Brave Like That

 by Lindsey Stoddard

Libby eBook 419 pages

Published: 2020

Genre: YA realistic fiction

Maud Hart Lovelace nominee 2022-23

There are things I liked about this book, but I had to push myself to read it. Perhaps it just wasn't the right book at the right time for me. Ironic that it didn't resonate strongly for me, but I highlighted a lot of passages!

Firefighters, football, music, a grandma with a stroke, adoption, stray pup, peer groups, middle school, kindness, . . . this book had a lot of themes and topics!

I like that Cyrus was adopted by Brooks Olson, firefighter, after being abandoned on the firehouse steps. 

Chapter 3: "No one knows that, except for the pictures, I can't even read two pages of that playbook and keep the words in my brain long enough to understand them all together. Because that's a secret, and I guess I'm actually kind of a star at keeping it that way. I made it all the way to the sixth grade without anyone finding out."

It's always so sad to me when people can't read / comprehend writing. And it's worse when they have developed workarounds so that people around them don't know and don't help them. 

Chapter 3: "I take off my helmet so I can get a real sip of water, and I pop in an orange slice too. It tastes so good, and if football were all huddles and halftime breaks, talking about the game and the plays, and eating fruit, I'd probably be MVP."

It was hard to see how much Cyrus didn't want to play football when there were so many pressures on him to participate.

Chapter 7: "Even though I've never straight-out lied to Dad and I'm starting to get that uneasy feeling in my stomach, I keep walking toward the door . . . " 

Trust the gut! Lying just drags you down and makes you feel worse!

Chapter 7 - when the "7" - kids walking dogs from the Humane Society in the woods breathe in deeply and chime, "Cheerios!" It made me laugh. I love the smell of the Malt-O-Meal plant when I'm in Northfield! Some of the setting details were delightful because I know and like Northfield. The author did a great job with this.

Chapter 8: "Both times I was pretty good at walking the other way and pretending I didn't know them or what was going on. It left that feeling in my stomach, though, to know that they were doing something bad and even though I wasn't a part of it, I kind of was."

Cyrus is describing a couple of times his childhood friends Marcus and Shane had done something wrong. Their negative behaviors definitely escalate over the course of the story and cause Cyrus to need to take a stand for what he believes in.

Throughout the story, Cyrus struggles with his true thoughts and feelings versus what he thinks his dad, teachers, and peers expect of him. His lies to his dad snowball until he's ready to burst.

Chapter 19: ". . .I'm wondering if maybe the older you get the less you care if others think you look funny or not."

For many of us, that's true. I love Cy's grandma and the connection the two of them share. Her stroke has impaired her, but they communicate simply. 

Overall, it's a really good story. I think Cyrus standing up for Eduardo (and getting to keep Parker) are my favorite parts. 

I did write down the titles of the books that Cy's English teacher read to the class, but now I can't find where I wrote them down . . . grr.

 ???

Calvin Can't Fly by Jennifer Berne

Oliver Button Is a Sissy by Tomie diPaolo

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson 

I'd like to get these books and read them. (As of 2/6/23, I've read the first two. I may or may not track down the other two. I do find it interesting and often helpful to use picture books in working with teens. They're short and give ample opportunities to discuss concepts.)