Mini Reviews: As Brave As You || Brown Girl Dreaming

As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds

Genre: Middlegrade contemporary fiction

Pages: 410

Publication Date: May 2016

When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires—literally.

Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck and—being a curious kid—Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.

Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?

The Good: This is my first Jason Reynolds book, and I have to confess that I mostly bought it because of the cover. If you look really close, the scene on the cover is actually kind of terrifying. A kid is running away from a creepy old house. But, the bright colors make it not-creepy. I love it.

Jason Reynolds is a strong writer who definitely remembers what it’s like to be a kid. The voice in this novel is spot-on. I loved the narrator, Genie, right away. His curiosity and nerdyness are relatable because—just like me—he’s addicted to Googling every random thought that pops into his head. Genie’s older brother, Ernie, is the opposite of Genie. Ernie likes fashion, and being social, and flirting with girls. The brothers make an entertaining pair. Their banter is hilarious.

There is a lot going on in this novel, but mostly it’s about asking questions and confronting problems rather than avoiding them. Ignoring a bad situation usually makes it worse. The characters learn to talk through their problems, apologize for their mistakes, and speak up when something makes them uncomfortable. These are all good lessons for young readers to learn.

The Bad: As Brave As You is a character-driven novel. Most of the tension comes from wondering whether or not Genie will come clean about the mistakes he has made. There isn’t a lot of plot. Since the book is 400+ pages, I wondered if kids would have the attention span to get through it.   

I realize that this is a kids’ book, but I wanted to know more about the adult characters. The adults have a lot of issues with each other. Genie’s parents have marriage issues. His parents don’t get along with his grandparents. There are a lot of family secrets. I understand that it’s realistic for kids to be kept away from adult problems, but that doesn’t work in fiction. Genie tells the reader about the problems, and then they’re magically solved when Genie isn’t around.

The Bottom Line: I liked it. Genie is an easy narrator to love, and I enjoyed reading about his adventures in the country. I will look for more Jason Reynolds books.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Genre: Middlegrade memoir-in-verse

Pages: 368

Publication Date: October 2016

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

The Good: This is my first Jacqueline Woodson novel. I had previously read her picture books and liked them. Since I’m always interested in how authors become authors, I was eager to pick up Woodson’s memoir-in-verse. In this book, she talks about her childhood in New York and South Carolina, and how she discovered her talent for writing poetry.

If you’re worried about the poetry being too “artsy,” you should stop worrying. The poems are straightforward and easy to understand. My favorite poems are the ones that show the struggles Woodson had to overcome. As a kid, her time was divided between racially segregated South Carolina and less-segregated New York. Her beloved uncle went to jail briefly. Her youngest brother spent time in the hospital after eating lead paint. Woodson’s family was Jehovah’s Witnesses, so religion took up most of their time and kept them separate from their neighbors. Despite the challenges, Woodson grows up to become a bestselling and award-winning author. It’s always fun to read stories about people honing their talents and beating the odds.

“I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now.” – Brown Girl Dreaming

The Bad: So . . . unpopular opinion time: I thought this book was boring. The individual poems are good because the author knows how to write, but I don’t think the poems work as a novel-in-verse. Nothing happens. There isn’t much plot. It’s just a collection of poems about a fairly typical 1960s American childhood.

The Bottom Line: It was okay. The author is talented, but I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen.