Lyla is thrilled when her seventh-grade ELA class begins a daily creative writing project. For the past year she’s been writing a brilliant fantasy novel in her head, and here’s her chance to get it on paper! The plot is super complicated, with battle scenes and witches, although basically it’s a semi-autobiographical story about an overlooked girl who has to rescue her beautiful, highly accomplished older sister.

But writing a fantasy novel turns out to be harder than simply imagining one, and Lyla finds herself stuck, experiencing what she realizes is writer’s block. Part of the problem is that she’s trying to impress certain people—like Rania, her best friend who’s pulling away, and Ms. Bowman, the coolest teacher at school. Plus, there’s the pressure of meeting the deadline for the town writing contest, where Lyla is determined to win first prize. When Lyla shares her writing problems with her superstar older sister, Dahlia, she learns Dahlia’s big secret, which is causing a very different type of writer’s block.

Can Lyla rescue her surprisingly vulnerable sister, both on the page and in real life? Award-winning author Barbara Dee returns with a novel about creativity, friendship, family—and how to find the words you need most.

“For years now, Barbara Dee has written one exceptional novel after another. Unstuck may be her best yet. Lyla’s story is at once unique and universal, and readers will finish the book feeling inspired and empowered to take control of, and share, their stories.” —Jarrett Lerner, author of A Work in Progress A Junior Library Guild Selection