Quintero Weaver uses her own personal experience as a newly arrived Latina immigrant to the U.S. to tell Lu's story. Like Lu, Quintero Weaver arrived in Alabama at a time where racial tensions were high and had to deal with not just the culture shock of moving to a new country, but the best way to balance in the divide between the color lines in the South. When she befriends an African American runner, she pokes at the proverbial hornet's nest.

The book is set during an election year where George Wallace (whose 1963 Inaugural speech boasted "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever") is running for reelection and everyone (kids and adults alike) seem to be invested in the race's outcome.

It was interesting to see a Latina take on what it was like to live in the South during such a tumultuous time, but I can't help but to wonder what that time and place would have been like for a Latina student who is not white-passing.

A middle grade story about racism in the 1970s United States, from an unusual perspective. A little simplistic, but it is for younger readers.

Lu is a passionate, sensitive protagonist whose personality jumps off the page. This story provides a nuanced view of racism in history and sets a great example in showing young readers how to stand up for what is right in spite of doubts and peer pressure.

As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think that middle school Amy would have LOVED this. Lu is an Argentine immigrant who has struggles with crushes, ambitions to win the field day track meet, and also struggles to stand up for what's right during the de-segregation movement in Alabama. The backdrop to all of Lu's typical struggles is the 1970 election between main candidates George Wallace and Brewer. Most of the school is in the "us vs. them" mindset and preparing to transfer to the new private school. Lu has always been open to all races, but she also has the message that immigrants should not draw attention to themselves and get involved. Throughout the book, she learns lessons of standing up for what's right, having gumption, and working hard to reach your goals.

I just loved this. It was such a solid story and had such great messages. It was also just all around entertaining with great characters.

I gulped this down. It brought the time and place, and the underlying nastiness, to life so vividly. Her constant use of country slang was a little strange but I got used to it.

I loved reading this story and thought it covered so much for a middle grade novel. Lu is wonderful as the main character! I loved everything about her and was rooting for her throughout this book. It deals on coming to terms and sticking up for what you feel is right, even if a lot of people might be against you. I loved her friendship with Belinda. Its one of those books that starts off very slowly, but the characters grow on you and eventually you get very engrossed in the novel. The author also writes the landscape and timeline of the story in a very nice manner where you actually feel like you are in the 1970s era. Overall, I really enjoyed reading My Year in the Middle!

I am going to start with saying that you need to read this book. Now.

Okay, so why did I start that way? Because this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire book. Lu was an amazing and inspiring character and I loved watching her grow. As I was reading, I felt like it was a classic that I had somehow missed out on. It just felt like it had been around. This story touched on many important issues, mainly race, but also socio-economic issues and I think they were done well and in a way to really made me pause and think and reflect. I highly recommend this book to all readers. It needs to be read and discussed.

Thank you NetGalley and Candelwick for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Even though the book is set in the 70s, there are still so many things that are the same 40 years later. Discrimination, polarizing politics, being an immigrant family and the struggle to find civility amidst the divisiveness all while still trying to navigate the social mire that is middle school was very relatable. Lu being able to find her courage to defend others and herself was a good example for young readers.

This book is, unfortunately, very timely in our country. I think many students will be able to relate to it and it will ignite some great discussions in grades 5+.

An entertaining story about friendship, following your heart, and courage. Lu sits in the middle row in Miss. Garrett's Social Studies class, white students on one side and black students on the other. It's 1970, racial integration in the school is still new, Wallace is running for governor, and Lu is caught in the middle. She is from Argentina, and sometimes feels like she does not fit in with either group. She is having issues with her old best friend, Phyllis; she does not understand why they are not friend anymore since Phyllis started hanging out with Missy. Lu has been friends with Abigail since fifth grade, but is she really a true friend?
Lu discovers she has a talent for running which brings her closer to Belinda, another runner from school, however, she is from the wrong side of the classroom. She is worried about socializing with her, will she be ostracized from the other students in class? Belinda is accepting of Lu, strong and supportive, a true friend. Will Lu be able to put race aside and accept her for the loyal friend she is?
Set in Alabama this story gives a child's view of race relations during school integration, some of the struggle that families faced during this time and the blatant racism that abounded. A good story for students aged Grade three and up as well as teachers of Civil Rights.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

"My Year in the Middle" might be set in the 70s but it covers many relevant topics in today' world. Some are racial relations, immigration, and standing up for what you believe in.

The characters are flawed, as all people are, but lovable. Lu learns and grows throughout the course of the book and matures in her relationships with the people around her.

This is a well written and engaging book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Lila Quintero Weaver’s “My Year In The Middle.” It’s 1970, Alabama schools are integrated, but there’s still a figurative line down the middle with whites on one side and African Americans on the other. Lu Olivera doesn’t neatly fit into either group, and she’s learning to navigate the area in the middle, being true to herself and to people she cares about while recognizing the pressures and close mindedness of the time.

