When her school counselor offers her a place in a mentoring program, Jade is hesitant, but when she learns there's a scholarship involved, she's all in. Jade isn't quite sure what to think of Maxine who misses their first meeting. Is she serious about this? Is Jade just some kind of project to her?
Plus, a lot of the meetings seem to be about eating healthy and dating. Jade wants some mentoring she can really use--like how to make a budget or start a business.
Jade has self-respect and confidence in her art, but it seems like the world tries to tear her apart every day, and she has to put the pieces back together each night. Despite her belief that her community is good and that she has things to offer, no one else seems to think so. That's the mentoring lesson she needs most of all--how to not give up on people and fold in on yourself when relationships get difficult.
This is a great book by Renee Watson in the vein of The Hate U Give but with gentler language that makes it good for middle school readers. Seeing subtle acts of racism through Jade's eyes will help readers become more self-aware. I also love that Jade's neighborhood is poor, but it's not all bad. She has real friends and a sense of community there, and the local public school may not have as many electives as Jade's private school, but when an incidence of police brutality strikes close to home, the public school handles the situation by giving students a voice.
No comments:
Post a Comment