An important and relevant story that will make kids stop and take a look at the world around them.
It is spring 1970 in Alabama, and in spite of the racial tensions that come along with integration and the upcoming race for governor, sixth-grader Lu Olivera can’t stop thinking about running—or more importantly, the discovery that she can run.
It’s hotter than Hades the day Lu first runs in preparation for Field Day. She flies “like the blue blazes” and barely squeaks past classmate Belinda at the finish line for the win. As they mill about catching their breath and each other’s eyes, Belinda gives a nod of respect. Lu nods back, but not without a bit of trepidation upon reminding herself that “around here, black and white kids don’t mix. No siree bob.” You see, being from Argentina, Lu is one of the “middle” kids in the class. White kids sit on one side of the room, black kids, including Belinda, on the other, and those that are left occupy no man’s land. Readers will follow Lu through the spring of her sixth-grade year as she discovers not just the extent of her running ability, but how much gumption one tiny immigrant girl can have. It’s not always easy standing up for what is right, but sometimes, you just can’t stay in the middle. While Red Grove, Alabama, is a fictional town, the story is inspired by the author’s very real experiences growing up in Alabama. Young readers will relate to Lu as she navigates friendships, first love, and politics, cheering her on to the finish line.
An important and relevant story that will make kids stop and take a look at the world around them. (Historical fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9231-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
Pragmatic and valuable.
Navigating adolescence isn’t a piece of cake.
Dorito-loving seventh grader Sarah Weber is a standout basketball player on her team even though she’s had some bad practices lately. Thanks to puberty, her body keeps changing, and, on top of recent awkwardness in her relationships, she feels overwhelmed by this. Another thing she doesn’t have control over is her household food situation: Sarah’s mom is controlling about food, sometimes forgets to feed her dinner, and what little there is to eat in their kitchen is restricted to things she deems acceptable. Sarah’s dad works long hours and doesn’t seem to notice what’s going on. In an effort to help her game and gain back some control, Sarah begins to obsessively monitor her food intake. Thankfully, her friends and coach advocate for healthy, intuitive ways of eating, and they help Sarah address her disordered eating. The book surrounds the protagonist with a determined support system and does not place blame in a simplistic way. Gerber constructs a straightforward structure: A health problem becomes known, a solution is proposed, and then it works. Although real life is rarely so neat and tidy, the book supplies a positive representation of constructive approaches to an often misunderstood condition. Authentic basketball scenes and Sarah’s developing crush on Benny, her health class partner who later becomes her teammate in a cooking competition, round out the story. Sarah is presumed White; Benny is Persian.
Pragmatic and valuable. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-18600-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
A fun, fierce heroine fights architectural ableism with the powers of friendship and capitalism.
A 12-year-old athlete needs new wheels to practice riskier moves in wheelchair motocross.
Emmie’s a daredevil, just like her dad used to be, though her ratty old wheelchair isn’t really up to the jumps, wheelies, and speed she loves. She annoys school staff by doing tricks around campus despite the inaccessibility of the building and portable classrooms. After a mishap, the school imposes an unwanted classroom aide upon her, and a chain of aide-to-teacher gossip leads the school to hold a fundraiser for Emmie’s dream wheelchair. That would sure be faster than Emmie’s continuing to sell custom wheelchair bags online (lovely details about her customers normalize wheelchair use among everyone from a hunter to a LARPer to an entomologist). One customer, AK_SalmonGranny, becomes Emmie’s sounding board as she wrestles with her school’s patronizing paternalism but scolds her for participating in the fundraiser. Emmie’s journey is a solid-but-pleasurable delivery vehicle for any number of Very Important Messages. Emmie is angered by inaccessible architecture and enraged by inspirational glurge. Her coming-of-age, during which she bizarrely learns that as a child from a working-class home whose insurance won’t cover a new wheelchair for some years she apparently shouldn’t accept help buying a new one, is ill-suited to a tale that’s otherwise openly didactic about the social model of disability. Whiteness is situated as the default; contextual clues point to racial diversity in the supporting cast.
A fun, fierce heroine fights architectural ableism with the powers of friendship and capitalism. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-38865-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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