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The Best at It
The Best at It
The Best at It
Audiobook6 hours

The Best at It

Written by Maulik Pancholy

Narrated by Maulik Pancholy

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Stonewall Honor Book!

From award-winning actor Maulik Pancholy comes a hilarious and heartfelt middle grade debut about a gay Indian American boy coming into his own. One of Time Out's “LGBTQ+ books for kids to read during Pride Month”, this is perfect for fans of Tim Federle’s Nate series.

Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade in a small town in Indiana. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his favorite person in the whole world, his grandfather, Bhai, gives him some well-meaning advice: Find one thing you’re really good at and become the BEST at it.

Those four little words sear themselves into Rahul’s brain. While he’s not quite sure what that special thing is, he is convinced that once he finds it, bullies like Brent Mason will stop torturing him at school. And he won’t be worried about staring too long at his classmate Justin Emery. With his best friend, Chelsea, by his side, Rahul is ready to crush this challenge.... But what if he discovers he isn’t the best at anything?

Funny, charming, and incredibly touching, this is a story about friendship, family, and the courage it takes to live your truth. 

LanguageEnglish
PublisherBalzer Bray
Release dateOct 8, 2019
ISBN9780062960511
Author

Maulik Pancholy

Maulik Pancholy is an award-winning actor whose career has spanned hit television shows (30 Rock, Whitney), animated favorites (Phineas and Ferb, Sanjay and Craig), the Broadway stage, and films. He served on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and he is the cofounder of the anti-bullying campaign Act to Change. Maulik lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his husband, Ryan, and his dog, T-Rex. The Best at It is his debut novel.

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Reviews for The Best at It

Rating: 4.254901960784314 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

51 ratings9 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    7th grader Rahul Kapoor is trying to find his way in middle school. Is bullied by a particular boy, navigates friendships and tries to find the thing he wants to excel at. It deals with anxiety/depression and some compulsive behaviors.

    I love how much of this book is about Rahul coping with stress, and then him also recognizing that he can choose something else. He thinks he's journeying towards the thing he will be the best at, but it turns out he's looking for the thing he will enjoy doing the most. That's a distinction that is easy to lose your way on.

    With regards to coming to terms with his sexuality and finding his own path -- I think this is handled really well. It's this lingering weight in the background -- fodder for bullies and commentary from adults and he's just trying not to think about it too much. Just not sure if it applies or not? Which I found very authentic. Love his super supportive family, and best friend.

    It has some funny moments, too, because Rahul is just so 100% committed to his journey. He finds a thing he wants to excel at and just powers at it with a wing and prayer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Did you love Dumplin'?

    Me too!


    Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco is having a bit of a rough year. Her parents are getting divorced, she's got friend drama in middle school and on top of all that she starts answering letters written to her neighbor's advice column. (without permission)

    Highlights:

    I'm a sucker for a cute cat and her cat Cheese and all his antics made me smile.

    I Love how hard her parents try to make things okay for her when they just can't fix the way things have to be now.
    Giggled at her parents' attempt to keep things "normal" by living in twin houses on the same street. Weird, yet endearing.

    This is a quick, easy read for the middle school reader in your world. As always, Julie models lots of body positivity and her characters have authentic reactions to their circumstances which is always awesome for this age of readers to see and hopefully emulate.

    Two thumbs way up! You'll have to wait a while for this one as right now I see the publish date as October 1, 2019.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    *reviewed from uncorrected ARC*

