A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée, Lisa Ramee
Published by Balzer + Bray on March 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062836684
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Shayla is starting 7th grade with her 2 really good friends that she has had forever. They are all adjusting to crushes and cliques that go along with middle school. On top of that, Shayla doesn’t want to cause any trouble, she wants to do the right thing and follow the rules. But her sister, Hana, wants her to be more outspoken and join the Black Lives Matter movement with her. But Shayla isn’t sure that is something she wants to do. The friendship between the 3 girls was really well done. It was real and they seemed to experience things that happen in middle school, the cliques, crushes and the stereotyping of people from different back grounds. What set this book apart though is the Black Lives Matter piece. The explanations by the characters in the book of what it is about was well done and will give students reading this a basic understanding of what it is about. There were some moments that seemed a bit out of character- like when Shayla threatens to fight some other girls- but this is still a very good book.

Ages: 10 and up. Mary Lehmer, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME