You might have heard some buzz about Sister Mischief, the debut young adult novel by Laura Goode (Candlewick, 2011).
And, you might be wondering what makes it so special.
Well, for one thing, it’s a sharply written book with compelling characters and an engaging plot. For another, it’s got a killer voice. Here’s a sample:
Me and my sisters are four mud-slinging, bomb-dropping, clam-jamming, bringers of mischief about to spit some rhymes like you’ve never heard … Hold on to your hosiery, because we’re about to load you up with a fat dose of wickedness, whimsy, thievery, sensation, charm and general ruckus-making.
In fact, New Mexico librarian Angie Manfredi (known as @misskubelik on Twitter) recently tweeted that this book was, “The best multicultural, feminist, lesbian hip-hop romance you’ll ever read.”
And, she just might be right.
That’s why — if I were a librarian at Glee’s William McKinley High — I’d recommend this book to hilariously mean but troubled teen Santana Lopez, who’s played with skill by actress Naya Rivera.
Why? Because it says everything Santana needs to hear.
First, it has a main character just as strong and opinionated as Santana herself. Esme Rockett is the leader of an unlikely high school hip-hop group in Holyhill, Minnesota. She’s Jewish, lesbian and one heck of a lyricist. Her bandmates are her best friends — Marcy, Tess and Rohini, better known as Rowie.
Second, Esme finds herself in a situation similar to Santana’s. Esme is in love with her best friend, Rowie. Rowie loves her back, but isn’t willing to go public with the relationship and isn’t even totally sure if she’s lesbian, bisexual or something else.
While Santana’s best friend and sometimes love interest, Brittany, doesn’t seem to feel the family pressure Rowie does to conform to a heterosexual lifestyle, Brittany did choose Artie over Santana last season and has not fully responded to several declarations of love from Santana.
But that might be OK
Almost everyone has had the experience of loving someone who doesn’t love them back in the way they’d like. And few people find true, lasting love their first time out of the gate. I’d hope Santana would see that even though Esme’s romance with Rowie doesn’t end the way she hoped, Esme still has a lot to give and a bright future.
The biggest difference between Esme and Santana is that Esme has a core group of friends she trusts implicitly. Her life isn’t always easy, but her friends know her and love her. And she has an extremely tolerant and understanding father. While Esme isn’t above causing chaos at school when she thinks there are wrongs to be righted, she doesn’t lash out randomly at her classmates like Santana famously does.
That’s because Esme has accepted herself, something Santana still struggles with.
So if I were Glee’s librarian, I’d give Santana the book and ask her to read it, paying special attention to page 256, where Esme’s dad comforts her, saying, “You did the most sacred, human thing in the world. You fell in love with another human being. I know how it feels to lose that.”
I’d also refer Santana to page 317 where Esme and Rowie have a hard conversation and decide their friendship an
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