Similar to other reviews, I think this book would be perfect for 10-13 year olds. The main character is a great role model - standing up for her beliefs and fighting against the racism that she faces in her everyday life. She struggles with her identity - being black and Catholic - and her character develops as the story goes along. It was a good introduction to Malcolm X for those who don't know much about him (maybe younger readers).

Whilst the book was set in the 70s, I think it is still relevant and important today.

I have given 3 stars as I enjoyed it but was not the target age audience - would be great for younger readers!

I originally thought this was a YA book, but it’s more of a middle grade book. Regardless, it was a powerful story.

This book gives you a look into a year of the life of Roberta Forest. Roberta is 13, attends a private Catholic school and has read Malcolm X’s biography twice. She deals with blatant racism from a nun who’s her teacher, religious issues and her own family issues with a scandal that is tearing them apart.

I loved watching Roberta mature throughout this book. I loved reading her poetry entries and how empowering of a person she was despite the issues and challenges she was dealing with. I was rooting for her through the whole story. Everyone should read this book, regardless of age.

Robin Farmer’s 'Malcolm and Me' is set post-Civil Rights Movement and upon reading the book, it’s clear that not many things have changed. The honesty of 'Malcolm and Me' is what struck me most whilst reading. It is unapologetic and nothing is sugar-coated to appease readers. Through the story’s protagonist, Roberta, the reader can see that every tribulation in Roberta’s life is leading her to an explosive outcome. However, Roberta channels her outrage into her art, telling a story that is all her own.

'Malcolm and Me' does a great job of introducing young readers to difficult but necessary content matter. It is very well-suited to a middle-grade audience, and it is likely they will find both compelling and relatable elements of the story whilst they read. Throughout the novel, it is great to see just how Roberta grows through everything life throws at her. Farmer balances all of the struggles that Roberta is experiencing and devotes time to each one. No issue ever feels pushed to the side or discarded for another. This is a testament to both Farmer's writing and storytelling.

3.5/5

When I see a debut book by an author from Philadelphia with a story based in Philadelphia… I’m all in (because it’s my hometown)!

This story is about Roberta Forest, a 13-year old black girl growing up in Philadelphia in 1973 during the post-civil rights era. Roberta is in the 8th grade, goes to a Catholic school, is very smart and enjoys writing poetry. She also enjoys reading her dad’s copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and she begins to question and analyze racial prejudice. She questions her mom, her dad, her brother and her teacher (who she is basically at war with).

Roberta tends to see things in black and white, until she encounters some gray areas in her life. It was interesting to see how her relationship with various characters evolved throughout the story. Roberta went on a journey that felt true, authentic and refreshing. This book really showed the influence and impact reading can have in the lives of children (and adults too). I really, really enjoyed this book!

“I try to swallow questions bubbling up. About being Black and Catholic. About divorce. About Malcolm. About what to do when your heart thunders. I chew my lip, but the most pressing question slips out. ‘What happened?’”

Robin Farmer’s, Malcolm and Me is a middle age novel on the cusp of YA that I found to be well-written, thought-provoking and a necessary read for all audiences alike. It is here we meet Roberta Forest a 13 year old 8th grader who is in the midst of an identity crisis that one can assume most teenagers at some point will encounter. After an altercation with a teacher in which she is told to “go back to Africa” and a fight ensues, Roberta’s life is never the same.

While Roberta should be enjoying her last year before high school, it proves to be the most difficult after she finds herself questioning everything including her own identity. What it means to be Black and Catholic, to know love and loss, to come of age in the 70s and exploring politics and social justice issues are just a few of the challenges that will come to define her year.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Farmer’s exploration is that it is told from the point of view of a budding teenager who is inquisitive and creative and full of hope. Who isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions. And, one who is determined to make life’s sour lemons out of lemonade. A beautiful, heart rendering coming of age novel that should be read by all and especially in classrooms to continue the conversation of themes explored in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 11/17/20

Malcolm and Me is an excellent MG book. Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Our protaganist is thirteen years old. It straddles the line between MG and YA but I would put it more towards MG. She goes to a private Catholic school in the seventies and right in the very first chapter it shocks you with the reminder of what used to be considered acceptable, as well as how overt racism was. It provides an excellent backdrop to talk about racial justice, liberation, and "being too black" through a historical lens that we often forget is historical. The way Farmer weaves her journey against the changing times of the post-Civil Rights era for a black girl, with a passing mother and dark skinned father was wonderful. It occasionally has bumps in the flow but the book is well written with an incredibly strong voice, set in a decade we need way more from. I found myself shocked by the things she went through while also being incredibly proud of her, and thinking about the way her incident would have been treated in the modern era. Highly recommend.

