An incredibly promising #ownvoices middle grade debut in the vein of Black-ish, about twelve-year-old Shayla, who is just trying to get through middle school without making waves, until she realizes that some things are important enough to be worth the trouble 

A GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE
by Lisa Ramée
Balzer + Bray, January 2019

Twelve-year-old Shalya is allergic to trouble. All she wants is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.) But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what? Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but to Shay, that feels way too scary. But after experiencing a powerful protest, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing) but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.

Lisa Ramée was born and raised in Los Angeles and she now lives in Fremont. This is her first novel.