Middle Grade Monday: Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

Image: Bloomsbury

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan. 368 p. Bloomsbury USA, 2019. 9781547600083. 

Happy Monday! Middle Grade Monday features Watch Us Rise by René Watson and Ellen Hagan. Chelsea and Jasmine are BFFs who attend a high school in New York City that is dedicated to social justice and equality. They both run up against bias in their respective clubs where Jasmine is typecast as an angry Black woman in her acting club and Chelsea's poetry club wants to do the same old, same old and not study edgier, more provocative poets. The two decide to form a new club and convince a teacher to become their advisor. Their blog, "Write Like a Girl," resonates with much of the student body, but is soon shut down by the school's administration. This dual narrative blends text, poems and blog posts. There's angst and humor among the friends as Chelsea crushes on someone who may be just using her; but there's also some sadness as Jasmine's father is dying of cancer.