Something to Say
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the author of A Good Kind of Trouble, a Walter Dean Myers Honor Book, comes another unforgettable story about finding
your voice—and finding your people. Perfect for fans of Sharon Draper, Meg
Medina, and Jason Reynolds.
Eleven-year-old Jenae doesn’t have any friends—and she’s
just fine with that. She’s so good at being invisible in school, it’s almost
like she has a superpower, like her idol, Astrid Dane. At home, Jenae has
plenty of company, like her no-nonsense mama; her older brother, Malcolm, who
is home from college after a basketball injury; and her beloved grandpa, Gee.
Then a new student shows up at school—a boy named Aubrey
with fiery red hair and a smile that won’t quit. Jenae can’t figure out why he
keeps popping up everywhere she goes. The more she tries to push him away, the
more he seems determined to be her friend. Despite herself, Jenae starts
getting used to having him around.
But when the two are paired up for a class debate about the
proposed name change for their school, Jenae knows this new friendship has an
expiration date. Aubrey is desperate to win and earn a coveted spot on the
debate team.
There’s just one problem: Jenae would do almost anything to avoid
speaking up in front of an audience—including risking the first real friendship
she’s ever had.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ultra-introvert Jenae, 11, lives in Los Angeles with her mother, her older brother (home from college with a basketball injury), and her grandfather. On her first day at John Wayne Junior High, Jenae learns of a growing conflict over her school's name, her English teacher details a semester of public speaking, and obnoxious new kid Aubrey Banks reveals that both kids are fans of a popular YouTuber. Though Jenae doesn't often make friends, believing that her feelings affect others' actions (she blames herself for her brother's accident and her father's leaving), she reluctantly lets Aubrey in. When the first speech looms, however, Jenae is willing to lose the friendship and lie to her family to avoid it. Though the girl's aversion to public speaking ends rather abruptly, her insecurities and feelings of invisibility are age appropriate and well developed. Numerous subplots the school name-change debate, Jenae's grandfather's deteriorating health, and her brother's worrisome sulking help lead Ram e's (A Good Kind of Trouble) story to a laudable culmination. Indigo's digital character sketches appear throughout. Ages 8 12.