The concept and premise of this story are promising: a young teen grappling with her religion, her family relationships, her school, and her changing worldview as she reads Malcolm X's autobiography. However, I found the writing too choppy to get into the story. It at times felt superficial, like we were glazing over what mattered, and at other times felt like the writing was heavy-handed. I'm sure this could be very enjoyable for many readers and an introduction to an influential figure, but this didn't work for me.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Malcolm and Me: A Novel

Author: Robin Farmer

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Black MC and characters

Recommended For...: anti-racist reading

Publication Date: November 17, 2020

Genre: MG Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 13+ (race and racism, some discussion about divorce, religion, racist remarks made at the MC)

Publisher: SparkPress

Pages: 229

Synopsis: Philly native Roberta Forest is a precocious rebel with the soul of a poet. The thirteen-year-old is young, gifted, black, and Catholic—although she’s uncertain about the Catholic part after she calls Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite for enslaving people and her nun responds with a racist insult. Their ensuing fight makes Roberta question God and the important adults in her life, all of whom seem to see truth as gray when Roberta believes it’s black or white.

An upcoming essay contest, writing poetry, and reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X all help Roberta cope with the various difficulties she’s experiencing in her life, including her parent’s troubled marriage. But when she’s told she’s ineligible to compete in the school’s essay contest, her explosive reaction to the news leads to a confrontation with her mother, who shares some family truths Roberta isn’t ready for.

Set against the backdrop of Watergate and the post-civil rights movement era, Angel Dressed in Black is a gritty yet graceful examination of the anguish teens experience when their growing awareness of themselves and the world around them unravels their sense of security—a coming-of-age tale of truth-telling, faith, family, forgiveness, and social activism.

Review: I really liked this book overall. The book did well with the story and it was compelling and gripping from page one. The book talks about the 70s where we saw a lot of human rights change, but we can draw parallels between that time period and now. The book raised a lot of important questions and topics dealing with race and racism, and I definitely recommend it especially for younger teens and middle graders!

The only things I didn’t like are that the writing was clearly middle grade, but it kinda marketed to be young adult. I think the writing could have been matured a bit, but I do like that the book is MG because every age group needs to learn about racism and how to be anti-racist.

Verdict: Highly recommend.

Malcolm and Me is based off of an experience the author had in the sixth grade. It's an impactful story that discusses issues of racism, religion and parental separation. At first glance, the cover makes this look as if it's a YA book, but it's really geared toward middle grade, those kids who are interested in more meaty topics with engaging characters. Roberta is a talented, strong minded girl, who's very proud of being black. Sister Elizabeth see's her as being defiant, willful or rebellious, someone in need of discipline. Even Roberta's mother calls her mouthy and they both try to punish her, hoping it will bring her under control. I really liked Roberta, the way she stands up for what she believes in. She is instrumental in getting the school to reevaluate some of their practices. The events that transpire are seen through Roberta's perspective, providing a glimpse of what it is like to be a teenage girl of color during the time period of hot pants, ten speed bikes, Mission Impossible and Kool-Aid. I really felt sorry for Roberta as she began to question her faith in God, wondering whether the Catholic school was the right place for her. Her sadness over her parents arguing was also palpable. I'd pair Malcolm and Me with Blended by Sharon Draper or maybe The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert. A lovely #ownvoices story that draws inspiration from the authors own lived experience. **A huge thank you to SparkPress and NetGalley for the E-ARC **

Amazingly executed...Robin Farmer captures that pivotal moment when life and your thought process changes. As a former catholic school girl and black woman, I distinctly remember those moments that reminded me I was the minority in the classes. Roberta, was unapologetic and insightful but young...and that’s a struggle for many young black girls - knowing that you must stand for yourself, and simultaneously understand that not every moment requires the effort.

The Forest family was in turmoil, and I love the subtle content on some many topics that are frequent in the black family - the differences in how mothers (black mothers particularly) treat there sons vs. their daughters, family being accomplices to infidelity, and even colorism. Mrs, Farmer deserves the five stars I’m giving this book and I’m appreciative of her transparency as it relates to her personal experiences reflected in the book. I’d be interested to see her future works.

