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Apr 11, 2019NADINE KEELS rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Shayla's voice carries this story with humor, heart, and the authenticity of an imperfect but principled girl in progress. Even with this middle grade novel's social justice theme, it's just as much a mix of universal growing pains—adolescents facing the newness, excitement, and awkwardness of an awkward stage. It's the last third of the novel, though, that pulled me in the most. The depiction of the alarming shame it is when people are more concerned with stopping peaceful protest than with addressing the injustices that led to protest in the first place. The message of the value of human life. And what I may appreciate most about the novel is its nuance. The simple way it illustrates complexities in social and racial relations, and how Shayla's journey isn't just a path of easy, cheesy no-brainers. What she's dealing with isn't all black and white. Pardon the pun. I hope that many, many young readers of all backgrounds will get a hold of this amusing, relatable, timely, and inspiring read.