Author: Lisa Moore Ramée
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| via Amazon |
Shayla Willows is starting the seventh grade at Emerson Junior High in southern California. She manages all of the usual struggles of adolescence: awkward physical changes, evolving friendships, family dynamics, academics (though that part seems to come easily to her), etc. She also struggles to find her racial identity, some peers telling her she's not Black enough. Meanwhile, in the broader world, Black people are getting shot by police officers. As a result, the Black Lives Matter movement becomes an important part of Shayla's journey.
A Good Kind of Trouble is rated "middle grade." While it deals with heavy subjects like racism, murder and injustice, the material isn't graphic enough to require a move to the YA shelves. It's not an obvious book choice for a middle-aged man but I enjoyed it. It's a quick read. I breezed through all 358 pages in under 24 hours. I'm grateful for the honest and challenging perspective of a young person of color. As both educator and world citizen, I need more of that.
It's a hopeful story. Shayla's struggles are painful but there are plenty of successes along the way. She makes new friends and manages to keep the old (one is silver and the other...). She discovers unexpected talent and grit when she joins the track team. She finds both a place in her new community and a voice for protest and social change.
Ramée alludes to, but never directly addresses, homosexuality and homophobia. It is strongly implied that both a favorite teacher and Shayla's older sister Hana are gay, though the text never says so explicitly. In fact, it's pretty clear Shayla doesn't see it in either case - more of a wink and a nod to the reader. It's a tricky topic in today's publishing world, especially in youth literature.
Overall, it's a strong book, both readable and relatable.
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWhile we (white folks) may think topics such as racism and police violence are mature subject matter, it isn't in the African American community where they live out this fear. Sounds like this could be a good book that should be read by a broader topic than just school kids (but it also sounds like the kind of book that could be banned by certain governors)
Happy New Year!
DeleteBooks more people should be reading... you'll see in tomorrow's post, that's a bit of a theme this week. Between winter break and my current illness, I'm getting a lot of reading done.
I 100% agree with you. That said, I think it's important to have a few books addressing these topics that are accessible to younger kids and not too threatening to their parents. This is a battle that needs to be fought on multiple fronts.
Sounds good--probably the kind of book my daughter would have checked out of the library when she was younger and then I would have read it, too.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I actually found this one on my own rather than through my child. I've been curious about women's/girls' sports and fiction books relating to them are seemingly just as common as nonfiction ones.
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