My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin - ADVISABLE

Benjamin, Brooks My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights, 293 pgs. Penguin Random House, 2016. $16.99.

Language: G ( 0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.   

MS - ADVISABLE  

Dillon Parker, 7th grader, is on the football team and was pretty good at karate class. But what he really wants to do is dance.  He has a crew - the Dizzee Freekz, and one of them used to train at a dance studio, but Kassie won’t teach him any “real” dance moves, because she says that rules stifle creativity.  So, when Dillon has the chance to compete for a scholarship to Dance-splosion, his crew thinks he’s selling out and his dad is worried about “what people will think” if Dillon chooses dance over sports.

I loved how this book addresses gender stereotypes and how kids are treated by their peers based on what they do rather than who they are.  A great read about a boy dancer, there’s some girl drama and sports action, too.  

Lisa Librarian