Joined at the Joints

by Marissa Eller

Overview

When baking-obsessed Ivy meets a boy who shares her rare diagnosis, sparks fly outside of the kitchen for the first time in her life!

Chronically ill seventeen-year-old Ivy has stayed in watching the Food Network all summer—pies are better than people, and they don’t trigger her social anxiety. So when her (also) chronically ill mom and sister cook up a plan to get Ivy out of the house and into a support group, Ivy doesn’t expect to say more than a few words.

And she certainly doesn’t expect Grant. Grant is CUTE: class-clown cute, perfectly-messy-hair cute, will-always-text-you-back cute. There’s an instant connection between them. He has the same diagnosis as her—juvenille rheumatoid arthritis—and he actually understands Ivy’s world.

But just because he understands Ivy’s pain doesn’t mean he can take it away. And she wishes he could—because it’s getting worse. Ivy has always tried her best to appear pain-free, but between treatment plans, symptom management, and struggling with medical self-advocacy, being sick feels more and more difficult. Will Ivy’s delicious new romance pan out? Can she keep up the façade, for him and for the world… or should she be brave and let it go?

Marissa Eller serves up a sweet, satisfying romcom that tackles the realities of chronic illness—and coming-of-age milestones from friend breakups to first kisses—with wry humor, tons of heart, and a huge helping of honesty. Nuanced, poignant, and deeply enjoyable, readers will fall for Eller’s voice in this compelling debut that offers all the right ingredients.

"A sweet and affirming story that embraces the unpredictability of chronic illness.”—Anna Sortino, award-winning author of Give Me a Sign and On the Bright Side

“Will make readers feel seen. A delightful, heartfelt read.”—Lillie Lainoff, award-winning author of One for All

“The perfect recipe for an affirming and adorable debut.”—Claire Forrest, award-winning author of Where You See Yourself

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823456215
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	07/02/2024
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	247,343
Product dimensions:	5.81(w) x 8.51(h) x 1.16(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Marissa Eller is a novelist with chronic pain and an abundance of emotions. She holds a BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University, which she uses in her work as an academic consultant. She resides in Hickory, North Carolina with her family and two rescue cats, all of whom she couldn’t love more if she tried. When not writing, reading, or helping students, she can be found thinking entirely too much about her favorite TV shows, obsessing over a band she’s loved since she was fifteen, or enjoying an afternoon nap.

Editorial Reviews

04/29/2024

Since her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis two years ago, Ivy Harding, 17, has gradually isolated herself. Social anxiety has always made communicating difficult, and now Ivy barely has the energy to try. She spends her time recreating her grandmother’s recipes as gluten-free dishes and managing increasingly frequent flare-ups that result in heightened pain and limited mobility. When her family insists she attend a support group for teens with chronic illnesses, Ivy is reluctant. At her first meeting, however, she encounters Grant Deluca, who also has RA. He’s extraordinarily cute and he’s interested in Ivy, and while Ivy isn’t sure she wants to date, she can’t deny their chemistry. But even as their relationship blossoms, Ivy’s flare-ups worsen and her anxieties grow. Neatly paced, insightful prose punctuated by text exchanges and sweet dates depict Ivy and Grant’s slow-burn romance. Ivy’s introspections about RA are realistic, nuanced, and informed by debut author Eller’s personal experiences, as discussed in an endnote. Good-natured secondary characters, many of whom navigate their own autoimmune diagnoses, round out Ivy’s lively, majority-white support network. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emma Nordstrom Higdon, Westwood Creative Artists. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Joined at the Joints is full of heart, showcasing the importance of love and community. Marissa Eller serves up a sweet and affirming story that embraces the unpredictability of chronic illness."—Anna Sortino, award-winning author of Give Me a Sign and On the Bright Side
 
"Eller's joyful romance starring chronically ill teens is just as sweet as her protagonist Ivy's baking. Joined at the Joints delves into the vast variety of lived experiences of chronic illness in a way that will make readers feel seen. A delightful, heartfelt read."—Lillie Lainoff, award-winning author of One for All
 
"Joined at the Joints combines vital chronic illness representation, a sweet-as-pie romance, and the power of the disability community. Marissa Eller has the perfect recipe for an affirming and adorable debut."—Claire Forrest, award-winning author of Where You See Yourself
 
"In Joined at the Joints, Marissa Eller has written a deeply compassionate debut. Beautifully romantic and achingly relatable, this book puts disabled teens at the center of their own love story—exactly where they should be."—Melissa See, author of Love Letters for Joy and You, Me, and Our Heartstrings

From the Publisher