I really enjoyed this story and its thoughtful characters. It’s an interesting, new perspective on a popular topic and time period.
Wonderful inclusion/intersection of different cultures!
Yay for athletic girls!
Yay for politically and socially involved youth!

My Year in the Middle is a new middle grade novel set in a fictional Alabama town during the 1970s governor primary race featuring known racist and segregationist George Wallace. Lu's family immigrated to the area from Argentina when she was young, like the author herself. Her school is now integrated, but in every class the white kids sit to one side, the black kids sit on the other, and Lu and other students--including the cute son of an anti-racist pastor, Sam--sit in the middle to show their solidarity. In this tension-filled environment where many of her former white friends are drifting away, planning to go to an all-white private school, Lu trains to win a race on field-day and her running buddy and new friend is a black girl.

Weaver illustrates the time period well, from music and fashion, to Lu's vibrant voice filled with the cliches of the time, to microaggressions and more blatantly stated racist and sexist attitudes by adults and even fellow students. And yet, the comparison to attitudes of today are not far. Students today are most likely to socialize with those of their own race, and private schools and other options create the "white flight" we see in this novel. At one point, Lu attends a Wallace rally because she was promised a cakewalk and is horrified at the candidate's speech where he calls his opponent by an offensive nickname and talks an awful lot about, well, making Alabama great again.

I found it interesting how Lu classifies herself as white, although a "foreigner," because today the United States has very different attitudes toward Latinx people, many of which are sadly not positive. Lu does face some of this, but it's also demonstrated that many don't see her ethnicity and read her as white--her gym teacher is surprised to discover she speaks Spanish, and she knows adults seeing her talking with a black boy will think she is threatened. Mostly, her conflict about speaking up comes in part from her mother's warning that people don't like when foreigners get involved. Still, the concept of "the middle" applies to her own identity, and this was such a unique perspective to read from.

And yet, as a pivotal moment late in the novel demonstrates, being in the middle isn't enough. Lu discovers she has to stand up and speak out for what's right or justice won't happen. She could avoid humiliation and unpopularity if she aligns herself with the privilege of the white students (something marginalized ethnicities have done in the history of America), but she doesn't, despite how difficult speaking up can be. There is a LOT to think about here, and I kept reflecting on how this would be a fantastic book to teach with all the real-world connections.

The politics in this book come organically and very much through the eyes of a sixth-grader who is also occupied with school, friends, a crush, and sports. Interactions with her peers--especially with black students she connects with over common interests in running and music--are political and stir up tension just by existing. Her older sister is an intern for the candidate running against Wallace, she has to pay attention to the race for her social studies class, and the parents around her talk about it. Her scope of the election relates to how the it can impact her sixth-grade world...that a lot of white people really don't want her black friends to go to school with her.

AND there is another major plot thread throughout the book that I loved! Lu, inspired by Olympic Gold Medalist Madeline Manning, desperately wants to win a long-distance race on field day and convince her parents to allow her to run on a track team being formed for the high school, even though their cultural values have led them to believe she should focus only on school and that it isn't proper for girls to play sports. Plus, the older bully on the bus keeps talking about how his cousin is third in the state and will beat her. Lu pursues this goal with encouragement from her gym teacher and lengthy training sessions, first with her new friend, Belinda, whom she bonded with over their love for running in gym class, and later with her father's and sister's help. I loved that this emphasized all the hard work and small steps that go into accomplishing a larger goal, and the climactic race is worth it.

I do have a couple of minor quibbles with this book, however. An essay, a poem, and a song play major roles, and I would have loved to see these actually included in the text to give more insight into the characters. For instance, I wasn't entirely sure what angle Lu took on her report on the Wallace rally and I'm still not sure, especially since essays today--even at the sixth-grade level--are much more than a recounting of events that I suspect was popular back in the 1970s. I also was a little conflicted of the treatment of Lu's friend Abigail in the story...there's an acknowledgement of the (white) privileges of fashion/glamor, and her tale is certainly one of conformity that sadly includes racism, but I wasn't sure how to untangle these observations in a way that didn't look down on her interest in boys and fashion. Perhaps because Lu also has a big crush? I think she just came across as a character without much depth and that certainly relates to her path to conformity, but it's all tangled up in a "silly" crush and so on. Lu is wise enough to see that Abigail likes him more than he likes her, and I don't blame her for being upset, but it veered pretty close to some anti-teen-girl tropes. Perhaps something else to talk about with readers. The knowledge and worldliness Lu has in comparison is definitely because of her different experience with racism and inability to fully benefit from white privilege, while Abigail can cast that aside and come away from the Wallace rally only caring about the cakewalk experience. Yeah, the more I think about this, the more her character development and lack of shades makes sense, and boys and fashion should be interpreted as an extension of that, rather than evidence for it.

