. You can be a hero and a bully both. The important thing is not just knowing the right thing to do, but finding the courage to do it. Kate struggles with wanting to fit in, in middle school and she's willing to sacrifice her lifelong friendship with Haddie to make it happen. When Kate's new friends mercilessly bully Haddie, Kate stands silently by. When one instance of bullying gets out of hand, Kate finally springs to action to save Haddie's life. After a video surfaces of the rescue, Kate is thrust into a spotlight she never wanted. Will Kate have the courage to show others, and herself, who she really is?

Swinarski perfectly paints what it's like to be 12 years old and want desperately to belong. I loved how Kate is flawed and my students will find that relatable. The honesty of her wanting to be friends in the moment with both Taylor and Haddie, is something they will recognize. Swinarski's message of being true to self is one that is heartfelt and timeless. From a Kate who grew into a Haddie, this book deserves a spot in middle grade classrooms.
One person found this helpful
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