What Lane?

What Lane?
Torrey Maldonado
Nancy Paulsen/Penguin May, 2020 126 pages
Grades 5-8
Realistic Fiction

Middle Schoolers Stephen and his best friend Dan love Miles Morales and Stranger Things and are in complete sync: that is, until Dan's cousin Chad moves to the neighborhood. Chad doesn't have much in common with Stephen and Dan and seems to make snarky comments aimed at Stephen whenever he is over. Of mixed race, an incident outside his apartment building and the grocery store opens Stephen's eyes to the fact that he is treated differently than his white counterparts. People assume that he is either starting trouble or doing something wrong, while Dan's behavior is never in question. A bulletin board at the high school exposes Stephen to the Black Lives Matter Movement and some of the obstacles and violence facing black young people. His African American father backs this up and tries to educate him about the discrimination against black male teens, even though his white mom thinks he's too young to know these harsh realities. His friends of color seem to travel in a different lane than Stephen and his white friends. Should he move over to their lane? When Chad's meanness seems to be racially driven, even Dan seems to notice. Finally, a violent incident puts Stephen in danger and forces him and his friends to question what lane they want to travel in and figure out a way to possibly move forward together.

Maldonado pens a follow-up to award winning Tight with an intention driven novel written to encourage kids think about race and their roles in this controversial and timely social topic. Perfect for classroom use, teachers will find this to be an excellent book to use with students as a jumpstart to important, yet tricky discussions. As he grows into a man the world is suddenly different for Stephen. People see him differently and only his friends of color seem to get it. Eventually, they do see the situation and it becomes everyone's responsibility to decide "what lane" they chose to follow in their lives. Kids of color will relate to the story, while white kids will have their eyes opened to the struggles facing their classmates. Race in America is everyone's social struggle and young people in our society need to own it and do the right thing, even if its uncomfortable and awkward. The cover resembles the comics that Stephen and Dan enjoy so much and will attract the target audience. Also, the book is short, which will make it appealing to reluctant readers. The purpose tends to overshadow the plot, making it a better fit for classroom use than pleasure reading, yet there is enough of a plot to give the message some context. Maldonado completely nails the speech of young urban teens, further making the book accessible, yet also dating it quickly. A timely book of contemporary importance that may have some limitations.