{"id":33673,"date":"2018-01-13T23:09:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-14T03:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33673"},"modified":"2018-01-13T23:09:11","modified_gmt":"2018-01-14T03:09:11","slug":"review-of-patina-by-jason-reynolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33673","title":{"rendered":"Review of Patina, by Jason Reynolds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Patina<\/p>\n

Track<\/em>: Book 2<\/p>\n

by Jason Reynolds<\/p>\n

A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book (Atheneum Books for Young Readers), 2017. 233 pages.<\/p>\n

This is the second book in Jason Reynolds\u2019 Track<\/a><\/em> series, each one featuring one new member of the \u201cDefenders\u201d track team. Both volumes so far end with a race, but you don\u2019t find out who wins until the next volume. (This is a little annoying. By the time I got to read Patina<\/em>, I\u2019d forgotten Ghost<\/a><\/em> had left off in the middle of a race, so I wasn\u2019t nearly as invested as I would have been if the end of the race had been the end of the book. Once the series is done, it will keep kids reading on in the series, though.)<\/p>\n

The first book featured Ghost, who\u2019s used to running from problems. This second book features Patina, who\u2019s carrying a heavy load for her family. As in the first book, the track gives her insight about her life, this time it\u2019s Patina learning to run a relay and be part of a team.<\/p>\n

Patina\u2019s father died years ago, and her mother has diabetes, with both her legs amputated and needing dialysis. So Patti and her little sister Maddy live with their uncle and aunt. But Patti feels very responsible for Maddy, and responsible for her mother, too, to some extent. On top of that, Patti\u2019s going to a new school, a private \u201cacademy,\u201d and is new on the track team.<\/p>\n

I like where Patti describes her Sunday ritual of doing Maddy\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

I do Maddy\u2019s hair every Sunday for two reasons. The first is because Momly can\u2019t do it. If it was up to her, Maddy\u2019s hair would be in two Afro-puffs every day. Either that, or Momly would\u2019ve shaved it all off by now. It\u2019s not that she don\u2019t care. She does. It\u2019s just that she don\u2019t know what to do with hair like Maddy\u2019s \u2013 like ours. Ma do, but Momly . . . nope. She never had to deal with nothing like it, and there ain\u2019t no rule book for white people to know how to work with black hair. And her husband, my uncle Tony, he ain\u2019t no help. Ever since they adopted us, every time I talk about Maddy\u2019s hair, Uncle Tony says the same thing \u2013 just let it rock. Like he\u2019s gonna sit in the back of Maddy\u2019s class and stink-face all the six-year-old bullies in barrettes. Right. But luckily for everybody, especially Maddy, I know what I\u2019m doing. Been a black girl all my life.<\/p>\n

The other reason I always do Maddy\u2019s hair on Sundays is because that\u2019s when we see Ma, and she don\u2019t wanna see Maddy looking like \u201cshe ain\u2019t never been nowhere.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I like the way this series focuses in on each featured character. There\u2019s always a story. Patina\u2019s story isn\u2019t quite as dramatic as Ghost\u2019s, but Patti still has plenty to deal with in this book. And I like the way some things get worked out with the team.<\/p>\n

jasonwritesbooks.com<\/a>
\nsimonandschuster.com\/kids<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/patina.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>