Social issues in middle grade fiction

Some stories are hard to tell.  Here are two that must have started in a place where it was hard to tell these stories.  They are voices we haven't heard very often, but these story tellers told them brilliantly.

The first one is called "Maybe He Likes You" by Barbara Dee.  It's about 12 year old Mila who is in 7th grade and lives with her mom and her little sister.  Her dad is more absent than Mila would like.  Mila has a tight group of friends that she hangs with.  They are celebrating her friend Omi's birthday on the playground and have a group hug, when the boys from the basketball team come and ask to join the group hug.  Mila feels really uncomfortable  but tries to be a good sport because her friend Zara likes one of the boys and Mila doesn't want to make a scene.  But then the boys seem to keep wanting to touch her and keep making excuses about how and why it happens.  Mila continues to feel uncomfortable about it and the boys keep making excuses that get weirder and more lame.  Mila tries to tell a lot of different people, the boys themselves, the basketball coach, the school guidance counselor, the band teacher, her friends, even her mom and each them make excuses about Mila over reacting or the boys being boys.  In this era of #metoo, this is an incredibly important conversation to have with students.  This book belongs in every single library that serves middle grade and high school kids.

Here's Colby Sharp's take on the book.

This second one is called Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt.  It's about two girls who are trying to find their way in the world.  Kate is a cheerleader and her mom is determined that Kate follow in her footsteps as cheer captain.  Tam is an athlete who plays volleyball as well as other sports.  They both have strong family support and although they didn't really know each other,  as this new school year starts, it turns out, they have almost all their classes together and it's hard to avoid each other.  They find that they enjoy each other's company a lot more than they thought they would, especially since at first glance, they don't have that much in common.  What's great about this book is the way that it's told in different voices-Tam's voice, Kate's voice, their mother's voices, Kate's sister's voice, family friends, and a really interesting kind of a chorus voice.  The entire book is written in verse, which in addition to having a lovely rhythm, makes the book go fast, which will make it appealing to lots of kids.  What's also great about this story is how vividly it describes what it feels like to fall in love for the first time.  Not only the really great parts of falling in love, but also the really terrible, nagging self-doubt parts of love.  I thought this book was terrific.  This should definitely find a place in every middle and high school library.