Mountain Upside Down

By: Sara Ryan

Narrated by: Elena Rey

A funny and heartfelt LGBTQIA+ middle grade novel set against the backdrop of family drama and a library funding campaign in a small town.

Alex Eager lives in Faillin, OR with her grandmother, a retired librarian. Life should be great for Alex, since she finally worked up the courage to ask her best friend PJ if they could be more than friends and she said yes. But their new relationship will have to be long distance, because PJ is moving. On top of that, Alex is worried that something is wrong with her increasingly forgetful grandmother. And to make matters worse, Faillin is holding a referendum on library funding, and things aren’t looking good. Will anything good for Alex ever last?

Mountain Upside Down is a beautifully crafted story of a thirteen-year-old girl finding her place in her family and her community. It’s a queer-positive story that doesn’t center coming out. It’s a story of a library’s role in a community that doesn’t feature book banning. And it’s a story of long-held family secrets and resentment that focuses not on final resolution but learning how to communicate again.

Critic reviews

"Genuine and grounded; full of warmth and pragmatic realism despite difficult and uncertain circumstances."—Kirkus

"[An] endearingly thoughtful middle grade debut....a tidy and satisfying tale."—Publishers Weekly

“Despite challenging topics, Alex’s humor and hopeless romanticism infuse hope into the story. Ryan thoughtfully incorporates issues of family, friendship, and first love into this heartwarming tale.”—The Horn Book

"In deference to the complexities of life, there are no easy solutions here, but it’s the openness to change that is the heart of the novel, and Alex takes steps toward accepting what she can’t control and grow from it."—BCCB

"I adored this comforting, funny, honest take on the challenges and wonders of friendship, family, and, most of all, love."—Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Sisters of the Neversea and On a Wing and a Tear

Characters that feel like old friends, settings that feel like home, and a story brimming with love, honesty, heartbreak, and humor. Sara Ryan has written something both of this moment and deeply classic—the kind of book meant to be read a dozen times. Generously written, deeply felt, and sparkling with energy and so much love, Mountain Upside Down is, quite simply, marvelous."—Corey Ann Haydu, author of Eventown