Tiny Dancer and I hit another homerun with Something to Say by Lisa Moore Ramee! Something to Say makes you listen to the nuances of growing up, staying in your comfort zone and living with anxiety. We both loved this book!
Meet Janae
Janae is a too-sweet-for-words middle schooler. She follows her mother’s rules, she’s great to her live-in grandfather and is extremely responsible and school and at home. A parenting dream, amirite?
But beneath the surface, Janae works oh-so-hard to stay invisible at school. She is beyond uncomfortable being called on and has very, very few friends. It’s crushing to even read and listen to because I think we can just feel how hard this must be for her.
Enter Next Level Anxiety
Janae feels like her thoughts have caused true fallout for her family. She believes she caused her parents’ divorce. She feels like she caused an injury to her athlete brother. Her negative thoughts become big problems and she can’t stop ruminating about it.
Oh, this sweet girl, right?!
Meet Aubrey
Aubrey (male) is a new transplant from Chicago and it seems that fate has aligned Janae and Aubrey’s schedules. Where one goes, the other seems to be. Anxiety is Janae’s bestie, so she tries her best to push Aubrey away. See, if no one gets close to her, nothing bad can happen to them. Get it?
Aubrey is full of life, easy to smile and has a heart-thumping passion to make the speech team. When Aubrey and Janae are paired together for a school project – one that will tell the fate of Aubrey making the speech team – Janae is two deep breaths from meltdown mode.
The Problem?
For one: Janae actually enjoys spending time with Aubrey. She really likes him as a person. She doesn’t want to impede his chances for making the speech team, but she also can’t imagine doing this school project with anyone else.
For two: the speech issue they are assigned hits close to home. Their current school is named after John Wayne – an individual who wasn’t too keen on diversity. The proposed school name would be named after Sylvia Mendez – a change-maker Janae can really get behind.
Can Janae find her voice when the issue truly matters? Can Janae live with and walk alongside anxiety?
This was SUCH a great book because both Tiny Dancer and I understand Janae deeply. What an incredible look at new friendships and learning your own coping strategies. 💪🏻