Sisters in Mischief

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But within the first 30 pages or so the characters are already talking about whether or not white people have a space in the rap scene, and if so, how to do so in a way that recognizes the more marginalized creators of the genre. I liked that the girls disagreed in nuanced ways and that the appropriation discussion came up several times over the course of the book.

Sister Mischief by Laura Goode | www.farmersmarketmusic.com: Books

I did feel like the book was trying a little too hard a little too often, though. The book could be grating. It name drops, it postures, and it can be didactic. Sometimes I felt downright embarrassed for the book. Maybe that comes from being someone who name drops, who postures, and who can be a bit didactic. But still, it charmed in that same way that insecure teenagers can be charming. The romance part of the book was pretty solid - I empathized hard with Rowie, who wanted Esme to keep their relationship a secret because she feared being outed to her Indian family.

Her parents actually seemed pretty cool, so it's easy to get frustrated with Rowie for just using that as a confused excuse for her internalized homophobia bullshit.

But also - I understand the appeal of closets. Sometimes we don't have the best reasons for being closeted but also it just feels safe, OK? And I liked the development of her character, but I think I would have rewritten the way things ended up between her and Esme view spoiler [ I really have trouble believing they could get over their drama so fast to rap together in the end.

In my version, the heartbreak would be more intense hide spoiler ]. Other things I liked: I think this is the first time I've read about Somali characters, even though they were fairly secondary. I like the way texts were integrated as footnotes. That structure actually aligns with the way texts feel in my life. Minneapolis and other suburban references! I need to start reading more set in the Twin Cities. It's such a quiet but powerful thrill to recognize your own geography in a book.

Jul 18, Isamlq rated it really liked it. Theirs are individual, highly original and strong voices. Throw in a couple of surprising moment of sweet…and this is me, hours later, contemplating a re-read. They put into words the questions I had. Then throw in some politics, religion, a jo Theirs are individual, highly original and strong voices.

Then throw in some politics, religion, a joint or two, and… well, this is not a simple book! The humor had me busting my gut. So, the great thing is they are regular girls, but not teen YA cardboard cutouts. I dare not say that I loved them, because to do so would be too simplistic. And this book, and these young women are anything but. But it was Rowi, with her confusion and choices and actions that stands out right now; particularly her choices with regard to Esme Aug 02, Kricket rated it really liked it Shelves: Mar 26, Rabiah rated it it was amazing.

I don't usually listen to or consider myself a fan of rap, but this book totally rocked! Laura Go Originally Posted at: Laura Goode has created an amazing novel which looks at community, finding yourself and true love Our MC, Esme is a totally rock-my-socks-off chick. Her sarcasm, her difficulty in finding who she is, and her amazing lyrics are upbeat and keep the rhythm throughout the entire novel. I liked her most of the time, except when she kinda expects too much of other people.

That's all I'm gonna say! She totally is the sassy best friend, who doesn't take no or crap for an answer. I liked Tess, as she was the popular girl who went and hung out with the bunch of misfits. She stands up for them, has connections her dad's a state senator I think and seems to always seem so sugary-sweet mixed in with a little bit o' evil.

I'm from Bangalore too! Okay, other than that, she really wasn't a very strong character, definitely had her faults, but totally didn't blame her for what happened between Esme and her not gonna give out the deets. But then she just kinda made me mad after that. Nothing more to say other than that. I really loved the little footnotes at the end of the page sometimes.

It was really cool to see texts, tweets, notes etc. That was pretty different for a novel. I think the only other one which isn't a classic which I've seen footnotes in would be Stay by Deb Caletti. Okay, now here's a little warning for the some of you: Just warning younger readers! Overall, Sister Mischief was about being defiant and standing up for you and others, for your beliefs and interests.

Laura Goode has created an amazing LGBT novel about true love, friendship and the sickest raps around. A geat debut, and can't wait to read more from her in the future! Aug 14, Liralen rated it really liked it Shelves: I loved this book, and I wish it -- or books like it -- had been around when I was in high school.

