Sicily Jordan has looked forward to middle school, when she and her besties – they call themselves the Tether Squad, since they met playing tetherball – will coordinate their outfits and compare teachers as they move from classroom to classroom for various subjects. But just a week or so before school starts she gets an email informing her that she will be enrolled in the new Shirley Chisholm Middle School. Now she’ll have no friends and won’t know any of the teachers! To make matters worse, the new school has a uniform, so all the cute outfits she’s planned will be staying in her closet.

I thought this was really delightful. Sicily’s troubles range from “new school” blues to bullying to navigating a first crush to family drama around her chosen hairstyle to racism (both overt and more subtle). She frequently feels alone and without a support system, though, in reality, she does have friends and family who care about her, want to support her, and encourage her to follow her dreams.

I like the way Burgess dealt with Sicily’s conflicts with her grandmother, as well as the way she portrayed the girl’s awakening to her family’s background and culture as Black Panamanians.

I’m going to recommend this to a couple of young ladies I know. ( )

Great book for middle schoolers that is told from the perspective of a black Panamanian protagonist just entering middle school. As interesting and informative, as it is original. Very few books that address this topic so beautifully for this age group. ( )

First sentence: Demanding to see the email only shows me how real this all is. Pa's phone trembles in my hands as I read it for myself. I almost can't get past the words: Sicily Jordan is registered and has been placed in a sixth grade class.

Premise/plot: Sicily Jordan will be attending a different middle school than her (current) best friends. It is the absolute end of the world. There is no recovering from this trauma, this abuse. HOW dare the universe do this to her?!?! She can't even.

Reyna Sado--her best friend from kindergarten that disappeared (moved away)--attends the same middle school now. These two have the potential to be friends, but, because they don't have 100% the same interests and personalities, there's some doubt whether these two will reconnect...permanently.

Meanwhile, Sicily has decided to cancel Grandma (Abuela) after she--or whether her hairstyle [braids]--was critiqued. Her father is reluctant to cut all ties with his mother, after all she's grieving the loss of her husband, is physically in need of help, and is from a different generation, but possibly to avoid being canceled himself decides to give grandma an ultimatum.

The only other plot thread to be found is Sicily's interest in writing for the school newspaper. She's discouraged by the super mean-girl-bossy-rich-girl eighth grader. But she's encouraged by others.

My thoughts: Sincerely Sicily wasn't for me--personally. This middle grade "problem novel" is a two-note song. For those that love the two notes and want to support a new author, this one might be a fantastic fit.

For me, the weakest element of this one was the characterization or lack thereof. Sicily, our heroine, is the most developed. And her sole interests seem to be a) learning about her race and culture b) writing about her race and culture c) talking about her race and culture d) talking about writing about her race and culture e) finding offense when people misunderstand her race and/or culture. Based on her interactions with her family, friends, classmates, etc, she seems a little immature and slightly bratty. Her characterization may be 1000% correct for your typical sixth grader. I am not calling into question her authenticity. Sicily wasn't necessarily given opportunities to shine with strong, developed relationships with other characters. The next-best-developed character was her crush, Michael. The conversations between these two show potential. I felt that Sicily could have potential to be a good, solid heroine if she felt more dimensional. The relationships were also on the weak side, in my opinion.

"Problem novels" aren't my favorite and best type of realistic fiction to read. ( )