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    A Good Kind of Trouble
    A Good Kind of Trouble
    A Good Kind of Trouble
    Audiobook6 hours

    A Good Kind of Trouble

    Written by Lisa Moore Ramée

    Narrated by Imani Parks

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.

    ""Tensions are high over the trial of a police officer who shot an unarmed Black man. When the officer is set free, and Shay goes with her family to a silent protest, she starts to see that some trouble is worth making."" (Publishers Weekly, ""An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List"")

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 12, 2019
    ISBN9780062939241
    Author

    Lisa Moore Ramée

    Lisa Moore Ramée was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Northern California with her husband, daughter, obnoxious cat, and rambunctious (but sweet) dog. She's a devout believer in dreams coming true and is the author of A Good Kind of Trouble, a Walter Dean Myers Honor Book, Something to Say, and MapMaker. You can visit her online at lisamooreramee.com.

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    Reviews for A Good Kind of Trouble

    4.5/5

    146 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book was amazing i think it did a great job at introducing the characters and their skin tone, in some books you will find that they say “ her brown skin” and don’t even mention the white persons skin tone, so I think it was an amazing book and there are many other amazing features

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I Loved it and also BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!!!

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The story of a middle school girl's political awakening during her transition from child to teen. Police shootings of black people in the news, a trial, and the Black Lives Matter movement complicate 12-year-old Shayla's sense of identity as one of the few black kids in her middle school.

      Shayla's understanding of the world puts strain on her relationship with her multiracial group of friends from elementary school.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book is so meaningful! It totally is a book for black girls, and remember stay strong ✊

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It's awesome it's the most grown up book ??? I've read
    • 5/5
      I Loved it it was the best book
      I've read i did not want to finish it
      and wont you to make more
      and you have my word that i will listen to it.
      will you make more books?
      Sadie 8 years old.
    • 5/5
      I liked I because it was showing what you can do as a kid to change roles at school and how it tells people how others aren’t treated very well and what happens in the world.
    • 4/5
      Shayla gets nervous even thinking about trouble, and so she does her best to follow all the rules. But seventh grade brings a lot of complications involving friendships, boys, and the casual racism she feels all around her. Her two best friends and she have been the United Nations (because she's Black, Isabella is Hispanic, and Julia is Asian) since forever, but now it seems that Julia prefers to be with her Asian friends, Isabella is attracting the attention of the boy Shayla likes, and Shayla is feeling disapproval from some of her classmates - and her sister - for not having any Black friends. All of this is framed by the news story she and her family are following about the trial of a cop who shot a Black man. When the cop is found not guilty, Shayla faces her discomfort with getting into trouble and vows to stir up the good kind.This middle grade novel would be a great way to ease younger kiddos into thinking about issues of race. It doesn't sugar-coat anything, but it manages to discuss the issues in a medium-stakes kind of way; think The Hate U Give lite.
    • 5/5
      So nuanced and sensitive, this book successfully takes on issues facing people of all ages. As an adult, I can see all the lessons hidden in every corner of this junior high school story. I'll be recommending this to everyone!
    • 5/5
      12 yo starting junior high, trying to understand and navigate racial tension -- both in her own identity and the wider stages of family and classrooms. Her friendships from elementary school are stressed and changing. Her sister is an activist, highly involved in Black Lives Matter protests. Shayla is more interested in the new world of boys and crushes and in avoiding trouble.

      Things I loved: vivid, believable characters (seriously, always my number 1 draw to a book). Shayla's story feels unique to her and at the same time offers a lot of space for others to empathize. I love Shayla's burgeoning interest in track, her mother's explanations for what is happening with Black Lives Matter, her two best friends from different backgrounds (they refer to themselves as the United Nations) and her new friendships.

      There's a lot in here about jealousy and boys and crushes, so if that isn't your jam, it may not be for you. There's also a ton about not judging people until you know them better and about standing up for yourself and creating community. Spectacular for Tweens -- it's all about figuring out what you care about and how you are going to represent that.
    • 5/5
      diverse children's middlegrade fiction (Black girl deals with 7th grade, and social injustice in California)
      summary: 12 y.o. Black girl deals with middle school, including arguments with her Asian- and Latinx-American BFFs, boys who don't know how to act around girls (and vice versa), other black students who think she's Oreo/stuck up for not hanging out with their crowd, and social injustice/Black Lives Matter in her community and prejudice in her own school.

