Candy wrappers. Rubber bands. Milk cartons. These items may seem ordinary, but to Maggie from Give and Take by Elly Swartz, they all have a special connection to her past life. Maggie is a trap shooter who competes in tournaments on an all-girl trapshooting squad and is scored by the accuracy of her shots. Recently, a new trap shooter named Mason has joined her squad, pushing one of Maggie’s best friends to another squad and breaking her community of girls apart. Maggie’s family has also started to take on huge changes that cause sad moments and lots of anxiety for her. For example, Maggie’s grandmother has recently passed away after losing her memory to dementia. After this, her parents make the decision to become a short-term foster family to an infant named Izzie. The process of fostering Izzie includes eventually letting go of her when she gets adopted, causing Maggie to feel miserable. When Maggie becomes stressed about all of these changes in her life, she starts developing unhealthy ways to deal with them, including hoarding objects, such as gum wrappers from her first trapshooting practice and one of Izzie’s baby socks. Maggie is motivated to keep all of these things that are usually considered trash because she is afraid of losing her core memories forever. As Maggie’s connections and love for Izzie become deeper, she realizes that professional help with her hoarding is necessary. With help, Maggie comes to learn that the most important part of memories are the actual moment, not the things that come from it. Will Maggie be able to deal with her hoard of objects? Also, will Maggie be able to let go of Izzie and the happiness that comes with fostering her? Read Give and Take By: Elly Swartz to find out! 

If you enjoyed reading Give and Take by Elly Swartz, you may also like Finding Perfect by Elly Swartz. Molly, the main character in Finding Perfect, is facing a family struggle, just like Maggie. Molly’s mom has taken a job in a faraway city, which causes her anxious feelings and questions if her mom will keep her promise to return in a year. Maggie and Molly both have strong anxiety, but they also have different ways of dealing with it. Molly puts her anxiety towards cleaning, organizing, and counting habits to cope with her problems. Will Molly be able to get help with her anxiety, like Maggie does? Will her mom keep her promise to return soon? Read Finding Perfect by Elly Swartz to find out, and also make sure you read Give and Take by Elly Swartz!