The characters are wonderfully complex, not to mention flawed, and the situations they find themselves in are realistic enough to be believable but unlikely enough to keep me reading.

Esme in particular is relatable, and oy, I know I have a tendency to rail against unnecessary sequels, but I hope Laura Goode keeps writing. Well, maybe not a sequel. But more awesome lgbtq books, yeah? The one thing th I loved this book, and I wish it -- or books like it -- had been around when I was in high school. The one thing that bugged me was that the conversations sometimes got a little preachy -- like, 'oh, hey, let me tell you about the great empowering parts of hip-hop.

Laura Goode, please write more books. Jul 25, Christine Kenney added it. How former classmates portray MN hometown in YA lit, the fascination continues. Seemed oddly reminiscent of Clerks-- quirky characters, witty dialog, claustrophobic plot tied to just a few locations and relationships Jun 14, Abigail rated it it was amazing Shelves: Ok, so this book has problems. Jul 07, Andrea rated it liked it. The Little Bookworm Plot: I could see this as movie. It would be a great Disney type movie except for the cursing and lesbians.

And, while you might be able to lose the cursing, the lesbian part is a big part of why this book works in a different way from the standard YA love story. Music is hard to read on paper and rarely comes through so while I could picture the girls rapping and singing I couldn't really "hear" it. But the message comes across pretty well despite the discrepancies of medium. There is a lot of slang, but it was fairly easy to follow.

My main obstacle was the grocery list of musical artist and songs that occur with some frequency in the story. I wanted to say "YAY!

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I'm glad that you know your artists and musical genre, but moving on. That is my main gripe. Other than that the prose flowed nicely and it had a bit of a poetic flavor to it. I just want to hug her and maybe mother her a little bit because she really needs a mother. Her father does his best and he is a very open and emotional father and I loved that about him.

His willingness to give her freedom and not hold her back was so awesome in a parental figure. But her yearning for her wayward mother is deeply apparent. Esme is such a tough talking chick, but she is so vulnerable and willing to love. She and her friends are so amazing together and their dynamic alone made the book worth reading. They were each so distinct but all bought something to the table. They like to discuss deep and meaningful things like religion and sexual language and misogamy in rap music. They are a awesome group of heavy thinking, heaving rhyming girls and I thought they were great.

Esme, who knows for sure that she is a lesbian, starts a little something with Rowie, who is unsure of her sexual orientation. This leads down an interesting road that is probably pretty obvious. I think that it is a huge growing part for Esme, even though I want nothing but everlasting love for her.

If you love hip-hop, then this is the story for you. If you love LGBT stories, then this is the story for you. If you like high school empowerment , then this is the story for you. If you don't like any of the above, well, then I don't know what to tell you. May 21, Sara rated it liked it. I enjoyed the book. It was well written and the story line was easy to follow.

I liked how it focused on individuality which made the book better in my eyes. It was an awesome portrait of high school life and female friendships, it was definitely upbeat. I think people should read this, I doubt you'd be disappointed. Jul 07, The Lonely book club rated it liked it Shelves: The lonely book-club The book is very light and easy to read, you get the hang of the story quite easily.

Sep 24, Lynette rated it really liked it.

Questions?

I liked this a lot more than I expected to when I started it, when I wasn't sure if the conversations about the ethics of white suburban girls doing hip-hop or being a Christian who isn't an asshole were being slotted in just to get them out of the way. But they definitely weren't. This is an Issue Book, but it's about a hell of a lot of issues - queerness, faith, family, friends, the First Amendment, hip-hop, immigration, and that isn't even half of the issues the book touched on. Maybe it's a I liked this a lot more than I expected to when I started it, when I wasn't sure if the conversations about the ethics of white suburban girls doing hip-hop or being a Christian who isn't an asshole were being slotted in just to get them out of the way.

