MMGM- Stepping Off and Jane Addams: The Most Dangerous Woman in America

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Sonnenblick, Jordan. Stepping Off.
June 4, 2024 by Scholastic Press
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

When Jesse is at his family's home in Tall Pines Landings, everything seems better. Unlike his life in Long Island, where he commutes into Manhattan for school, his life in Pennsylvania includes good friends, fun activities, and a feeling that "the real world isn't real". That's the slogan for the community, but also something that Jesse holds onto tightly when he is in New York. His long time best friends are Ava and Chloe, and since he is heading into his junior year in high school, he's trying to reconcile his feelings of friendship with the romantic attraction he feels... to both girls. On some days, he thinks that he wants to be involved with moody Ava, whose younger sister Annie he coaches in tennis, but on others, he prefers the sunny, carefree Chloe. Lately, though, his attention has been taken off of his friendships and his musical interests by his parents constant bickering. His mother, a high school teacher, and his father, a busy doctor, fight over everything, and have started to avoid being in the same place at the same time. Feeling that maybe his mother is hiding a new relationship, Jesse reaches out to his grandparents, who come to visit from Florida to assess the situation as well as spend time with Jesse and his sister Leah, who is in college. There's not much the grandparents can do, but his grandmother does leave him with a freezer full of matzo ball soup. When Ava's mother dies, her grief distracts the teens from relationship problems for a while, but also distances them from each other. Jesse and Chloe finally connect after a romantic evening on the lake, but when Jesse is called back to New York suddenly, he doesn't know where the relationship stands. He doesn't want to say anything to Ava when he can't talk to her in person, and this upsets his remote support network. He starts the school year, but everything seems off. He has a good friend, Carson, but things just aren't right. He tries to visit Chloe, but that doesn't go well, and it's hard to deal with his parents being separated, especially with Leah off at college. When March of 2020 rolls around, the Pandemic causes lots of changes. Jesse's father has to work at the hospital and retirement facilities, so doesn't want Jesse to be exposed to him. For a while, Jesse and his mother live in her apartment, but eventually decide to head out to Tall Pines Landings. Eventually, Chloe and Ava's families come as well, and Jesse has to come to terms with the fact that his world of refuge has suddenly become his "real world". He has to deal with remote schooling, family members getting ill, and Chloe and Ava needing answers. As the lockdown continues, will he find a way to figure out both of his lives?

Sonnenblick always does such a fantastic job of writing young adult books that also speak to middle grade sensibilities, and is one of the few authors writing realistic, sometimes humorous fiction for adolescent males. I think that adults forget how all encompassing the desire for romantic entanglements is in high school, but Sonnenblick has not. Jesse's attraction to both girls is real, compelling, and utterly confusing to him. Getting a whiff of Chloe's hair can almost make him faint. He doesn't want to hurt either girl, but likes them both equally. This will sound all too familiar to high school readers, and will be a tantalizing peek at the future for middle school ones. 

Jesse has other interests, of course. He works at the Tall Pines recreation center and is very sweet with Ava's sister Annie. He plays guitar, and composes songs for his friends, some more successful than others. He attends a very competitive math and science school, and the depiction of his grades falling when he is struggling with family issues is all too realistic. 

The family issues are something I would love to see come into play a lot more in realistic fiction. Young people spend a lot of time with their families, and when things are stressful, it can affect every aspect of their lives. It's good to see that Ava does take some solace in being with Jesse and Chloe after her mother's death, and also that Jesse and his sister are able to remain friendly when their parents are squabbling. Jesse's grandparents felt so utterly real to me, and their experience during the pandemic was painfully close to home. 

The best part of this book might just be the portrayal of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. I've read several books set during that time, but none of them seemed quite right. Perhaps it was too soon. When Jesse describes the days at school leading up to Friday, March 13 as having "a weird, day-before-Christmas-if-Christmas-were-a-nuclear-holocaust vibe in the air", that's exactly what it felt like to me. I didn't see anyone in person for months, and didn't hang out in stained sweatpants, but somehow Jesse's pandemic felt very much like my own. The fact that we were involved in his life for quite a while before the pandemic hit made the contrast all the more poignant. 

I've been a fan of Sonnenblick's ever since Notes from a Midnight Driver, which is about the same age as Jesse now, and never quite believe that the books are as good as they are. How can they be such a fantastic mix of "awkward multiplied by heartbreak" and still be so funny? I don't know, but I am glad to see this new title, and will hope for many, many more. 

Brill, Marlene Targ. Jane Addams: The Most Dangerous Woman in America
June 18, 2024 by Ohio University Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Born in 1860,  Jane Addams had a life that was financially comfortable and progressive, although also beset with physical hardships. Her father started a flour mill and used his financial and social position to help the welfare of others, and allowed Jane opportunities that many young women did not have at the time. However, Jane's mother died right after she was born, and Jane herself suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, which often left her in constant pain. Even though her father was a great believer in education, she was not allowed to go to Smith, but instead had to attend the strict Rockford Women's Seminary, where she fought to be the first woman to get a degree from the institution instead of just a diploma, in 1881. She was going to attend the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, but her ill health prevented this. She spent time trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, traveling and helping with her family. Eventually, she and a college classmate, Ellen Gates Starr, founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889. Housed in a mansion in a formerly well-to-do area, Addams sought input from the nearby residents as to what services would help them. Services ranged from food, day care, and job placement to volunteer classes, language classes, and drama and art clubs. There was even a nurse who would provide basic medical treatment. Even early on, two thousand people a week came through the doors. Not content with limiting herself to the operation of Hull House, Addams also fought for child labor laws, sanitation improvements, and for equal opportunities for people of all bakgrounds. She was a mediator in the Pullman strike, and was the first vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1912. She wrote books and articles to raise awareness and as a way to earn money for her causes. She suffered from constant ill health, and suffered at various times from typhoid, tuberculosis, cancer, and even a heart attack! She continued to work for the public good, eventually succumbing to lung cancer in 1934. 

Strengths: This was a fantastic overview not only of Addams' life but of the social and historical context in which she lived. There are a good number of pictures to help younger readers understand what the world looked like in Addams' time; I especially loved the picture of her with her classmates! The information about her family and how they formed her personality was especially interesting, and the fact that there was a women's medical college in existence in 1881 was something I feel like I should research more! The concept of Hull House seems like it would be a good thing for people of wealth to put together today; the social work of the 1800 and early 1900s was really fascinating, and would help with so many problems today. Other than LeBron James' initiatives in Akron, I don't know of other similar philanthropic efforts, although there must be some. It's the grassroots nature of Addams' work that is so appealing. The fact that she fought through so many health issues and yet always took on more and more work is inspiring. I was to share her story with all of my students! 
Weaknesses: This is being released in paperback; given its value for research, I would love to have a hardcover copy of it. At least Ohio University Press usually uses a higher quality of paper than most paperbacks have. 
What I really think: This is a must purchase for all school and public libraries. It's a great biography of a woman who gave so much to society, and who deserves to be remembered. I am so glad that Brill subtitled this "The Most Dangerous Woman in America", acknowledging the power that Addams had. It's so much better than the book I read as a child; Wagoner's 1944 Jane Addams: Little Lame Girl.