A Juvenile Fiction Duo With Shero Protagonists

A Juvenile Fiction Duo With Shero Protagonists

Quit It
"Nobody is ever ready for the summer to end. But for a kid
newly diagnosed with Tourette, it can make you nauseous: you worry
about sitting still, disturbing the class, annoying your teachers, and
a million other possible humiliating moments...To be honest, nothing
was ever as horrible--not a test or a shot or one of Clementine's
boring orchastra concerts--as my imagination anticipated it would be.
I prayed that going back to school would be like that, awful to think
about but not so bad once it happened."
When you're twelve it's scary to be different from your peers in
a way that might result in teasing, shunning, or even bullying. You'd
do anything to hide your difference. But what if that's impossible?
That's the bind Carrie, protagonist of Marcia Byalick's Quit It,
finds herself in. Her tics started emerging at the end of sixth
grade. Medicines don't help.
Carrie's parents aren't all that supportive. They seem annoyed
by and impatient with her tics. But they go out of their way to
remain in denial--acting as though nothing is wrong.
So what can a preteen do to learn to live with a difference
people don't seem to understand, one she may never grow out of?
Read the book and see.

Maybe He Just Likes You
"'Okay, that was weird,' I said, brushing boy molecules off my
sweater.
'Oh, Mila, 'don't be such a baby,' Zara said. 'They were just
being friendly.'"
It's happened to me. Maybe it's happened to you. A guy starts
paying unwanted attention. It's not toward the deep end of the
harassment continuum. But it's unwanted and boundary violating. He
won't take no for an answer. But if you tell people, rather than
helping you work out a solution, they gaslight you. You're imagining
things. Be nice to the poor guy. He's actually kinda cute, sweet...
Sadly, as we see in Barbara Dee's Maybe He Just Likes You, this
can start quite early in life. Mila, Dee's protagonist, is in seventh
grade. A group of basketball players begins making advances--
touching, comments--and won't quit. She has to try to avoid them all
over school. The bus ride home is torture.
But where can Mila go for help? Her friends tell her to grow
up. It's only harmless flirting. A guidance counselor is clueless.
The assistant principal also coaches the boys' basketball team.
There's also financial stress at Mila's home. Her divorced dad
isn't forthcoming with child support. Things might get worse. Her
mom is having trouble with a new boss.
Maybe He Just Likes You is a must acquire for public and school
libraries. It can help girls in similar situations see that there can
be a light at the end of the tunnel. It can help their peers realize
that what's passed off as harmless flirting sometimes is anything but.
But you don't have to take my word for this. Kimberly Brubaker
Bradley (Recall we recently looked at her Fighting Words?) considers
Maybe He Just Likes You to be "An important topic addresses in an age-
appropriate way."
On a purrrsonal note, this week has been quite a change from the
fairly languid summer. School is on. My job in dining is going
fine. The first day was exhausting where I was out of shape from oh,
snap, pandemic. I was making rounds sanitizing. At the end of the
shift all the wood chairs had to be put upside down on the tables.
Plus mask wearing while working in a hot place was a challenge. But
by my next shift it was easier. Higher Education and the Law is
cool. I'm really psyched about the paper I'll be writing this
weekend. I have to write about a constitutional amendment that I
believe has relevance to higher education. I'm going to write about
the second amendment in the context of school shootings. I'm
continuing to see friends I haven't seen in ages. Life is good, if a
bit hectic (Jules)
She is going to do awesome again this semester. (Tobago)
A great big shout goes out to everyone embarking on a new semester and
their companion animals.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway




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