Spelling It Out
by Margaret Finnegan
Middle School    Atheneum    208 pp.
5/25    9781665930116    $17.99
e-book ed.  9781665930130    $10.99

Although he didn’t study, sixth grader Ben Bellini thought he had a chance at winning the 1985 Southern California Regional Spelling Bee. He felt like such a clodpoll (his losing word, meaning blockhead) when he didn’t. Ben loves words and competitive spelling, so when his grandmother invites him to spend the following summer with her in San Francisco and be coached by a former National Spelling Bee winner, off he goes. The trip doesn’t go well: Nan shows signs of forgetfulness, the coach turns out to be a jerk, and Ben gets robbed. But he does meet Asha Krishnakumar, who shares his love of spelling and is working hard to compete. She views it as her chance to be seen, “to be recognized as somehow excellent.” And that’s when Ben realizes he has found a kindred spirit, for he, too, wants to be seen as more than a nerd, to not feel lonely following his dream. Finnegan offers a story with a big heart about the drama of spelling bees and brings to life a cast of characters to care about while highlighting major themes of life: loneliness, dreams, memory, validation, and family and friends.

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.