Be Real, Macy Weaver - Hardcover

Wilson, Lakita

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593465725 ISBN 13: 9780593465721

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers, 2022

Synopsis

A humorous, heartfelt, and fashion-filled contemporary novel about Macy Weaver, a young girl struggling with how to be her true self and make a best friend. Perfect for fans of From the Desk of Zoe Washington and Stand Up, Yumi Chung.

Eleven-year-old Macy Weaver knows relationships are complicated. Fresh off her latest friendship breakup, she’s spent most of her summer break on her own. So when Macy’s mother decides to go back to college three states away, Macy jumps on the chance to move—anything for a fresh start.
 
But Macy’s new home isn’t exactly what she expected. Her mother’s never around and her dad’s always working. Lonelier than ever, Macy sets her sights on finding a new best friend. When she meets Brynn, who’s smart and kind and already seems to have her whole life figured out—down to her future as a high fashion model—Macy knows she’s it. The only problem is that Brynn already has a BFF and, as everyone knows, you can only have one.
 
Resorting to old habits, Macy turns one small lie into a whole new life—full of fantastic fashion and haute couture—but it isn't long before everything really falls apart. Ultimately, Macy must determine how to make things right and be true to herself—rather than chasing after the person she thinks she’s supposed to be.

About this title

About the Author

Lakita Wilson is an MFA student at Vermont College of Fine Arts studying Writing for Children and Young Adults. Her middle grade manuscript won the 2017 SCBWI On-the-Verge Emerging Voices Award. On Instagram, you can find her posting about black culture on her account @welovedthe90s, which has over 72K followers, and promoting diverse children’s literature on her account @lakitareads, which has over 25K followers. Lakita lives in Maryland with her two children and Shih-Tzu. 
 
 

 

Reviews

Gr 3–7—Sixth grader Macy Weaver will do anything to have a best friend. She'll tailor her personality to match anyone she thinks has best friend potential. After this strategy leaves her with a bout of loneliness, she jumps at the chance to move to Bowie, MD, for a fresh start when her mother makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to go back to college. When Macy finds she is more alone than ever in her new home, she decides to craft a new fashion-forward persona far from her reality. As she struggles to keep up with the lies, Macy continues to feel unwanted as her true self, even when genuine friendships form. Readers will enjoy Macy's authentic voice as she reflects on her feelings and the nuanced secondary characters, all of whom are Black. The story's pacing may be slow for some readers, though it allows for tension to build around Macy. The main character's mother's absence and irresponsible spending habits are highlighted in the book, but Wilson does resolve these by the end. VERDICT This is a solid realistic fiction choice for fans of Renée Watson, Jamie Sumner, or Janae Marks. Recommended for purchase for all collections.—Monisha Blair

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Best friendships were tricky. One day you were in. The next, you were out. At least, that was the case with Mia. And Darby. And Payton. Macy Weaver avoided looking over at any of those flakes as her teacher wrapped up the last few seconds of fifth grade.
“Remember to read at least one novel this summer to keep those brains ticking,” Ms. Parker said, fanning herself as she wandered around the warm room.
Outside, the groundskeeper hummed along atop his ride—on lawn mower. Inside, Mia and Darby whispered to each other, while Payton snuck her phone out to text under her desk.
Macy didn’t pay attention to any of that. Instead, she focused on drawing a large rainbow on her wrist. It wasn’t exactly neat, and some of the colors ran together a little bit—-but it was there.
As Ms. Parker finished speaking, Macy’s eyes flicked over to the ticking long hand moving its way around the wall clock. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting, until—yes!—dismissal.
Jumping out of her seat, Macy smoothed down her six crooked braids, then she tapped the rainbow on her wrist for good luck and darted from the room.
All around her, hope bloomed. The days were warmer. Brighter. Girls huddled near water fountains, and boys shot fake hoops in the air. Lockers slammed extra loud. The last day of school had finally arrived.
It wasn’t easy dodging through fifth graders in short--sleeved tees, high--top fades, and dingy house--key necklaces, but Macy made it work. She hopped over forgotten textbooks and ducked under falling banners that warned the students to always practice good citizenship—until finally—
“Matching tats!” Macy waved her arm in the face of her newest best friend, Josie Miller. Forget Mia. Forget Darby. And definitely forget Payton. Josie was the kind of girl who stuck around.
There were times, these last few weeks, that Macy didn’t think she’d make it to this moment. But class time was over, her final textbook was turned in, and Macy Weaver and Josie Miller were still best friends. This was a huge win. For the first time in all the years Macy had been in school, she’d finally get to spend her entire summer break with a best friend, doing whatever it was best friends did.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593465725
• ISBN 13: 9780593465721
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384