Book: Love Double Dutch (2018)
Author: Doreen Spicer-Dannelly
Genre: MG, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Basic plot: Kayla can’t wait to go to the National Jump-off at Madison Square Garden with her Double Dutch team. But with her parents always fighting, she and her brother have to spend the summer in North Carolina while they work out their problems. That’s when Kayla joins up with her cousin to create their own Double Dutch squad. But they have some hefty competition. The cousin’s ex-best friends…
WHAT’S COOL…
1) Kayla is Brooklyn-cool! Yep. She’s definitely got attitude. But in a good way. I used to teach girls like her, so it brought back good memories of some of my students. 🙂
2) The Double Dutch stuff was very interesting. I remember jumping rope when I was a kid, but we never really did Double Dutch. This book made me want to go to youtube to watch a few videos of the competitions. And wow! Pretty amazing stuff.
3) I liked how Kayla’s confidence just pushes her team forward. They’re the outcasts, but the girls work really hard to get where they need to be.
4) The story has a happy ending, which I always love. I enjoyed the friendship developed by Kayla and Sally and Melissa and Tina. I was definitely rooting for them.
WHAT’S NOT COOL…
1) The realism was a little lacking for me. At times, I kept saying… “Really? I’m not so sure that would happen.” Especially with rope-jumping novices like Melissa and Tina. Especially when nerves play a really big part in competitions like this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My rating is 3.5 Stars (out of 5) – A fun story about kids who skip rope competitively. The book has some great messages about cooperation and working together. A good summertime read.
YOUR TURN…
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
Of Maria Antonia 
I never did dutch jump rope either. Glad you mostly enjoyed this though you do have to believe what is written could really happen unless its fantasy or sci-fi.
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I know. I wonder if kid readers would have a problem with it?
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I used to love jumping rope but never Double Dutch. Hadn’t heard of this book, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. Glad there’s a happy ending!
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I think I tried Double Dutch as a kid, but I don’t remember actually being able to do it. “Speed” was hard enough 🙂
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I’m a jump roper but don’t know much about competitive jumping. Glad to know there is a book to share with young people about the sport.
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Yes, watching the videos on youtube made me realize how talented these young people are. (My jump-roping days were pretty simple by comparison!)
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I loved jumping rope, but it was boring compared to Double Dutch. But 50+ years when I did Double Dutch, they didn’t all of the acrobatics and fantastic moves they have now. I’m glad to see a book devoted to this fun and competitive sport. And, I’m glad it is still timely. Have you read Sharon Draper’s YA novel, Double Dutch? It’s a great read.
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No, I haven’t read that one. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for mentioning 🙂
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This sounds like such a fun book! I don’t think I’ve ever used a jump rope, so I’m certainly intrigued by the premise. Thanks for the review!
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I used to love jumping rope. Don’t know if I could do it now, at least not double dutch. 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve read a book about competitive jumping before, so that’s super interesting! I know lots of kids get interested in jump rope. Thanks for featuring this one!
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I really liked that part of the book. I hadn’t read about competitive jumping before either.
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Oh, my. I used to jump double dutch. So much fun. The book sounds fun too. Thanks for telling me about it.
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Yes, it was a fun book!
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