A Good Kind of Trouble

December 15, 2018
Grades 5-8 In her first novel, Ram�e explores the concept that fear can stop you from doing the right thing. Shayla is a shy, bright middle-school student who deals with unwanted advances from boys, racial tensions, academic competition, and finding her own voice. Middle school is quite an adjustment for Shayla and her friends, a diverse trio dubbed the United Nations, but she decides to stand up for the rights of African Americans after a ruling is made in a controversial court case involving the shooting of a black man by a white police officer. Encouraged by her sister and peers, she joins the Black Lives Matter movement and passes out black armbands at school, an act that puts her at odds with her friends, principal, and students of different races. As civil unrest spreads, Shayla must determine whether creating awareness by causing trouble is worth risking her academic standing. This is a solid story for middle-schoolers dealing with issues such as friendship across racial lines, being strong girls, #BLM, #MeToo, civil rights, diversity, and justice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2019
Shayla's goals for her first year of junior high are simple. Attract the attention of the cute guy. Avoid the class bully. Don't make waves. Stay close to her two best friends, Isabella and Julia (with Isabella being Puerto Rican, Julia Japanese American, and Shayla African American, they call themselves the United Nations ). Unfortunately, it would seem that seventh grade has other plans for Shayla, and soon a schoolwide dare game and new social dynamics throw all of her relationships into turmoil. Even as she laments the drama that comes with crushes and miscommunication, Shayla becomes increasingly aware of the Black Lives Matter movement as her Los Angeles community awaits the verdict in a police-shooting case. When the police officer is acquitted, Shayla must decide if she's willing to stir up trouble for a cause she believes in. Shayla's first-person account is honest and relatable as she tries to do the right thing by her peers, her school community, and herself. The protagonist's emotional and civic maturation is believably portrayed, and as her understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement clarifies and deepens, so does the reader's. (While themes of homophobia, cultural appropriation, and sexual harassment are also introduced, they're not as fully explored.) Ram�e's debut novel presents a nuanced view of race, self-discovery, and social justice. eboni njoku

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 14, 2025
Noongar-Yamatji youth advocate Brooke Blurton has teamed up with Bigambul and Wakka Wakka author and academic Melanie Saward (Love Unleashed) for a new YA series, beginning with A Good Kind of Trouble. This encouraging and warm-hearted novel for readers aged 13+ centres on First Nations characters and cultures and will appeal to readers of Angie Thomas, Gary Lonesborough and Jared Thomas. Noongar teenager Jamie Hunter is convinced her life is unremarkable. Between footy training, school and caring for her toddler cousins, the 13-year-old figures she won’t have anything to write about for the diary assignment set by her English teacher. Yet, with each journal entry, Jamie’s life proves far more interesting than she thinks, as she struggles with a crush on her best friend, Loz, who likes Jamie’s popular older brother, Poss. Things become more complicated when a new student, Stella, arrives, and Jamie challenges the school’s racist history curriculum, putting her Perth footy scholarship dream at risk. As a white, non-Indigenous reader, I found A Good Kind of Trouble insightful. Blurton and Saward thoughtfully incorporate Noongar language, reference Jamie’s ‘knowing’, and explore the concept of Women’s Places, alongside sharing knowledge about local sea life. The novel covers a lot of ground, addressing themes such as class, colourism, racism, patriarchy and queerphobia, while also presenting an alternative to the nuclear family. The narrative is generous and non-judgmental, though occasionally didactic. Nonetheless, teenagers, particularly those who relate to Jamie’s experience as the only openly bisexual student at school or share her passion for social justice, will likely find it deeply resonant.

Starred review from December 15, 2018
Twelve-year-old Shayla finds herself in trouble when she wears a Black Lives Matter armband, which violates her school's dress codeIn her first year of junior high, Shayla follows all the rules. And things are going well--though she'd be happy if the boy she has a crush on would notice her. She eats lunch in the same spot every day with her best friends, Isabella, who is Puerto Rican, and Julia, who is Japanese-American. Shayla is African-American, and she's content with their "United Nations" trio. But when some start to question whether she's black enough, Shayla's not sure what that even means. Sure, she's not involved in the Black Lives Matter movement like her older sister, Hana, and she doesn't sit with the black kids at lunch, but why does that matter? But then the United Nations is threatened when Isabella gets her braces off and catches the eye of Shayla's crush and Julia starts hanging out more with her Asian friends. Suddenly, everything is changing--including Shayla herself as concern mounts over cases of police brutality in the news. Realizing that race does matter and that sometimes you have to break the rules, Shayla wears a Black Lives Matter armband. Trouble follows, bringing with it important lessons about friendship and courage. Awkward, endearing, and memorable, Shayla navigates the world of middle school and the troubled world beyond with wit and endless heart.A timely, funny, and unforgettable debut about friendship, facing your fears, and standing up for what's right. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from February 1, 2019

Gr 4-8-Twelve-year-old Shayla is just starting middle school. She and her friends, Isabella and Julia, aka "The United Nations" because of their diverse backgrounds, want to stick together just like they did in elementary school. They soon discover that middle school is different and conflicts with friends and crushes ensue. In the midst of the typical middle school angst, a not guilty VERDICT in a legal case concerning a police officer shooting an African American man is announced and Shayla begins to relate to the Black Lives Matter movement in a way she never has before. Shayla, always trouble-averse, ends up challenging her school's administration when black armbands are banned. She grows through the experience and becomes more comfortable in her own skin. The author does a beautiful job illustrating the pain a family goes through in the wake of such a ruling. Reminiscent in writing style to works by Lauren Myracle and Jason Reynolds, this novel starts by showing Shayla having typical middle school problems, then switches to the very specific problems she faces as a young black girl in America. There is also a powerful subplot concerning Shayla's changing perception of her lab partner, Bernard, an African American boy, who she sees as a bully at the beginning of the novel and slowly comes to see as having been boxed into that role by systemic bias. VERDICT Give this to middle grade readers who aren't yet ready for Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give. Highly recommended.-Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2019
A schoolwide "dare" game and new social dynamics throw all of African American seventh grader Shayla's relationships into turmoil. She also becomes increasingly aware of the Black Lives Matter movement when the officer in a police-shooting case is acquitted. Shayla's first-person account is honest and accessible, her emotional and civic maturation believably portrayed. Ramie's debut novel presents a nuanced view of race, self-discovery, and social justice.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)