      This character-driven novel is a bit slow on plot but I don't mind because Shayla feels so genuine. Middle school is not really a time that any of us prefer to revisit, but there is something about seeing it through Shayla's eyes and experiences that make it much more palatable, even if is still often unpleasant (ugh, middle school). The story is more centered on her figuring out how to speak up for herself around her friends and classmates at school, but (unfortunately, these days) there is a point when one just cannot avoid social justice issues, and so some of this story is Shayla learning about the Black Lives Matter movement, learning about the prejudices that affect her and her classmates at her own school, and learning the hard truth that even when there is video evidence that a police officer shot an unarmed person in the back, that officer will likely still be found "not guilty" under current law. This story is "distinguished" in the way that Newbery contenders ought to be, and it's really well done.
    • 5/5
      7th grade Shayla has her two best friends as she starts junior high. Collectively known as the United Nations (Shayla is Black, Isabella is Latinx, and Julia is Asian American), Shayla feels they can face anything together. But then trouble starts—and Shayla does not like trouble. Her older sister is part of protests against a police officer who is standing trial for killing an unarmed Black man who was running away. Her whole family wonders why she doesn't have Black friends. Julia starts ditching them for a new group. Shayla has Bernard the bully for a lab partner. The boy she likes has a crush on Isabella. She becomes resentful and wonders if she really knows anything about anyone, including herself. It's got the true ring of 7th grade dialogue and "drama," but there is an underlying tone of seriousness. When the police officer is acquitted, she's outraged, but discovers that not everyone at school views the outcome the same way. When she decides to wear a black armband like her sister to demonstrate that Black Lives Matter, her principal doesn't hide her disgust and goes after Shayla with a vengeance. I found this to be the perfect novel to begin or continue a discussion about race and equality and justice with 4th graders on up. This is Lisa Moore Ramée's first book, and I can't wait for more of her work to add to our school library.
    • 5/5
      After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity.
    • 3/5
      12-year-old Shayla is a typical middle schooler: crushes on boys, hanging out with best friends Isabella and Julia, doesn't like getting into trouble. But life is not trouble-free for Shayla: Her friendship with Julia is wavering. The Black Lives Matter movement forces Shayla to confront unpleasant truths. And the black community is tense as it awaits the verdict of a police shooting trial. Shayla realizes that standing up for one’s beliefs and what’s right can be “a good kind of trouble.” “The Hate U Give” for upper elementary and middle school. Makes relevant for that age group the issues and significance of Black Lives Matter. Readable, well-paced, informally voiced.
    • 4/5
      A 2020 Lone Star selection, A Good Kind of Trouble reflects on perceptions.Shayla's life changes more than she believes it would. She assumes nothing will change as they enter junior high, believing that with her two best friends, they will remain a threesome. Junior high, however, offers more opportunities and one friend, Julia, really enjoys hanging out with a new group. Isabelle changes her looks when her braces are removed and she's now beautiful. Shayla also dislikes not having classes with her friends and ends up with Bernard, a boy who scares her, as a lab partner. She also gets to know Yolanda with whom she has a couple of classes. Shayla spends so much time upset with Julia for not always being with them that she doesn't appreciate the time Julia is there. Shayla also fails to notice the true Isabelle--Shayla makes assumptions. As I said, this is a novel about perceptions. Shayla's perceptions of her friends do not represent the truth because she isn't honest (or brave) enough to seek out the answers. Her perceptions about Bernard are also unfair, as there is more to him than she's willing to see. Ironically, Shayla gets upset when her sister asks why Shayla doesn't have any black friends, although now she can say she knows Yolanda. Shayla believes color doesn't matter. Her sister, however, believes strongly in the movement, Black Lives Matter. As a trial ends in town for a white officer who killed a black person, and the officer is found not guilty, Shayla recognizes the injustices afforded to black people. She absolutely hates causing trouble, but she feels that wearing an armband in protest brings attention to an unfair situation.This novel speaks more to middle school than other books about the same subject. It's very accessible and appropriate to this age group, especially for those not ready for The Hate U Give or Dear Martin. Her conversations with her friends and the prejudices against them for their cultures are discussed adding a broader comment on people's perceptions of others based on their race or ethnicity. It's a well-written and good book about learned bias and the need to acknowledge the wrongs and fight for what's right.
    • 4/5
      With the backdrop of police shootings and Black Lives Matter protests, Shayla is trying to navigate seventh grade, changing friendships, and her own identity. Her friend group calls themselves the United Nations, but their friendship grows strained as Julia spends more time with the other Asian kids leaving Is and Shayla out. When multiple shooting incidents with the police happen, Shayla and her family go to a silent protest and Shayla gets more involved with the Black Lives Matter movement even daring to get into trouble at school to stand up for what she believes.
    • 4/5
      …it would be nice to have a friend…who shares this awful thing, this feeling like maybe the world sort of hates you because of the color of your skin."I'm allergic to trouble," twelve-year-old Shayla says, and she means it. Following the rules makes life easier, but now in her first year of junior high, it's like the rules are changing. Rules about friends. Rules about boys. And maybe even rules about standing up for what's right in A Good Kind of Trouble by author Lisa Moore Ramée.Shayla's voice carries this story with humor, heart, and the authenticity of an imperfect but principled girl in progress. Even with this middle grade novel's social justice theme, it's just as much a mix of universal growing pains—adolescents facing the newness, excitement, and awkwardness of an awkward stage.It's the last third of the novel, though, that pulled me in the most. The depiction of the alarming shame it is when people are more concerned with stopping peaceful protest than with addressing the injustices that led to protest in the first place. The message of the value of human life.And what I may appreciate most about the novel is its nuance. The simple way it illustrates complexities in social and racial relations, and how Shayla's journey isn't just a path of easy, cheesy no-brainers. What she's dealing with isn't all black and white.Pardon the pun.I hope that many, many young readers of all backgrounds will get a hold of this amusing, relatable, timely, and inspiring read.