    diverse children's middlegrade fiction (7th grade girl with different body type deals with school and changes in her life with amicably divorced parents and other responsibilities and decisions; her dad is gay and her BFF may be queer)
    sweetly told story of a young tween/teen trying to do the right thing and making a few mistakes as well. Loved it, and will definitely recommend.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Julie Murphy has written a realistic novel for middle school, Dear Sweet Pea. It's a time of a great deal of change for little Miss Sweet Pea!One change is her home life. Her parents are now divorced and her father moves only two doors down, which is handy, but..... She, obviously, doesn't want her parents to be divorced, but did he have to create almost the EXACT SAME HOUSE! There's so little difference that it's harder to change! Why didn't he just stay in their own house; after all, her parents could live like roommates. He hardly moved at all--location or style. The divorce has been very amicable as well, so--again--why move? Sweet Pea's logic seems sound based on these facts. Sweet Pea,however, becomes suspicious that her father is hiding information from her because he mentions mail from Connecticut. She fears that he's planning on moving there, so she chooses to not give him the mail. Sweet Pea's social life goes through some changes as well. Her best friend Oscar ALWAYS supports her. She supports him as well, but she becomes a bit distracted with life for a while which tests their friendship. Her enemy (her ex-bestfriend) treats her with disdain. These relationships are about to collide. Sweet Pea's neighbor is the advice columnist in the local paper. Miss Flora Mae has to leave for a short time and asks Sweet Pea to water her plants and play music for them. She also wants Sweet Pea to send the letters left by the editor to her. Sweet Pea is happy to do this for Miss Flora Mae. It's when she notices one letter and recognizes the handwriting. It's by her ex-bestfriend, Kiera. Sweet Pea sees her opportunity to get even. She writes back as Miss Flora Mae, but when Kiera is nice to her, Sweet Pea rushes to fix the mistake. She writes another letter that is actually good advice. Sweet Pea decides that she likes hanging out at Miss Flora Mae's house, reading letters and writing responses while listening to Aretha Franklin, drinking ginger ale, and wearing "bright red cat-eyed glasses." She has found her calling!Sweet Pea discovers that life isn't easy for anyone. She also finds out that bringing the "enemy" into her relationship with Oscar creates problems. Miss Flora Mae will also be returning soon. Her dad seems more and more anxious about that letter from Connecticut and her mom has started dating! What! She has secrets that will come out and friendships to repair and truths to accept as she grows up and learns more about herself, her friends, her neighbors, and her family.I thought this was a really cute novel with some hilarious parts that will make you cringe and pray you are never in her situation. It drove me crazy that she didn't give the mail to her father. Does she ever give the mail to him? I like her exuberance and energy and that she forgives. She generally isn't mean, but she does make some poor decisions that I wouldn't call particularly nice. They are definitely regrettable and cause her to grow. The message is to treat people, no matter what, with respect. There are also messages about size, for Sweet Pea is a larger girl and has trouble finding clothing that fits, but size is not the focus of the novel. Overall, it's a novel about change, growing up, accepting others, and finding your own path. It's worth one's time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was precious. Patricia (known to everyone as Sweet Pea) is having a rough end to seventh grade. Her parents are divorced and living on the same street in nearly identical houses. They're trying to be real chill about it, splitting their time with her; but it's making it more confusing for Sweet Pea. Why can't they just be together as a family? To make matters more confusing she's having mixed feelings about her frenemy Kiera (maybe she's not all that bad?) and her best friend Oscar is upset that she's not telling him everything. The thing is though, Sweet Pea made a promise to her neighbor (the advice columnist) to keep a secret but it may blow up in her face. Cute, charming, and dealing with lots of issues that middle school teens face: bullying, weight, divorce, friendship, and trying to fit in. The reason it's not a 5 star book to me, is that at times, Sweet Pea sounds far too mature for her age, sometimes her voice just seemed to be "too much" for her age and it lost it's believability factor. Other than that it was great!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When Sweet Pea's eccentric old neighbor Miss Flora Mae goes on vacation, she leaves Sweet Pea in charge of handling her mail -- a very important task, since Miss Flora Mae is the town's advice columnist. Sweet Pea can't help peeking at some of the letters, but when she finds on from her ex-best-friend, she realizes she has a chance to exact revenge for the mean treatment she's experienced over the past year since her friend dumped her.This is a fun read, very much in line with Murphy's YA novels, but focused more on middle-grade concerns. Sweet Pea is a great character, as are her parents and friends. If you enjoy realistic middle-grade fiction, don't miss this one!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sweet Pea is a big fan of her neighbor Miss Flora Mae's advice column in the local newspaper. When Miss Flora Mae needs to leave town to take care of her ailing sister, she asks Sweet Pea to coordinate delivery of the letters between her and the editor. Sweet Pea ends up answering a couple of the letters herself, including one from her former best friend Kiera and another from her current best friend Oscar. The results are unexpected. Author Julie Murphy has a way with dialogue, a turn of phrase, and self-deprecating humor that makes Sweet Pea an appealing character.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rahul is a middle school kiddo with a ton of stress and a handful of secrets. This is the story of how he tries to navigate friendships, low-grade racism, bullies, and the dangers of dating when no one but you (and maybe not even you) know what and who you want.There's a lot going on in here, and although at times I thought the author was maybe trying to pack in a few too many Important Issues (racism, mental illness, sexual orientation, bullying,...), in general this middle grade novel does a good job of representation, and describing both what it looks like to come out in a safe family space and the potential repercussions of not having that safe space. Overall, happily recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rahul has a revelation that turns into a personal project. He wants to find something where he is The. Best. At. It. No small undertaking for a middle school kid who is uncomfortable in his own skin. He tries football, acting. Both fail in spectacular ways. He's asked to join the mathletes. He doesn't want to because it sees way too nerdy. His best friend, Chelsea, who is awesome in all ways, tells him them being nerdy is why they are fun! He shies away from his culture. His family knows he is suffering - with his identity, with OCD kind of behavior. They are supportive, they offer help. It is up to him to take it. I found this story heartfelt, charming, and touching.