Good Books Young Troublemakers Book Club for Middle School Students

“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” – Congressman & civil rights activist John Lewis

SPONSOR A MONTH OF GOOD BOOKS YOUNG TROUBLEMAKERS! HERE

Good Books Young Troublemakers is a book club where middle school-aged kids read great books and practice speaking up. In GBYT, we create a space for participants to reflect on identity, privilege, and power, and offer tools and practice opportunities to help prepare them to use their voices to respond to moments of injustice, both small and large. In short, we help them learn how to engage in “good trouble”!

Interested in donating to Good Books Young Troublemakers? Every donation is put towards advancing the Good Books Young Troublemakers mission of using stories to help kids develop empathy, become confident allies, and engage in good trouble.

Donate Here

Not only are books fun, but some stories can also help us learn how to think about injustice, use our voices–and be good troublemakers! Join Jamet and Lou to chat about The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu.

After making the buzzer-beating shot at the Georgia basketball state championships, Derrick Chan becomes the star of Bayard Middle School, and Derrick’s single dad could not be prouder. But there are parts of Derrick that no one knows about, like the toenail polish he wears under his basketball sneakers, his secret lip-sync performances in the bathroom mirror, and the feelings he’s developing for his best friend and teammate, JJ.

As the school year comes to a close, Derrick’s dad takes an out-of-town job and ships Derrick off to spend the summer with his estranged, eccentric grandmother, Claudia. Soon, Claudia introduces Derrick to the world of small-town southern beauty pageants, and Derrick suddenly feels he’s found where he belongs. But when the opportunity arises to compete in the town pageant, Derrick is forced to decide just how much of himself he’s ready to show the world.

Can he learn to love and accept the most unique parts of himself? And what will happen if others—like his father and JJ—can’t do the same?

The June book club pick was sponsored by a community member. But you are welcome to pick up a free copy, purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us at Dog-Eared Books, Saturday, June 28th, at 4 PM, for the book discussion.