This book aimed at middle grade readers gives a Pacific Northwest backdrop to a story about a teenager contending with Crohn’s Disease.

A Kenmore, Washington, mother and daughter have teamed up to write a book targeted for middle-grade readers — but “Gut Reaction” has a lively narrative, diverse characters and medical insights that may interest readers beyond that target audience.

Kirby Larson is the award-winning author of historical fiction books for young readers, including the popular Dogs of World War II series that includes “Dash” (the story of a Japanese American girl forced to leave her dog behind when her family is sent to an incarceration camp), “Duke” (about a boy who donates his German shepherd to Dogs for Defense during the war), and “Liberty” (a book about how a couple of kids in New Orleans enlist a German POW’s help to rescue a stray dog and her puppies).

“Gut Reaction” takes place in the present, however, with locations in western Washington and Oregon.

Larson partnered with her now-grown daughter, Quinn Wyatt, to create a fictional story loosely based on Quinn’s real-life experiences as a teenager contending with Crohn’s disease.

This week’s book

“Gut Reaction” by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt

Scholastic Press — 272 pp — $18.99

In “Gut Reaction,” eighth grader Tess Medina is still grieving her dad’s death — by heart attack — a few years earlier.

Now she and her little sister are moving to a new city with their mom and her mom’s new partner, and Tess is enrolling in a new school, partway into the school year.

Tess is finding it tough to make new friends, and after being ignored in the cafeteria at lunchtime for several days in a row, she tells herself she needs to be “getting the hang of going solo through middle school.”

But then she has an idea.

Baking is more than a hobby for her; it’s an essential form of creative expression. Even as a toddler, she wanted to be involved in her father’s work as a bakery owner. Now that he’s gone, she still keeps up with baking because it elicits a feeling of connection with her dad. So when Tess brings a batch of her fresh-baked cookies to school, and her classmates get a whiff of her talents, a host of new friendships click into place.

She also receives an invitation to participate in a regional youth baking competition.

On the flip side, it seems that her baking talent may also be leading to some unwelcome side effects. Tess is experiencing increasingly debilitating bouts of gastrointestinal distress. At first, she keeps this to herself – not wanting to worry her mom or call attention to herself at school. But what initially started out feeling like a porcupine in her gut gradually intensifies into a sensation that she describes as “The Knife.” With inflammatory bowel diseases, like Crohn’s, being one of the most significant chronic diseases impacting teens and young adults, “Gut Reaction” should help to raise awareness and normalize conversations around the effects of, and treatments for, the disease. This tale offers up eclairs and caramel sauce alongside lessons in resilience. As Tess comes to realize, “Sometimes it’s about progress, not perfection.”