JUST LIKE JACKIE by Lindsey Stoddard
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Robbie’s temper is no secret. So if Alex Carter didn’t want to get punched in the face then he shouldn’t have made fun of her name. She is not named after some robin bird. She is named after Jackie Robinson, and everyone knows it. But not everyone knows that her grandfather’s memory is slipping, that he sometimes forgets where he is or where he’s going, or how to do simple things that he once did so well. And Jackie has to work hard to keep this a secret, because her grandfather is the only family she’s ever known, and she’s not about to let anyone tear them apart. But Robbie didn’t count on the Family Tree project at school that begins to bring all of the secrets in her life–and the lives of her classmates–to the surface.
This beautiful and engaging story was a fun read thanks to its vivacious narrator. The book deals with themes of race, identity, community, and what family means. Ultimately, Robbie will find a much larger family than she ever expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this new realistic fiction novel and would highly recommend it to middle grade readers.
Susan the Librarian 