What’s more terrifying than being forced into a coed combat wrestling martial art by your own mother? Sixth grade.

Angie Larson hates Jiu-Jitsu. Like many twelve-year-old girls, she fails to find the glamour in a martial art that embraces zero personal space and choking as an end goal. Seriously, people choke her, drip sweat on her face, and even wrap their legs around her neck. It’s the worst. Instead, she idolizes the seemingly perfect kids at her school who do “normal” activities like dance or soccer. But just when it seems like Angie is about to be accepted by them, her mom enrolls her in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament and begins a relationship with the sweatiest coach on the planet. And to make things more complicated, Angie develops a close friendship with a boy who is definitely not part of the “cool” crowd.

Angie must decide who she is while making some painful decisions both on and off the mat. Is she a dance girl, a soccer girl, a nothing girl . . . or a Jiu-Jitsu girl?

About the Author

Jennifer Dutton worked for years as a writer in the finance industry before becoming a teacher in a variety of elementary and middle grade classrooms. There, she’s had the privilege of being a keen observer of the life experience. Her writing reflects the diversity and resilience she witnesses firsthand.