A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Jacqueline Woodson’s first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat–by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for “A Room to Talk”), they … Room (short for “A Room to Talk”), they discover it’s safe to talk about what’s bothering them–everything from Esteban’s father’s deportation and Haley’s father’s incarceration to Amari’s fears of racial profiling and Ashton’s adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.
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I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. In return for my honest thoughts and review. This was my first time reading a book by Jacqueline Woodson. I loved everything about this book. It is a short and fast read but it has everything crammed it. A lot of books move me but this one really moved me. And with the way things are going on in our world today. I loved this book. I will be reading this to my sons I know they will enjoy this read. This story is about six students name Haley, Holly, Amari, Ashton, Tiago, and Esteban. Where their teacher puts them in a room alone to talk to each with no adults. They each have different backgrounds of life. And Haley wants to record them so she never forgets them and their stories. And how close they became after hearing each other stories. I recommend this book to anyone. Yes it’s middle grade but it has powerful message with it too. I will be reading more book from Jacqueline Woodson.
I’m not really sure what I was expecting when I selected this book to add to my TBR list, but I can tell you, that whatever it was, this book was more. What I thought would be a book about some kids and talks that they had, turned into a lesson about race and a life lesson that I think I will carry with me for the rest of my life. In the book, Jacqueline Woodson writes “If the worst thing in the world happened, would I help protect someone else? Would I let myself be a harbor for someone who needs it? Then she said, ‘I want each of you to say to each other: I will harbor you.’ I will harbor you.” This made me think about how many times we go through our days, only worried about ourselves. It made me think of those times that we are in a hard place, and all we do is think about how to rescue ourselves, but not how to rescue others in the same position as ourselves. I mean no offense, but sometimes, and maybe more often than not, we are a selfish people focused only on ourselves. While this book was indeed about some kids and the talks they had, it was much more. It was about kids who had to learn the hard lessons of racism and the unfairness of it all at a young age. It was about kids who had to harbor each other during this year of their lives. It was about kids who had to protect each other from bullies and from the curveballs that life throws at you. I very much enjoyed this book and the life lessons it taught me in a different way than I had heard them in the past. I will leave you with this quote:
“Before you used to hear the word immigration and it sounded like everything you ever believed in. It sounded like feliz cumpleanos and merry Christmas and welcome home. But now you hear it and you get scared because it sounds like a word that makes you want to disappear. It sounds like someone getting stolen away from you.”
When I read just the first page of this book I loved it
My daughter was assigned Harbor Me in her 5th grade class and I read this book to help understand what she was reading and be able to answer the questions she was asking. I felt the topics, while relevant, were also a bit heavy for a 10yr old. Racial profiling and deportation the most touched upon. I did like the overall message of this book which I believe was regardless of race or economic status, everyone has their own struggles and life story that makes them unique but that also connects them together. Our first initial impression of someone doesn’t usually take into account inner personal turmoil and getting to know someone despite our outward differences is what is important. Overall it had a very “Breakfast Club” feel to it for me (a child of the 80’s) with a millennial weight.
An excellent book from the point of view of 5/6 graders and how they deal with today’s society. Poignant and powerful.
Like “The Breakfast Club” for a new (and slightly younger) generation. Six students come together every Friday in the ARTT (A Room To Talk) room and as they start to open up to each other, they find that each one struggles with something: racism, bullying, trauma, losing parents in some way (accidents, immigration raids), etc. And through opening themselves to each other, they bond together as a group of different but not-so-different-really friends.
This book had the potential to be really powerful, but it fell a bit short for me for two main reasons. First, the discussion of the issues was a bit heavy handed. I know this is a middle-grade YA book so it’s not going to be super in-depth, but I think there could’ve been more “showing” and less “telling” to really pack a punch. Second, although Woodson writes beautifully, there were times where I couldn’t help but think “no tween talks like this!” The characters were all so poetic and supportive and hopeful and calm, and while I would love to believe that a group of 11-year-olds would conduct themselves like that, I honestly find it unrealistic (granted, I’m Gen X, so we were full of ennui and nihilism even then).
Regardless, this is an important story for the times we live in and I think would be a wonderful tool for teachers to generate valuable discussion with kids this age.
And, Esteban’s papi’s poems were beautiful.