Welcome to Maverick Elementary. It's the first day of school, and two little girls named Mayfair and Xembi are both new students on the first day of school. Neither of them has any idea that they'll become a peach and a plum, BFFs with their own little school yard clique, until mean-girl bully, Kiara Campbell tries to destroy them.
Assessment:
Plot: Johnson has created a very detailed world with colorful characters. There is a nice mixture of cultures and family structures in this story. The plot is subdued and feels as though one is reading a daily journal about this school year. There are some heavy elements that seem out of place for a YA book, such as the description of the principal’s death and Kade’s parents’ marital problems, that might be minimized.
Prose/Style: Johnson has a very descriptive storytelling style. The characters are all very relatable and detailed, their relationships complex.
Originality: Johnson has crafted an original world and highlights the combination of different cultures with everyday narration resulting in a unique story.
Character Development/Execution: The characters are all very detailed. The students exhibit growth throughout the book and the reader can see how they’ve developed over the school year. Johnson also gives the reader a glimpse into the future of some characters by using a specific event in that character’s storyline to impact the rest of their life.
Date Submitted: June 24, 2021
