Same Page by Elly Swartz
on January 14, 2025
ISBN: 0593705602
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship, Realistic Fiction
Format: Middle Grade Fiction
Goodreads

Same Page by Elly Swartz follows the plucky Bess Stein as she navigates working with people who have different, and often incorrect, opinions. When Bess meets the new kid, and fellow horse lover, June, the two become fast friends and decide to run for student council together. One of their first initiatives as president and vice president is to install a book vending machine, but Bess is deeply hurt when half of the books she and the school’s librarian select are removed due to a parent complaint. Bess and June’s new friendship is put to the test when Bess discovers that June’s mom, who is described as “super traditional”, is the parent fighting to keep the books out of the vending machine. Bess’s anger grows when her attempts to get June to stand up to her mother only push June away, so she funnels all of her energy into a group for Book Warriors (students and adults) who want to fight to change the hearts and minds of the people in town who don’t understand the value of reading challenging books. Bess’s attempts are not directly successful, and in the end the school board didn’t return all of the books to the vending machine, but the fight for the freedom to read never ends.

Though the messages of the story are clear (children should have the freedom to read, you have to fight for what you believe in, but you have to be respectful if you want to be heard), several choices, probably to make the story more age appropriate, unfortunately weaken those messages. The decision to have the challenged books be in a vending machine instead of the library lessened the impact of their removal. The reasons given by parents and community members who want the books removed are also vague. The author side-steps homophobia or racism and instead focuses on these people believing children shouldn’t read things that make them “feel bad”. Lastly, Bess’s inability to empathize with June for being scared of her mother, who frequently screams and is very hard on June, might alienate timid readers.

Despite these issues, there are many things in the story that young readers will be attracted to. Bess is full of spunk, her ideas on getting the books back are realistic, and her frequent meditation “May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe. May I be peaceful. May I be strong.” could be as grounding for the readers as it is for Bess. This might not be a necessary purchase, as there are many “book ban books” available, but it would be enjoyed by eager chapter book readers who are interested in middle grade “issue books”, but aren’t ready for the heavier topics.

Reviewed by Ivy Burns, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth