Book: A Good Kind Of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

Published March 2019 by Balzer + Bray|368 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what’s right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds.

Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.)

But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what?

Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn’t think that’s for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum.

Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.

I really liked A Good Kind Of Trouble!  There’s a lot of heart in this book, and if you like The Hate U Give or All-American Boys, you’d really like this one.

I really liked Shay, and how scared she was to do the wrong thing but also scared to do the right thing.  It was interesting to me that her hands felt really itchy, whenever she had to face her fears, and I wish it were explored a little more.  It wasn’t, of course.  I don’t know if it’s because it’s middle grade, and there just wasn’t the time to explore it more.  But there were so many other things going on that I didn’t mind it wasn’t explored in depth.

I liked seeing Shay navigate middle school and changing friendships and being a part of the track team.  There are a lot of changes in her life, and she really does open up to new things and new people.  I loved how her parents encouraged her to use her voice instead of ignoring it, even when it would have been easier for them to do the opposite of what they did.  She has a great family, and I wished we saw more of them.

I really came around to Bernard, and he ended up being a great character.  He wasn’t what I thought at all, and I’m glad Shay gave him a chance, and saw he wasn’t as bad as she thought he was.

I wasn’t a big fan of her friend Julia, but I am glad that they worked things out.  Julia did want to fit in, and I can see how she got caught up in that.  I really liked Isabella as well, and she’s so sweet and thoughtful.  All three girls really seem to balance each other out.

A Good Kind Of Trouble is a great middle grade book!  It has some of the issues we see on the news and in YA, so it’s great to have a middle grade book that’s about social justice and standing up for what you believe in.  It’s worth reading!

4 stars.  I really liked A Good Kind Of Trouble, and it’s perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds.