Stevie Crumb is the tallest in her class. She's taller than the girls and also the boys. Everyone expects her to play sports, especially basketball, but she's not interested at all. Her brother Ryan is a basketball player with dreams of playing in college with a full scholarship. Their parents are also hoping for that since it will be the only chance he'll have to go to college.
Money is always tight, but Stevie notices that Ryan has whatever he needs for basketball - new shoes, new shorts, whatever he needs. At the same time, Stevie must wear Ryan's hand-me-downs if she wants pants that aren't too short or too tight. She's growing, but when she points this out to her mother, she is told she'll have to wait until there is some extra cash in a few weeks.
Stevie stumbles across a meeting of the school's debate team. She is immediately interested in joining the group. Maybe her parents will like the fact that she is competing in something, even if it isn't a sport.
Staying after school for debate practice means taking the train home later than usual and often without her best friend. Stevie becomes uncomfortable when older boys and even men start making comments about her physical appearance. Several of them even touch her as they pass her to leave the train. Keeping this information to herself doesn't feel right, but her parents are so focused on Ryan's basketball and their money problems, she can't find the right time to bring it up.
SLOUCH is full of Stevie's problems - bullying, family dynamics, social media issues, best friend dilemmas, and scary threats to her physical safety. Readers will take an instant liking for Stevie and root for her to find all the answers she needs.
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