Baptist, Kelly J. Eb & Flow. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-0-593-42913-6. 212 p. $16.99. Grades 4-8.

This realistic novel in verse begins after Ebony and De’Kari (who go by the nicknames Eb and Flow) are suspended for fighting at school. First, Eb poured sauce on Flow’s sneakers, and then, Flow called her a name. A physical fight followed and was recorded by other students. Flow is ashamed he “hit a girl,” and that notion is repeated again and again by his family members. Ebony, in turn, knows her ‘joke’ of fake-pouring sauce onto Flow’s shoes went terribly wrong. The book takes place over the course of the next ten days while both seventh graders serve their out-of-school suspension. Told in verse with alternating perspectives, the story follows what happens to each student during their time out of school. While peers and even some family members fuel the ongoing fight, Eb and Flow have to overcome their frustrated, angry feelings about each other and work to get back to school. While the story ‘ebbs and flows,’ the two characters learn they have way more in common than they think.

THOUGHTS: This story opens a window to the emotions and motivations of two seventh grade students as they serve a suspension for fighting. Eb and Flow’s two families also are written with complexity, and readers get to see a window into the heart of their family dynamics. This creates an enormous amount of empathy for the two main characters, and I found myself constantly hoping Eb and Flow wouldn’t let the escalation between friend groups or family members pull them back down into a cyclical or violent fight. It took me a little bit to catch on to the constant back-and-forth between the two character perspectives, but this might be because Kelly J. Baptist includes so many parallels between their two lives. This is done purposefully and creatively to show how enemies might not be so different after all. This story touches on a number of issues such as older siblings with issues, deployed parents, poverty, and the potential impact of gang involvement on families. All characters present as BIPOC. 

Realistic Fiction