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  • A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
  • Deborah Stevenson
Ramée, Lisa Moore A Good Kind of Trouble. Balzer + Bray,
2019 [368p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-283668-7 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-283670-0 $9.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-8

Shayla's so allergic to trouble that the very prospect makes her hands itch, but seventh grade seems unwilling to spare her. There are strains in her friendship with Julia and Isabella, known along with Shayla as the United Nations (Shayla is African American, Julia is Asian American, and Isabella is Puerto Rican); the boy she likes likes Isabella, and Shayla's not impressed with the boy who likes her; she's also feeling defensive about her identity, since she's getting razzed because her friends aren't Black and she's unsure about her older sister's activism. Shayla's narration is both sympathetic and acutely realistic: she has authentic preteen blinders about her own bad behavior but is exquisitely sensitive to slights from others, while at the same time she's undergoing sometimes painful emotional and social growth as she begins to let go of her safe, rulebound views. The book reflects thoughtfully on the value of shared ethnic and racial experiences, giving different characters a chance to non-preachily weigh in, and Shayla's growing understanding of contemporary issues of social injustice is perfectly pitched for the book's audience. Along with Draper's Blended (BCCB 11/18), this is a sensitive exploration of contemporary racism and inequity for a readership not ready for Thomas' The Hate U Give (BCCB 3/17). DS [End Page 358]

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