Be Real- Reviewing Two Contemporary Realism in Juvenile Fiction
Moonwalking- Zetta Elliott & Lyn Miller-Lachman
Moonwalking is a novel in verse told through the perspective of two boys who, despite their outward differences, become friends over their love of art. This book tackles many themes such as mental illness, racial tension and prejudice, neurodivergence, and cultural identity.
I found both characters to be pretty well rounded in terms of how they are potrayed. J.J, a Polish American who has to move from long island to brooklyn after his father is blacklisted after the air traffick controller strike of 1981, is obsessed with music particularly The Clash. Though he is described and potrayed as atypical/neurodivergent, I appreciated that Elliott didn't go the stereotypical route of making the autistic kid obsessed with math or science. I feel that this is a more modern stereotype that has developed from the popularity of shows like The Big Bang Theory or Young Sheldon. In fact, I can't recall in instance in recent media where an atypical person was shown to have the specific interest of rock and roll music.
Pierre "Pie" Valez, is the other main character. A puerto rican/african american boy living in brooklyn who loves math and history but also has a real passion for art, particularly graffiti. This also feels anti-stereotypical without diverging from realism.
Aesthetically, I liked that JJ's poems were printed on gray paper and Pie's are on normal book paper. Novels in verse that are told from dual perspectives can be hard to keep track of. So I liked that Eliott and the publisher went the extra step to differentiate the points of view for the reader's sake.
The setting of the book is the only aspect that has its drawbacks for me. Obviously, it takes place in Brooklyn New York. I appreciated the perspective shift of someone like Pie who grew up in the city and in lower income versus JJ who was born and raised in the suburbs and is now more like a fish out of water. Of course JJ loves all things punk rock and Pie craves that freedom of expression through art. New York seems like the natural choice for this as it does have this inherant aura to it that screams punk rock and freedom of expression. However, the book also takes places in the 1980's. The 80's saw the rise of both punk rock music and graffiti art and so that context makes sense. But there are a lot of references to an 80's aesthetic that is probably not familiar to the intended audience. And for this reason I don't know that I can truly consider it a contemporary read.
Elliott's tone and inclusion of important topics is, however, very successful. The tone is definitely more serious and tense, most likely more apt for the older end of this age group (11-14). But I found it both honest and refreshing that the areas of social issues were not solved or tied up nicely by the end of the book. Unfortunately, that's what makes this book so realistic. Two young boys don't solve racial prejudice or poverty by the end of the book just so it can have a happy ending.
Overall, I would consider this a strong choice for a children's contemporary realism read. However, it would be more successful among more mature readers and has the minor drawback of taking place in a time period that not many children are familiar with, if at all.
Merci Suarez Changes Gears- Meg Medina
Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a wonderful coming of age story of a young cuban-american girl who learns to accept the fact that change is inevitable, and can also be a good thing.
This book includes themes such as: social/economic heierachies, aging of grandparents, lack of and desire for indepence, and the overall growing pains of leaving your childhood behind as you begin early adolescence.
Medina very much succeeds in her creation of the main character of Merci Suarez. I found Merci to be not only very relatable but also instantly admirable. Merci is reminiscent to other plucky young girl characters in literature like Anne Shirley, Margaret Simon, or Ramona Quimby. Perhaps, the trait that makes Merci the most relatable is her feeling like she doesn't neccessarily fit in. Merci and her extended family live in what are called "casitas" in southern Florida. Though they don't have a lot money, Merci receives a scholarship to attend a school in a rich neighborhood. This leads to Merci to really grapple with the fact that social hierarchies, unfortunately, exist in our society. And that there is an inherent "pit in the bottom of your stomach" feeling you feel when you are the less fortuante one in a sea of rich kids.
Merci Suarez Changes Gears doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel by any means. A coming of age story about a young girl isn't exactly original, in and of itself. However, Medina includes interesting plot points and characteristics that keep this story fresh. Medina includes a side plot of Merci learning that her grandfather has Alzheimer's and his loss of memory and mood swings very much affect Merci. Medina also includes a plot thread of Merci feeling like she is left out or left in the dark when it comes to medical information about her grandfather due to her age. The choice to make a main character live in a multi-generational home is also indicative of a story that contains a fresh perspective.
In that regard, Medina is very successful when it comes to portraying cuban culture in a realistic light that doesn't feel like a "culutral parade" or "tourist approach". Medina includes spanish language and cuban culture within the novel, yet Merci's family is portrayed as similar to any other family. Her brother teases her a lot and she often feels like the adults in her family treat her like a child. But they are also loving and warm. I think the aspect of including a multi-generational family is not only becoming more and more relatable but also offers opportunities for discussion and text-to-self comparisons.
Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a great example of a contemporary realism book for its authenticity and relatibility.
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