Project Middle School

July 29, 2019
As this series by actor and activist Milano and author Rigaud (Truly Madly Royally) lifts off, biracial, self-described “future scientist” Hope Roberts, whose father is a rocket scientist with NASA, begins the sixth grade with considerable angst. She has been accepted into an accelerated school program and, for the first time ever, will be in a different class than her best friend, Sam. The author introduces her manifest STEM/girl-power message straight away, noting that Hope’s bookcase displays multiple science awards alongside her collection of comics starring science powerhouse Galaxy Girl, who shares Hope’s conviction that “girls can do little and big things that can change the world.” As Sam tries out for the school play and gains a posse of new pals, Hope immerses herself in a science club competition. Frustrated at her male teammates’ reluctance to listen to their female counterparts, Hope takes it upon herself to push against the status quo. Animator Keyes’s simple cartoons underline moments of social awkwardness and triumph throughout the novel, which delivers a worthy, if overstated, message about teamwork, friendship, finding a way to use one’s voice effectively, and learning from mistakes. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2019
Aspiring scientist Hope Roberts is starting her first day at JFK Middle School, where her advanced classes will separate her from her best friend, Sam Bowers, for the first time. Though the friends make a pact to keep close, different classes and extracurricular interests forge a distance. After surviving the first week of middle school, Hope joins the science club, which is given the immediate task of preparing for the year's first science competition. Though Hope and her new friend, Camila Rivera, conceive the robotics coding idea for the competition project, the boys mostly dominate the actualization of the project. The girls express their frustration to each other, but they continue on as team players. Hope gets so caught up in trying to prove the boys wrong that her anxiety leads to the destruction of the entire project. Hope's supportive parents offer her the insight she needs to face her mistakes and work through them. A diverse cast is depicted via illustrations and naming convention. Biracial (black/white) Hope is illustrated with brown skin and "big hair" (referred to multiple times, once in tandem with her dog). Sam has pale skin, and Camilla declares Guatemalan heritage. Hope fumbles by stereotyping Camilla as an assumed Spanish speaker; the authors arguably make the same gaffe by casting Señora Lopez, the Spanish teacher, with swaying hoop earrings. Despite a bit of bumpiness, Hope is a likable and inspiring kid who never gives up. (Fiction. 8-12)

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