My Year in the Middle is a book that I think all upper elementary/middle (and beyond!) students and teachers should read for its important messages, historical account, and wonderful protagonist!

I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book!

Set in a very polarized state of Alabama in 1970, with the current governor Albert Brewer trying to move the state forward, and former governor George Wallace campaigning for re-election on a platform based on clinging to segregation, sixth-grader Louisa "Lu" Olivera find herself literally in the middle. Lu's family immigrated from Argentina, and do not quite fit with either side, and have much more moderate, progressive beliefs than most white southerners. In the midst of this, Lu is trying to navigate 6th grade society, and unexpectedly finds herself the object of jealousy-inspired bullying after her talent for running is discovered. Will she realize who her true friends are, and find the courage to take a stand.

I thought this story was well-written and well-paced and integrated several issues very well. There was of course the overal issue of racism and segregation with the Brewer-Wallace gubernatorial race as the backdrop, as well as the Olivera family cautiously trying to fit in and not make waves, yet staying true to their beliefs. But also the struggle between what Lu wanted for herself and what her parents expected, and most of all the growing pains of seeing friends change and some friendships end, but having the courage to recognize real friends, and to stand up for them.

Lu is a sixth grader in Alabama. The year is 1970, and her school has recently desegregated. Although classes are mixed, black students sit on one side of the classroom and whites on the other. My Year in the Middle gets its title because of where Lu fits in, both literally and figuratively. Her family is from Argentina, so she sits in the middle of the room.

Lu discovers she is a skilled runner, which leads her to enter into friendship with the black student who is closest to her in skill. As Belinda and Lu begin training together to prepare for the competitive field day at the close of the school year, they become close.

Lu is forced to navigate changing friendships, societal expectations, and different cultures. The election for governor between Brewer and Wallace is a recurring topic, and Lu realized "maybe I cared more about fun stuff than right stuff." As she matures, she finds the confidence to take a stand.

At the close of the novel the author shares she also immigrated from Argentina and grew up in Alabama when the public schools desegregated, so Lu's story was impacted by Lila Quintero Weaver's experiences. It's an easy, accessible read to what can be a complicated topic.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Lu is a passionate, sensitive protagonist whose personality jumps off the page. This story provides a nuanced view of racism in history and sets a great example in showing young readers how to stand up for what is right in spite of doubts and peer pressure. Highly recommended.

Sixth-grader Lu Olivera and her Latin American family find themselves in the middle of a civil rights struggle in their Red Grove, Alabama neighborhood one hot summer in 1970. The tensions run high in her integrated school: black kids sit on one side of the room, white kids on the other; she sits in the middle row. She's in the the middle child, smack dab between her older, activist sister and younger twin siblings; she's in the middle when it comes to local politics: many of the white families want to re-elect segregationist governor George Wallace, while Lu and her family support incumbent Albert Brewer. Many of her classmates are leaving their school to go to a private, white school. When Lu befriends fellow track runner Belinda Gresham, an African-American girl, and her classmates turn on her, she decides it's time to take a stand.

Inspired by the author's Alabama childhood, My Year in the Middle is a story of civil rights and finding one's voice. Lu puts up with the passive racism in her community, with remarks like, "she's from South America, she doesn't mind going to school with Negroes". But seeing how her African-American friends are treated by her fellow classmates, and by the general public in her town, pushes her buttons. Lu is a character who stands out: she's a character of color stuck in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, but because she's not African-American, she's tolerated: until she digs in her heels and says, "No more". She gives and receives support from her black classmates and from Sam, her classmate and crush, a white preacher's son who is bullied for his civil rights stance.

Lu is at once relatable and a mirror for our society today. We're still divided, and more and more people are forced from the middle to take a stand. Readers may recognize recent political speeches and attitudes in George Wallace's condescending stumping and the racial tension that permeates Lu's classroom. My Year in the Middle is a solid work of historical fiction that provides excellent discussion topics for readers on civil rights, social justice, and where we've gone versus where we are.

MY YEAR IN THE MIDDLE by Lila Quintero Weaver is an engaging tale of fitting in. The historical setting gives readers insight into a particular time in Alabama that is not highly represented in children’s literature. The main character’s strong voice propels the story and keeps the reader turning pages to find out why happens next. Quintero Weaver shows that a child’s desire to fit in and find their place is timeless. Highly recommend.

Sixth-grader Lu Olivera narrates her emotionally and politically charged school year in Red Grove, Alabama in this thoughtful and well-written middle grade novel.

1970 is the year that Lu, who's family immigrated to Red Grove from Argentina, discovers running, falls for a boy, makes the "wrong" friends, and learns about injustice and racial inequality. It sounds heavy, but the story flows naturally and is easy to fall into. As an adult reader I was struck by parallels between the politics of the time and things that are happening today. I highly recommend this one as a readable, enjoyable book, but it would also be a wonderful title for classroom discussion.