Maple reminded me of a lot of kids I've seen over the years and I now have an eight year old granddaughter who struggles with reading, making this book a lot more important to me. Over the years, I've known a goodly number of older adults who became extremely skilled at fooling employers, friends, officials and even spouses into reading things for them. Eventually, like Maple, they ran into a situation where they had no way to get out of a bind. This is a story of hope and relevance for tweens struggling with reading or similar issues. It would be a perfect book for teachers and volunteers to read aloud, so those who are in a similar situation could hear the message. ( )

Tried to read this book, but couldn't connect with the story or characters.

Maple gets to the end of 5th grade before her big secret is revealed – she can’t read. Her teacher recommends she repeat 5th grade. Middle school is hard enough but imagine being held back. Her former best friends abandon her when they move on to 6th grade. Good from the point of view of the Indian-Jewish culture, and the problems with friends growing and middle-school relationships are tough as always, but I found the premise weak -- I think it more likely that remedial reading lessons would be offered than repetition of a grade. ( )

Thanks to LibraryThing & Candlewick Press for an advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I love middle grade fiction, maybe because it reminds me of the stories I wrote for myself when I was in middle grade. It's a time of innocence, learning, building relationships, and discovery. And all those words describe "Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen" - a heartwarming story of acceptance and friendship.

Maple is being welcomed back to the fifth grade, which she is repeating due to her inability to read. Even with her clever tricks and strategies, she's no longer able to hide her dyslexia. More than anything Maple worries about what her friends will think, and she soon finds out. Although she makes some new fifth grade friends, it's her two BFFs who have moved up to sixth grade who are now either ignoring her or taunting her.

While Maple has reading challenges, she is an expert at storytelling, and dictates stories into her recorder, especially adventures of a young amateur detective who's half Indian and half Jewish, just like Maple. These adventures, which the author skillfully inserts into Maple's narrative, add another dimension to the novel. Maple also tells her new fifth grade friends some stories which are untruths about herself. What will happen when Maple implements a reckless plan to win back her old friends, and her new friends learn she isn't really a special teacher's assistant?

This is a book for middle grade readers, or anyone who enjoys middle grade novels. Maple is a realistic, likeable character who is easy to identify with, and readers who have faced their own trials with school and friendships will savor this satisfying story of challenges and acceptance. ( )

like most teen agers maple is finding her identity. she is held back in school because she cant read, and her friends dessert her, and her mom is busy. maple thinks that everyone will think she is dumb if she tells them she is dyslexic ( )