Thanks to SparkPress and NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book to review! If you’re looking for middle grade books dealing with race, this is an excellent book to pick up. Roberta struggles with a lot of big picture ideas that would spark discussion between kids and parents or teachers. A lot of Roberta’s struggles from the 1970s unfortunately are still relatable to today.

This is one of those books that can work as a window for those that don’t know these experiences, like me. But it also offers representation that still needs work in the middle grade realm of literature. Roberta’s voice was one of the strongest aspects of this book. She’s only 13, but she’s not afraid to stand up for her beliefs and to call people out when their behavior is problematic. We need more people like her in the world.

As a character reader, I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. Not only was Roberta well fleshed out, but we get to see rounded side characters too, especially Roberta’s family. Though she clashes with her mom a lot, there’s a lot of growing that happens there. It felt so realistic and natural, which isn’t always the case in middle grade books.

The story is engaging and the writing overall is really well done. While at times, the story feels a little slow, there are a lot of great reasons to pick this one up. Roberta can be an inspiration to anyone who reads this book.

Malcolm and Me may well be set in 1973/74 but its subject matter is as relevant now as it would have been then. There is cultural issues, racism, displacement.. I could go on but I truly believe that this is a book that everyone should read at least once in their lives.

Robin Farmer's fiction is based on some factual events that happened to her and its that knowledge of how it must have felt to be a black teenager in seventies Philadelphia during the tenuous presidency of Richard Nixon that had me regularly reading out paragraphs of the book outloud to my husband.

I cannot for one second as a white female, imagine the way both the author and Roberta feels, nor can I fully understand what it must be like to be a person of colour living in America. But this book gave me a glimpse of how hard it must have been to be surrounded by people who cannot see past the colour of your skin.

Farmer's writing is phenomenal and there are incidents in the book that left me laughing, but there are so many more that left me thoughtful. Roberta is a rebellious teenager whose thoughts are expressed as poetry in her diary because voicing them causes increased confrontation. We witness a turning point in her life when during a class discussion, Roberta describes the third United States President, Thomas Jefferson as being a hypocrite because whilst stating all men are equal? Jefferson is a slave owner and slaves were seen as 3/4 of a person.

Her words cause discord and the nun who teaches Roberta's class reacts with a racist insult.

From there, Roberta's world falls apart and the heartbreaking story is brilliantly told from her perspective. She sees a similarity to her situation with those faced by the late Malcolm X when reading his autobiography and finds strength in his actions to stand up for what she sees as being right. That she be regarded as something more than the colour of her skin.

It is a conversation between Roberta and her father that reduced me to tears however and made me truly believe that this book should be in every school.

"Tell your class mates that the Panthers ten point program will be as meaningful fifty years from now, as it is today..."

"In fifty years, I'll be an old lady daddy, we won't need it" I say

"Let's hope not. As a betting man, those are odds I would not take."


Read Malcolm and Me, have your children read it to because this is a book that should be read by everybody.

Robin Farmer's new novel 'Malcom and Me' is an honest examination of a teenager grappling with issues of racial prejudice, religion and her own identity. Roberta is one of the few black girls in her year group at Catholic school, high flying and intelligent with dreams of being a writer. When an incident in class, a clash between Roberta's recently fuelled urge to speak out against racism versus her teacher's prejudicial beliefs, causes Roberta to be suspended from school, she becomes increasingly inspired to act on her outrage. Roberta is further driven by her reading of Malcom X's autobiography and emerging family issues in her previously harmonious home setting,

Farmer's novel struck me because of my search for books on racial division appropriate for young teenagers. It doesn't pack the violent and gritty punch of some other young adult books on the same topic (Such as 'Dear Martin', 'The Black Kids' and 'The Hate U Give') but it deals with the issues in a way which would aid the understanding of my younger teenage students at the same stage of their childhood as the strong and powerful Roberta. The setting of the 1970s and the backdrop of the Catholic school add further layers to Roberta's action against racism and introspection throughout the novel. A really interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 ✨

“My brokenness creates a hatred so deep I dive into it. Hope I don’t drown. Some days, I see nothing but gray. I feel scared a lot, too. To mask it, I get angry.”

This book is so heavy. Our main character Roberta is simply trying to understand life as a Black teen growing up in the 70’s. She’s looking for every opportunity to learn and grow but at every turn she’s left broken.

She’s constantly harassed at school by a passive aggressive and racist nun for simply questioning what’s being taught. Her peers often join in on the harassment and rarely get scolded for continuing the trauma. Roberta’s one way to deal with this trauma is through her beautiful poems.

