A Good Kind of Trouble

I got it for my granddaughter and she reads and then writes what she got out of her reading.

Lisa Ramee's poignant debut is a pitch perfect contemporary middle grade--reading it threw me back into the high drama of fragmenting friendships, cliques, innocent seventh grade boy problems, and Moms who draw the line at twelve year olds wearing makeup. Ramee nails the fraught nature of standing up and standing out when you're in seventh grade, along with the difficulties of negotiating mixed signals, missed cues, and misinterpretations of other people's behavior. Reading A Good Kind of Trouble, you can't help but be entirely immersed in what it feels like to be 12.But the real beating heart of this novel is Shay's budding awareness of social responsibility and political activism, and her sweet, heartfelt struggles to understand and articulate her feelings, her boundaries, and her needs clearly. As the Black Lives Matter movement gathers steam in her community, Shay is beginning to fully understand some painful realities about the world, and the way those realities can cause stresses in the community and even in the most solid of friendships. This beautiful story is so honest about the frictions and difficulties and hard choices Shay has to make. You'll cry, cheer, and applaud her courage and newfound maturity. I would seriously recommend this book for every middle grade reader and classroom. It's important and timely and hopeful and very, very moving.

The girl in this book is in seventh grade, but at least in my area, sixth graders begin middle school. My oldest granddaughter will be starting this strangest of growing-up experiences next year. Unlike Shayla, the protagonist in Lisa Moore Ramée's debut chapter book, my granddaughter is starting in a new school knowing very few students. I wish her well in navigating this time, hope she will find courage as Shayla did.Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble, so much so that when she's really upset or nervous, inside, her hands itch. She really values following the rules and is looking forward to starting seventh grade with the United Nations (her two best friends from grade school).Soon enough Shay realizes that rules change when kids get older. They want to be liked, girls and boys both. Her two friends are of different backgrounds, Latina and Asian. Shayla is black. Each wants something different and in this story, that means some disagreements, perhaps even friendships broken.Some at school are saying she's not black enough, doesn't mix enough with her black classmates! Different boys like Shayla, but she likes other boys. Sound familiar. Young teens are trying to figure out who they are, and Shay struggles with it all, too. Teachers and the principal also play a part in her life, mostly good, but when it comes to what's really important, Shay does figure out what is most important to her, wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.Shay's older sister Hannah is involved in protests, but at first, as I wrote earlier, Shay really doesn't like breaking rules. She's learned from others, including her coach while doing track. And she's thinking more about what her favorite history teacher is saying, that we have to be ourselves, no matter what.What I loved was reading the thoughts of this marvelous young woman that Lisa Moore Ramée has given us. If you know a young adolescent, you'll see how much they think about life and stuff, over and over again. Ramée has Shayla ending each chapter with a bit of learning, showing her grow and grow until she feels good about what happens, what she does even though it takes lots of courage. For example, Shayla says: "I never knew walking right into trouble would make me feel strong. Maybe it has to be the right type of trouble."It's a wonderful book that's so current, it feels as if Ramée wrote it yesterday. There are the students, the varied teachers, and the protests over another police officer getting off the hook for a shooting. It's about today!

I brought this book for my 12 year old after she finish Sly. And once again this was a hit. She loves the book and it has made it easy for me because I don’t have to force her. She told me she loves this book and wants another similar to it. So now I’m on a hunt because I want to continue to enjoy her reading. I welcome suggestions.

Nice read

My daughter is 10 and is will be starting 5th grade this August, 2022. My daugther is very sweet and has a nice personality but I get on her so much when it comes to practice on her reading. She does not like to do work, read, study.... nothing. I have been very stressed out as a mom trying to encourage her to read and take education seriously. I got on here looking for some books for her to read that I thought she may be interested in. I kept coming across this book for a while but never purchased it because I was scared it would be a waste of money as I have bought so many books in the past from school book fairs and they still sitting up til this day. Anyways, I kept seeing this book on Amazon and good reviews so I said im give it a shot. We received the book and I gave it to my daughter and told her I got her a book she can practice on reading. She gave me this weird look but she said okay. When I tell yall she been reading this book non stop, laughing and running and telling me something funny in the book. All she say is "ma I really love this book" and I swear it made me feel so good! There was this part in the book she was telling me about where it said, "when I see that person passing by I tend to clutch my pearls" or something like that... She just fell out laughing at that part. When I tell yall everyday she picked this book up reading and telling me things from the book I felt so great as a mother.Long story short, buy it for your kids! If it can help my child who dont even like to read or engage in anything educational then that should tell you something. I guess we just have to find things that our kids will enjoy reading verses some thick book thats blah and boring. I plan to order more books from this author. Sorry for making this review long, I just felt the need to share our experience as Im a mom who just wanted to give up.

My granddaughter enjoyed it.

I read the reviews before purchasing this book for my 10 year old daughter. I am glad I did! We enjoy reading together before bed-time. She begs for me to continue on to the next chapter, but I like to keep her guessing so I limit it to 2 chapters a night. Really current and relevant to a pre-teen.

I purchased this book to read to my students. They love the storyline and can relate to it. An excellent buy!

Ok muy bien.Respuesta pronta, excelente servicio

I adored this book. It has everything I want in a middle grade novel. The characters are relatable and believably thirteen, and there is humour and heart. I really related to Shayla's aversion to rule breaking and her anxiety, and I think a lot of kids reading this will too.The author also manages to touch on some potentially difficult issues, but does it in a really natural and organic way that feels right for the story. This is a good story, but it is also an important one.I also loved how culturally specific the author portrayed all the main characters, especially Shayla's best friends Jules and Isabella. Their experienes as Japanese American and Puerto Rican aren't glossed over but are portrayed with sensitivity and humour.An excellent middle grade novel. Can't recommend it enough!

Brought this book for my Granddaughter. She read this book in two days, during the summer holidays. She loved it

Good