Two days ago, I finished reading Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist. This realistic fiction novel in verse is about De'Kari "Flow" Flood and Ebony "Eb" Wilson, two Black seventh grade students who are suspended from school for ten days after they get into a fight in the cafeteria. Although Flow has to do workouts with Uncle Reggie and complete household chores, he finds time to go to the indoor pool at the rec center. Meanwhile, Eb watches over her older sister's young son, Jaren, and begins to question her friendships. Both of them ponder how their actions led to the incident at school and how they can make better decisions in the future.
This book was a relatively quick read and I enjoyed it. I liked learning about the families of Flow and Eb and was intrigued by the parallels in their lives over the ten days they were suspended from school. I thought it was cool that Flow loved swimming because that's one of my favorite activities and could relate to him. As for Eb, I felt bad for her because she has to live with her grandma, instead of her mom and dad, and it was an accident that led to her fight with Flow. She never actually intended to ruin Flow's new shoes. Although she has two younger siblings, I thought her her relationship with Jaren, her nephew, was especially sweet. Most importantly, I had hope that both Flow and Eb would grow from their experience of being suspended. I don't think either of them were bad kids, but they both struggled with feelings of frustration and the idea of apologizing and letting go. As the story was wrapping up, there was a scene that gave me quite the scare regarding the cycle of violence, but the ending felt satisfying and I came to the conclusion that Eb and Flow have more in common than they differ. All in all, Eb & Flow is a great book for any kid who wonders what really happens during out of school suspensions.
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