#barbara dee

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee is a superb, readable, well-written story about bullying and harassment—specifically gendered harassment, the kind that groups of young teenage boys do to girls. When the boys in the band first start messing with Mila, she thinks she's overreacting with how badly it makes her feel. But when it keeps happening, she doesn't know what to do, and her friends, teachers, and even the guidance counselor don't seem to help. It feels like whenever she tries to defend herself, she just ends up getting in trouble. So…now what?

I'm a huge fan of middle-grade and YA books that talk about issues that adults are uncomfortable to admit are relevant and necessary to those audiences. This book was intensely familiar to me, and I think it will be to just about everyone. In 7th grade, I actually got in trouble for bullying. I was confused by it. For years, he and his friends had been harassing and bothering my friends and I. Adults kept telling us "maybe they just like you" or "that's just how boys are" or "just ignore them." Since I couldn't ignore them, I internalized it instead, and started giving them their energy back. But now, he was so upset, he'd gone to the guidance counselor. I realized three things: One, that what I was doing wasn't ok. Two, if it wasn't ok now, it wasn't ok when they did it to us. And three, that unlike when we had told adults, when /he/ had told an adult, they had believed him, and there were actually consequences.

The gendered politics of bullying and harassment are a huge problem. From a friend being persistently cyberbullied to my 6th grade obsession with hiding my body under the baggiest clothes I could find, the internalized shame and fear that girls have to deal with is unacceptable. Dee's book is massively important as well as compelling and well-written. It should be in every library and on every young kid's bookshelf. It covers what isn't ok, what it feels like to go through it, shows how to handle it, and will empower people dealing with it—as well as the young boys feeling like it's ok to do it—to challenge and speak out against it.

LET'S PUT ON A SHOW: six novels about playing Shakespeare!

(Pictured: Romeo and Juliet Together (And Alive!) At Last; Foolish Hearts; King of Shadows; Star-Crossed; Hag-Seed; Station Eleven)

Middle schoolers need Pride Month too. Here are LCPL Assistant Librarian Meagan’s recommendations for great LGBTQ+ reads!

[ID: Pink background with illustrations of rainbow sunglasses, a person holding a pride flag, and a group of three people with a rainbow heart arranged around book covers for books reviewed below. Text reads Read with Pride. June is Pride Month. Celebrate it. Suggestions made by LCPL Youth Librarians. /ID]

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee A.R Level – 4.3, 7 points Lexile – 630, 14 points

Mattie was not invited to a popular girl's Halloween party. Her well-meaning friends convinced her to sneak in anyway. When Mattie meets Gemma, a smart and pretty British girl, she must try to navigate and understand her new growing feelings for Gemma as they are cast in the lead roles of Romeo and Juliet.

With a hint of Romeo and Juliet in the storyline, this is a sweet and relatable story for middle school situations as Mattie struggles with getting over an ex-crush, not being invited to a popular girl's party, and her new growing feelings for her co-star Gemma.

OKAY SO 

CUTE SAPPHIC BOOKS!!!!

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins is the latest one I read and it’s this girl who goes to Scotland boarding school after a bad break up and her ROOMMATE is a PRINCESS and it’s enemies to allies to friends to lovers and it made me giddy to read. (bi girl narration and lesbian love interest) 

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli follows a girl who is bi and her best friend, Simon (yes, that Simon) just got a boyfriend and now she is struggling with her feelings for her other’s friend’s newly ex girlfriend. She’s also navigating her senior year of high school and her love of drawing and drumming. (bi girl protagonist and love interest) 

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jayne Robin Brown is about a lesbian who goes back into the closet as her dad is worried about her safety (I think) when they move to Georgia. This is fine until she meets Mary Carlson, who she makes a connection with, and might also be interested in her. I don’t remember much about this book, but it made me happy and there were lots of lines that made me giggle and I thought it handled Christianity well. (lesbian protag and love interest, if I recall correctly) 

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee is a middle school book, with a girl who is realizing she is bi when she meets the new girl in her class and is cast as the Romeo to her Juliet. Very cute and super age appropriate. (Bi mc) 

Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee does have a cute love story at the center, but it’s also a superhero story and a government conspiracy. There’s secret identities, and bonding and accidental confessions. It’s so cute and I’m dying to read the rest, which follow the other characters after the book takes place. (bi mc) 

Bonus 

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray has many major characters, three are queer. Sousie is bisexual, Jennifer is a lesbian, and Petra is trans. It’s more focused on friendship and overthrowing the patriarchy, but the rep is quite lovely and it’s one of my favorite book. It’s Lord of the Flies with girls and modern day and happier.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a mlm romcom book and there is my favorite bi crisis is in this book and the First Son of the US falls in love with the Prince of England and it’s enemies to forced friends to best friends to friends with benefits to madly in love. (bi guy mc and gay love interest) 

On my tbr: 

The Princess and the Faingirl  by Ashley Poston 

Style by Chelsea M. Cameron 

George by Alex Gino is about a trans-girl in 4th grade who wants to play Charlotte in the school play so everyone will notice that she’s a girl.  It’s a simply written story, I read it in about 3 hours (and I’m a very slow reader).  I cried through several pages of it.  The first time was in the early part of the book so it’s not really a spoiler...but George is eating dinner with her mom when she says “Mom” intending to ask what if I’m a girl? but gets nervous and decides against it.  Her mom then says something along the lines of “you’ll always be my son, I’ll love you no matter what, even when you’re an old man,” which discourages George even further.  She decides not to say anything and changes the subject. ((This broke my heart because it was very similar to the first time I tried to come out to my mom, she gave me the ‘I love you, we’ll get through whatever it is. just tell me, I can handle anything except you being a lesbian or (her other fear).’ This conversation feels like it was written by someone who has been there.))  I wish there were a thousand more books with trans children main characters. 4/5 highly recommend for kids, trans people need way more representation for younger audiences

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee is about a girl in middle school who is working though her feelings about a boy she has a crush on while also realizing she has a crush on the new girl in school.  And of course you have to have some Shakespeare thrown in because they’re performing Romeo and Juliet for school.  I will admit, I’m only about 75 pages into it, but I’m excited to see a middle grade book about a bisexual girl.  It’s cute so far and I am enjoying the characters. Currently Reading, not rated yet; tentatively recommended

I’m noticing school plays are a popular backdrop for middle grade lgbt+ books.