cover image Definitely Cool

Definitely Cool

Brenda Wilkinson. Scholastic, $13.95 (167pp) ISBN 978-0-590-46186-3

Though books featuring people of color are welcome additions to the middle-grade fiction genre, Wilkinson's first novel will not fully satisfy readers of stories starring African Americans. Roxanne's hectic first weeks of junior high are proof that dealing with boys, peer pressure, homework and her mother's rules is a real balancing act. Common sense and loyal friends pull her through the rocky spots with generally happy results. However, a weak plot and lightweight moral dilemmas are further hampered by uneven writing. Wilkinson tries too hard to dispel stereotypes about the African American experience, and in doing so she trivializes potentially powerful themes. Issues of race, life in a housing project, single parenthood, and the merits of Black English are introduced and then tempered with pat, politically correct explanations and soon-to-be-dated references to popular culture. Perhaps in an attempt to simulate the boundless energy of 'tweens, at least one exclamation point appears, annoyingly, in nearly every paragraph. Readers may give this effort to be cool the cold shoulder. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)