Maybe it's a lot more like real life than any book that isn't an "issue book" could ever be. Hip-hop isn't really my thing though after this book, I'm thinking maybe it should be , but smart girls who're trying to figure themselves out and don't feel like they quite fit in definitely are. Jul 05, Sherrie rated it really liked it Shelves: Sister Mischief is the story of four fierce. Although they live in the conservative Minneapolis suburb Holyhills they are about that life. The girls embrace the hip hop music and culture and fight for their rights when the school administration seeks to put a ban on all things hip hop.

This book was amazing I loved how the main characters had each others back and stood up for their beliefs. Looking forward to reading more books by this author. A group of white suburban midwestern girls take on sexuality through hip hop. There's the right amount of teenage angst and drama and good guys and bad guys, but sometimes a little too philosophizing. Apr 24, Crowinator rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really didn't want to read this because they used the word "bidness" and the word "illest" in the same sentence on the back of my ARC.

I love this book no shit. Even though it made me feel old. Jan 05, Vanessa rated it really liked it. My book club buddy wrote this! Jul 31, Laura Martinelli rated it really liked it Shelves: This is very much a character-driven book, and as a result, I loved Esme. She feels like a natural narrator, and I really felt her anger and frustration about her life through her words. I could really tell how much hip-hop spoke to Esme, and how she uses the style to express herself, not just in the various songs she and Sister Mischief perform, but even in her private notebook and scribblings. I also really liked that she had a bunch of different influences going into her writing, and not just name-dropping a few big names and leaving it at that.

Her frustration and conflict between having Esme all to herself and the response from her family was really natural, and I could understand why she and Esme both decided to mentally blue-screen following their break-up. I do wish she would have given coming out publicly a little more thought, but given her background, I can understand her hesitation. However, while I liked Marcy, I did think she got the least characterization out of the group, if only for being a supportive friend whenever Esme needs her the most. I felt like she needed a deeper exploration to her, as Esme, Rowie and Tess had their characters develop over the course of the book in reaction to the events.

It would have been nicer to get more of the diversity during the school scenes, but I liked how it was handled. And I have to give Goode massive kudos for her writing style. It felt like Esme was telling you her story and it made the prose feel nature. Also, I loved the use of footnotes throughout the book. A lot of YA books tend to shove texts and IMs and other forms of electronic communication, so not having everything single text and tweet shoved in my face was really refreshing. The most egregious example would be Mary Ashley, for fulfilling the hypocritical Christian white girl role.

I really wanted to see more of her confrontations with Tess, to give her a little more depth than giving the girls a few catty remarks. I look forward to pushing this book on to many people as I possibly can. Jan 17, Terri rated it it was ok. I came to the book willingly - a Minnesota setting, a book for our LGBTQ kids, an author with Minnesota connections - it's got to be good. Unfortunately, it turns out that I had a hard time getting through this one.

Protagonist Esme Rockett is not very likable from page one - she is tough. She is in your face with her language, her opinions, her anger, her choices. Sometimes she is as judgmental as those she decri "Sister Mischief" by Laura Goode is a tough one, literally and figuratively. Sometimes she is as judgmental as those she decries as being bigots. You figure out eventually where all of that anger comes from, she's lost her mom and she's questioning her sexuality and she's trying to figure out where to go from here, but most readers won't hold on long enough to figure that out.

I was uncomfortable with, offended even, by the first part of the book. The fairly graphic sex scenes were a turn off, as were the drinking, the language, the repartee between the characters. I kept trying to picture who the intended audience for the book was. I am not sure of the author's choices here. Scenes like this are easier, seem more natural and necessary, when you have invested in the characters first, when they are one small part of the whole.

It seems less gratuitous. It's easier to see the big picture, rather than focusing just on these things. It gives critics less ammunition as well. With "Sister Mischief" critics will read the first eight pages and say, "You see. Maybe the choices were made as a way to entice students into reading the book. That might work with some, but caring about a character is a more enticing reason to continue a book any day.

