Review: "The Best at It," by Maulik Pancholy

Seventh-grader Rahul Kapoor has a great friendship with Chelsea and an extreme talent for math, but he wants more than anything to be the best at something that won't make him a super nerd. In fact, he thinks that trying out for the football team might be the ticket to getting off bully Brent's radar. It doesn't though. In fact, Brent keeps taunting Rahul and telling him he's gay, but Rahul doesn't know what to think of that. Maybe he is, but why does Brent keep calling him out for it? Rahul's stress and anxiety manifests into some OCD tendencies, but it's important that Rahul lives his truth and doesn't let his bully bring him down.

Mrs. Denney's Rating: ***

#review #family #diversity #LGBTQ #realisticfiction #math #school #bullying