Something to Say

After enjoying the authors debut so much, I had to pick up her next book. <br />It follows a young girl who has difficulties finding and expressing her voice and making friends. She’s comfortable being invisible and she’d rather stay that way. But she meets a new kid in her class who’s determined to be her friend and all of a sudden, she’s not so invisible anymore. She’s challenged out of her comfort zone. <br /><br />I always admire and respect how the author incorporates important historical events and themes in her stories and have the kids play some form of a role in that. Their character development forms around it and it intertwines nicely, giving the kids a voice and power. <br /><br />I’ll definitely be reading more of books as and when she releases them.

This was a really sweet story about friendship. I loved Aubrey very much and want to adopt him. I did think this was too long, though.

Richie’s Picks: SOMETHING TO SAY by Lisa Moore Ramée, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, July 2020, 384p., ISBN: 978-0-06-283671-7 <br /><br />“Here’s the big not-so-secret: Kids know what is going on. They also have the capacity to be deeply upset by it. What we might call ‘social justice’ boils down to what kids would call ‘fairness.’ As any parent knows, kids are keenly aware of who gets more cookies or less praise; studies tell us those as young as 15 months understand equitable treatment. Social issues like racism, sexism and classism are complex, but underlying them are simple concepts that kids can relate to and be moved by.”<br />-- Caroline Paul, “Activism isn’t just for adults and teens. We need to teach younger kids to be activists, too.” ideas.ted.com (7/2/18)<br /><br />“With a lot of blacks, there's quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can't all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”<br />-- actor John Wayne, the Playboy interview (1971)<br /><br />“At that time, not only were schools segregated but also other public places as well, such as pools, parks, and movie theaters. Some businesses even had signs that read, ‘NO DOGS OR MEXICANS ALLOWED.’”<br />-- from the picturebook, SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL: SYLVIA MENDEZ &amp; HER FAMILY’S FIGHT FOR DESEGREGATION by Duncan Tonatiuh, Abrams, 2014<br /><br />“I hold my phone out and take a selfie. My first one. I get the vest I made out of the closet and put it on, then sling my clock bag over my shoulder and take some more acting like I’m cool like Astrid and that’s when my door opens.<br />‘Dude,’ Malcolm says. ‘You are seriously tripping.’<br />Right behind Malcolm is Aubrey.<br />No way. No way is this flaming-hot-Cheeto-hair boy up here in my room.<br />‘What are you doing here?’ I ask, letting my bag slide off my shoulder and onto the floor. ‘How do you know where I live?’<br />Aubrey’s so fair, it’s easy to see the blush exploding all over his face like a bucket of red paint got tipped over his head. It makes his freckles stand out even more. ‘I sort of...followed you?’ He glances over at Malcolm and I’m sure Aubrey’s thinking that following a girl home is at the top of things her big brother might beat him up for.”<br /><br />Meet eleven-year-olds Jenae and Aubrey, the duo who have something to say in this easy-to-love tale of friendship and activism. Jenae is a quiet black girl who does her best to stay under the radar. But from the first day of junior high, she somehow attracts the attention of the ever-smiling, enthusiastic, Aubrey. He’s a new kid in town and a fellow aficionado of Jenae’s favorite YouTube show, Astrid Dane. <br /><br />Also, since the beginning of the school year, there has been a community debate over changing the name of their school from John Wayne Junior High to Sylvia Mendez Junior High. Aubrey and Jenae will end up learning a lot about these two historical figures when they pair up and choose the topic of the proposed school name change for an English class debate assignment. The only problem is that Jenae hates public speaking. She has no intention of standing up in front of the class. She comes up with a scheme to ditch school that day by deceiving both of her divorced parents, despite knowing that it will betray Aubrey, her one friend.<br /><br />Over the years, the composition of the southern California community that named the school after John Wayne has changed. So has the community’s tolerance for white supremacists. Jenae’s grandfather has told her how their southern California community was once all white, but when a black movie star moved in, white flight gave him the opportunity to purchase the spiffy old mansion that Jenae and her mom share with him.<br /><br />Jenae’s brother had been away at college until a serious knee injury ended his basketball career. Now, after surgery, Malcolm is convalescing at home, supposedly figuring out an alternate plan. <br /><br />When their grandfather Gee suffers a severe stroke and stops speaking, Jenae rises to the occasion, devising ways to help him begin to recover. It’s a challenge, but the pair figure out some workable communication strategies.<br /><br />Jenae and Aubrey are wonderful characters. It’s delightful to see them learning to express their needs to one another.<br /><br />Given current events, the activist-driven community debate over the name of the school will make this a perfectly timed read for the summer or the beginning of the new school year.<br /><br />Richie Partington, MLIS<br />Richie's Picks <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://richiespicks.pbworks.com">http://richiespicks.pbworks.com</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/">https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/</a><br />[email protected] <br />

