Title: Malcolm and Me
Author: Robin Farmer
Publisher: SparkPress
Publication date: November 17, 2020
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Summary
Thirteen-year-old Roberta is a poet, growing up during the Watergate Scandal. She goes to a Catholic school where she gets in trouble for calling Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite for having slaves and getting into an argument with her teacher, who uses a racist insult against Roberta. Now, Roberta is questioning religion and the authority figures in her life, who seem to see everything in black and white.
The upcoming writing contest is the only thing keeping Roberta going as her life seems to fall apart around her. That and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which is inspiring her to fight for change. But when the contest is taken away from Roberta, things spin out of control faster than ever.
Review: Malcolm and Me
Thanks to SparkPress and NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book to review! If you’re looking for middle grade books dealing with race, this is an excellent book to pick up. Roberta struggles with a lot of big picture ideas that would spark discussion between kids and parents or teachers. A lot of Roberta’s struggles from the 1970s unfortunately are still relatable to today.
This is one of those books that can work as a window for those that don’t know these experiences, like me. But it also offers representation that still needs work in the middle grade realm of literature. Roberta’s voice was one of the strongest aspects of this book. She’s only 13, but she’s not afraid to stand up for her beliefs and to call people out when their behavior is problematic. We need more people like her in the world.
As a character reader, I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. Not only was Roberta well fleshed out, but we get to see rounded side characters too, especially Roberta’s family. Though she clashes with her mom a lot, there’s a lot of growing that happens there. It felt so realistic and natural, which isn’t always the case in middle grade books.
The story is engaging and the writing overall is really well done. While at times, the story feels a little slow, there are a lot of great reasons to pick this one up. Roberta can be an inspiration to anyone who reads this book.
4/5 stars