At any rate, the author's choices here were not clear and, I think, not the right ones. All of the messages - and there are many about faith, religion, sexuality, parenting, self-discovery, friendship, acceptance, empowering oneself, and music - are important. While I appreciate the author's enthusiasm and what she is trying to do and say here, the messages are again heavy-handed and in your face.

There are often complete diatribes on things like the history and importance of hip-hop music. In addition, it is easy to make a stereotypical character like Mary Ashley Baumgarten the antagonist in the story. But real life is more complicated than that - more like we see in the character of Tess. Critics will see an over the top character like Mary Ashley as an attack on Christianity, and maybe that is what it was meant to be.

It was interesting to me that, based on the descriptions, this appears to take place in or near Edina, Minnesota - a place easy to stereotype as the land of the "cake eaters. I could think of many other places near the Twin Cities where this might be more aptly set in that regard. It is also easy to make the principal the bad guy without exploring all of the difficult choices he needs to make in a public school in a community like Holyhill. Again, life is more complex than that.

In addition to the heavy-handed messaging and the stereotypical characters, some of the events that take place lack credulity. The climactic scene, in which Sister Mischief takes over an all-school assembly, is really hard to believe. That they could ever pull something like that off, stretches believability - and then that they did not receive more consequences - made me cringe.

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The idea of it is fun to think about - but the likelihood of that ever happening? Finally, these teens seem pretty articulate and self-aware for their ages. On the other hand, the fact that they bust the stereotype of hip-hop being all about black males and "bad" students and violence, is a positive!

I like some of the caring adults who stood behind Esme, Marcy, Rowie, and Tess - Esme's dad, Rowie's mom - I cared about them and believed that they cared about these kids. Even though they cared about these kids, I found it hard to care about them and invest in them myself.

I wanted to abandon the book as a result.

I am glad that I stuck with it because I cared more about the characters by the end of the book and understood where they were coming from. There are many references to contemporary pop culture that will date this book quickly. And all of the references to hip-hop musicians even local musicians - most readers outside of the Twin Cities area and aren't a part of the hip-hop scene will know little about them and hip-hop in general are overdone and might be a turn-of to readers who don't know this world.

Though, after I read the book, I had a great conversation with a colleague who knows this scene well.

I asked him about each of the musicians listed in the book, and we had a great discussion about the history of hip-hop and rap and its different phases and genres. He only knew one of the local musicians listed, Brother Ali. Great discussion - I learned a lot. I really wanted to like this book. I have it two because it was earnest and well-written and appeared genuine. But I don't know what to think frankly. Mar 05, Isabella rated it it was amazing. A humorous tale of sisterhood and the thrill and heartbreak of first love.

Apr 21, Clementine rated it it was amazing Shelves: Esme Rockett is a Jewish lesbian white-girl living in the suburbs of Minneapolis. When their Christian-dominated high school tries to ban hip-hop and the culture associated with it from school grounds, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands and form a gay-straight-hip-hop alliance. This move is met with resistance and struggle, Esme Rockett is a Jewish lesbian white-girl living in the suburbs of Minneapolis.

This move is met with resistance and struggle, but the girls work hard to stay true to themselves and the music they love. All common sense should dictate that I would not be predisposed to like this book. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis. Could have been MY high school in fact, I had moments where I was sure that Goode drew inspiration from my alma mater.

KIRKUS REVIEW

So I decided to dive into the book and see what would happen. Let it be said: Goode is a really, really good writer. These are girls who have chemistry together, who banter and tease each other and love one another deeply. A welcome break from novels that feature protagonists who have no friends or maybe one friend, this novel allows female friendships to flourish. Reading the scenes where the four girls are together, goofing around, were some of the best.

Goode also tackles the subject of hip-hop and cultural appropriation with grace and aplomb. Not only is it clear that Goode has done her homework about hip-hop music in general, but she creates characters who have a genuine love for the music. Come Back, Blizzard Bride! Watch Out, Blizzard Bride!: The Accidental Mail Order Bride.

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