Have you ever considered being the person to spread awareness for an important cause at school? Like THE person? The ONLY person? If your answer is yes, I salute you. If your answer is no, well, that was Shayla’s initial reaction too… let me take you there.
A Good Kind of Trouble, written by Lisa Moore Ramee, is an excellent book. The protagonist, Shayla, is a 7th grade girl. She’s ready for an ideal middle school year, with her 2 best friends, Julia (she’s Japanese-American) and Isabella (she’s Puerto Rican) they are “The United Nations.” (as they refer to themselves throughout the book). They’ve been best friends since sometime in elementary school and things seem to be going pretty well for them! Except, middle school is full of surprises, of course. Fairly early on into the story, Julia starts to distance herself from Shayla and Isabella and hang out with girls from her Asian-only basketball team. This bothers Shayla, but she doesn’t know how to explain the hurt feeling of potentially being replaced.
What else isn’t going well? Boy problems, of course. Shayla’s convinced this is going to be the year she gets a boyfriend, but things don’t seem to be going great with the guy she’s head over heels for, Jace. (According to her friends.)
So aside from the average middle school friend drama and boy drama, what separates this story from others? Why should you read it? Well, one of the major themes is race. If you aren’t familiar with the book, the main character Shayla is black and people won’t stop telling her she’s not black enough. People act like everything she does would lead them to believe she isn’t black enough or she intentionally hangs out with other people. I won’t continue with the plot, as that would likely include spoilers, but if you’d like to see how an important decision could change her experience, I definitely recommend reading this book. Also, if you like the coming of age, fun, middle school experience books, AND enjoy reading books where race gets spoken about, I definitely recommend reading A Good Kind of Trouble. A Good Kind of Trouble is truly a wonderful book and includes topics that should be spoken about and better acknowledged. Additionally, I loved seeing how the plot was driven by characters and their personal beliefs and how every decision had an impact on other characters and didn’t feel randomly thrown in. I’d rate this book 10/10, easily it’s one of my favorite books.
Hi Naomi! I haven't read "A Good Kind of Trouble" yet, but after reading your review, I'm definitely interested. The middle school experience sounds entertaining, and the overall theme regarding race is very important so I'm sure I'll love this book!
ReplyDeleteI read A Good Kind of Trouble last year, and I also really liked it. I agree that the book is full of fun and that the messages about race are powerful. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteI think you gave a very well thought out summary of the book. I especially like the opening hook that emphasizes THE and ONLY.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I was the same way as Julia and Shayla not too long ago (until I learned these were dumb thoughts), getting into a boys-only clique and fearing being replaced by another boy (which didn’t turn out too well for me). However, race was never really an issue for me, except for that one time in 7th grade when someone slurred me. Can you clarify what “not black enough” means? I’m not sure if it means that Shayla doesn’t follow the stereotype of what Black people are supposed to act like or something else? My dad tells me that the phrase “a good kind of trouble” comes from the Georgian politician and Civil Rights activist John Lewis, who was very important in fighting against racial segregation in the United States. I’d really like to read this book. Thanks for recommending it!
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