When she looks to her parents for guidance and support the response she receives in split. Her hardworking, kind of militant, father uses diverse literature, movies & music to educate Roberta about the beauty of being Black. On the opposite hand we have her religious mother who wants to stifle Roberta’s curiosity all in the name of desegregation. But these observations are very surface level and Roberta quickly finds out just how difficult it is to be a parent let alone an adult.

The story is a little slow for me and I think that’s just a personal preference. At times, I struggled to continue reading because I had trouble understanding the purpose. This story is simply following Roberta as she engages with multiple situations of family grief and growing pains, racism, friendship, questioning her religion and her simply coming of age.

Thank you to SparkPress and NetGalley for an early eARC of this book. I’m grateful for the opportunity to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up.
This book started off a bit muddled, and it was sometimes hard to tell when time had shifted because there are some flashbacks that seemed to sore’s out of no where. But, as the story and characters developed, I got into it and saw how this book would be valuable for young and adult readers. I enjoyed how the author tied in historical events that tie in with current events. I enjoyed Roberta’s development and even that of the other characters as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy!

*I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

For me this book is sitting at a 2.5 which J rounded up to a three.
I saw another review of this book which said that they thought the idea of this book was bigger than what was produced and that explains my feelings entirely.
I had gone into it expecting a YA. I'm pretty sure I saw it marketed as a YA somewhere, so I was a little thrown off when I started reading what is clearly a middle grade.
Having said that, I have read some great middle grade stuff, so I was more than willing to give it a try.
For me, this book was OK. It could have been a bit more developed and engaging, especially with such a compelling theme.
However, for the age it's written for, it's a decent book.

I started to read it but while the sentiment of the book was nice, THe storey kind of slowed to a dull pace after she slapped the teacher and the conection between her and malcom x also felt a bit forced.

Malcolm and Me is the coming of age story of a young rebellious and smart girl going through life's sudden lows and unexpected highs along with the frustrations that come with being a teenager and discovering that the world isn't as simple as it seems. Especially for a young black American girl in the 70s. Roberta is a middle schooler struggling with her parent's separation, the casual and internalized racism in her catholic school and surroundings, her relationship with God, and her aspirations of becoming a successful writer all while being inspired by the life and actions of Malcolm X. Despite the writing seeming uncomplicated (as it should be for a middle-grade book) I actually thought it was subtly clever. The inserts about Malcolm's life juxtaposed with Roberta facing her life's trials came at just the right time and were never overbearing.
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I loved the portrayal of the relationship between Roberta and her separating parents. Often times children may not understand stressful adult situations the way grown-ups do, but they still notice them. Sometimes more than adults even realize and it can affect them no matter how much their parents try to shield them from it. The author did a great job of depicting the value of forgiveness, empathy, and standing up for oneself which Roberta herself comes to understand.
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The book tackles a lot of tricky topics from politics, slavery, racism, religion, delicately as well as informatively. Seeing the casual racism that still affects black American people from the pov of a young black girl was very eye-opening and the story itself was uplifting and positive.
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🔸TL;DR - if you loved Angie Thomas books then you'll enjoy this

An upcoming essay contest, writing poetry, and reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X all help Roberta cope with the various difficulties she’s experiencing in her life, including her parent’s troubled marriage.

This book was ok! It wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
I like the story line and the summary of this but just didn't do it for me.

Thank You NetGalley Publisher and Author for this copy!

"Tell your class mates that the Panthers ten point program will be as meaningful fifty years from now as it is today"
"In fifty years I'll be an old lady daddy, we won't need it" I say
"Let's hope not. As a betting man, those are odd I would not take."

Malcolm and Me is a middle age book about Roberta, a 13 year old African American trying to find her way in life in the 70s at a Catholic school and how she uses Malcolm Xs autobiography to get through the hardest things in life.

Oof, I'm not too sure where to start this review...

Probably with the fact that this book should definitely be in American schools. Also how incredibly sad that this was based in the 70s and yet we still face the same prejudice and rasist behavior today.

I know as a white female I will never be able to understand what goes on in America and never truly be able to sympathise with what it's like to have coloured skin and all the horrible things that they face daily, but I can however do my best to educate myself and the people around me as to what is going on in the world and not be blinded to the police brutality, the racism and the violence.

Malcolm and Me doesn't have the impact of All American Boys, How it Went Down or even THUG but it brings to light the same views for younger readers.

I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it to everyone to pick up, and give it a read.