Be You: A 13-Year-Old’s Real Guide to Middle School by Tiya Nachnani

 

Genre:  Middle Grade, Self-help, Biography

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I want to be up front about a few things with this review. I  agreed to read and review this book because I teach middle school students. Both her former middle school teacher and the author explain that the author purposely uses a lower case “I”  throughout her writing. This is not a case of laziness. This is a way of letting the experiences stand out instead of herself.  I mention this because this year seems to be the year a large number of my students write with a lowercase “I”.

From her opening chapters she makes it clear that middle school is where you often become the person you will become.  You enter completely unprepared. Two things stood out. She said that most students enter it thinking it is now time for freedom, but realize that it is the opposite. Those who have it easiest are those who have matured faster. This was important for me to read. I have been telling parents this for years. I told them this not because I was a middle school teacher, but because I had lived through raising two children through their middle school years. At the end of her each chapter she has statements or questions for the reader to respond to.

This young woman has truly examined middle school life. Her second chapter on maturity is spot on. I think both parents and young students need to read this book. I honestly believe this should be a must read for all middle school teachers. As I read this book I thought about the writing assignments at the end of each chapter. I was able to recall my middle school years. I think they stay with you forever until something brings them to mind again. My students often look at me strangely when I am trying to make a point. An example, a young lady was being targeted by someone in the class.  They were actually inviting others to join them in making up stories. I stopped them and told them about how a similar event in my middle school years  affected me. I told them how I had handled the situation and why it stuck with me. Middle schoolers see adults as just that. They don’t realize the things they do in middle school will stick with them throughout their life. Middle school actually helps shape who you become, just as the author of this book said.

Chapter 23  rang true for me. It is called “Dream-Building—Big and Small”. I told my parents when I was in fourth grade I was going to be a teacher. That dream started way before that. I was an early reader and I would spend recess helping my friend who usually had to stay inside because she couldn’t read. We practiced on the playground. I convinced the teacher to let me help her during recess so she could have some play time too. I taught my sisters to read before they were in kindergarten. I worked with kids with learning disabilities when I was in middle school. My parents encouraged me to stretch the boundaries, but at the same time I had to decide my own dream. This is my last year of teaching. When I walk into class on Monday to do a book talk, this is the book I will talk about. I teach eighth grade and this is a book that needs to be read. I will recommend it to our media specialist and our counselors as well. I am also recommending this to our district. One day every month we have what they call a resiliency lesson. They are lessons to help middle school students deal with the very things this author has addressed. It has questions for discussion at the end of each section. I believe this book would be much more beneficial since it was actually written by someone who was thirteen at the time.

To the author I say this. Keep working on your passions. You were right when you said this was the book you wish someone had written for you. You took that wish and decided to help others by writing it yourself. Thank you for your contribution. Know that you are and will be changing the world one book reader at time.