For such a short middle grade novel, this one addressed several deep topics. Eleven-year-old Jenae thinks she possesses the power to do things to others without even touching them. She is certain she’s the reason her brother is injured, the reason her grandfather is ill, and she’s even sure her powers will allow her to manipulate her teacher into not giving an assignment she hates. But ultimately, the story isn’t really about a magical gift at all. It’s a story of family love and devotion, a story of fear and vulnerability, and a story that encourages the reader to look at all sides of an issue before holding so tightly to only one opinion. I adore Jenae’s friend, Aubrey. He’s this sweet, devoted, and yet awkward new kid who has latched onto Jenae. He is doing everything in his power to be kind, supportive, and inclusive. But Jenae won’t have it. Many young readers will identify with her fear of being truly seen — and the fear of rejection. And personally, as a performer who has suffered from stage fright more times than I care to admit, Lisa Moore Ramée nailed the emotional and physical exhaustion of confronting those horrific situations. My thanks to Libro.fm for providing me this audiobook so that I could review it on my blog and on Goodreads.<br /><br />For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at <a href="https://millermemo.com" rel="nofollow noopener">The Miller Memo</a>!

This book has some charming elements, but ultimately fell flat for me. I think that if it had been shorter, I would have liked it more, because I enjoyed the tension in the narrative, the interesting characters, the portrayal of dealing with a grandparent's aging, and the unusually nuanced exploration of renaming a school. However, the book began to drag on, and the main character's poor choices were hard to endure for such a long period of time. She never faces significant consequences for meddling in her brother's love life, and even though her anxiety about public speaking is understandable, her unkindness to her friend and project partner was hard to take.<br /><br />What bothered me the most about this book is a bit of a spoiler. It doesn't give away the plot, but it relates to a significant part of Jenae's character arc, so I'm giving advance warning and hiding the detail in case someone wants to be completely surprised. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="45f28842-f6aa-40de-8c7c-f2633f83d75b" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="45f28842-f6aa-40de-8c7c-f2633f83d75b">Janae begins the book entrenched in magical thinking, convinced that she is responsible for her brother's college sports injury just because she missed him and wanted him to come home. She also believes that she is personally responsible for other, even more traumatic issues in her family. I assumed that over the course of the book, she would learn that this was untrue, but instead, she continues believing that her thoughts impact the events around her.<br /><br />Her magical thinking could have catalyzed significant character growth. In a different version of this story, she could have faced an honest reckoning with the fact that she can't control the world around her, and needs to live with uncertainty and grief instead of trying to control her feelings through self-blame. However, none of that ever happened. She continues to believe in magical thinking, and this makes her character arc far less satisfying. It also sends a problematic message to readers with similar anxiety issues. This book does not resolve the issue of self-blame, but sends the message that it is okay for someone to feel exaggerated, irrational personal responsibility for events that are out of their control.</label><br /><br />I am sure that the author did not mean to send a problematic message to her readers, but I found this storytelling decision very odd, because it undercut Jenae's character growth and assumes that all readers have the ability to discern that this is just a quirk of hers, and not something that they should imitate. Kids who have similar anxiety issues may take the wrong message away from this, and even if they don't, the book certainly does not suggest an appropriate response or healthy coping strategies.

Very good messages here about what it means to be a friend, with a little social activism on the side. The John Wayne vs. Sylvia Mendez debate was very well done. I'm glad to see Sylvia Mendez getting some more mainstream mentions. If students are interested in reading more about her after they finish this book, I recommend <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/9806277.Sylvia___Aki" title="Sylvia &amp; Aki by Winifred Conkling" rel="noopener">Sylvia &amp; Aki</a>. Recommended for grades 4 &amp; up.<br /><br />eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

cute! I do think this dragged on a bit but I really enjoyed the growth of the friendship between Aubrey and Jenae.

After reading A Good Kind of Trouble, I was excited to pick up Something to Say, since they're by the same Author. And I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed! I really related to Jenae and her struggles with public speaking and (what I consider to be) social anxiety. Her love for the (fictional) cartoon Astrid Dane made me jealous that it wasn't a real show that I could watch. Her struggles and the mistakes that she makes during the book felt very real for a girl her age. My favorite thing about the book was probably the character of Aubrey. His bright personality and exuberant attitude made him easily the most enjoyable part of the book. I also think this book could help start some important conversations. In the book the school that Jenae and Aubrey attend is up for a proposed name change. The Author did a wonderful job covering this topic, and I found it particularly timely considering all the things that have happened in 2020.<br />⚠️Spoilers for Something to Say⚠️<br />Now to get into a spoilery territory. This book took me a bit to get through, because of some stuff that happens in it. The Grandpa in the book (Gee) ends up suffering from a stroke, which was hard for me to read. Strokes/seizures tend to be a sensitive topic for me. As soon as the Grandpa started acting slightly off, I knew what was going to happen. I'm only mentioning this, because I'm proud of myself for being able to read it without getting triggered like I normally would. I'm glad that I was able to, since I ended up really enjoying the book. <br /><br />⚠️End of spoilers ⚠️<br /><br />I plan on keeping an eye on this Author, and will most likely pick up anything else she writes. 5/5 stars!

I thought this was a great middle-grade novel that I still fully enjoyed as an adult. The main character really spoke to me, as another person who feels like they might *literally* die if forced to speak in front of a group, and it has lots of other timely themes to it today that I think will resonate with kids.

4.5 stars