Posted

full disclosure, I read this for a parent/teen book club and all the parents and kids liked it?! Or at least felt socially pressured to say they liked it?

It's dumb though, especially since it's supposedly a book about ~the power of words~ but it's full of little fat-shaming/body-shaming and racist microaggressions. like is this a book about white people who are obsessed with finding their ~tribe~, yes it is. is this a book where everyone's cellphones get banned because a sassy black girl sent a mean text message, yes it is. is this a book where the protagonist can't be bothered to learn how to pronounce his Indian friend's first name, and that's hilarious? yes it is.

is this a book where a schoolwide bullying problem is largely solved by a bicycle race?
you bet.

if you're looking for a message book about ~bullying~ you can do better. Even Wonder is better.