Listen to This by Jennifer Blecher
I remember when I first came across this book. I was excited to read it because I thought it would start some good conversations about digital privacy. Will’s dad has a podcast, and he talks about everything on it. Like, Will has no secrets. I think about this type of stuff when I see adults posting a ton about their kids, but also when I see kids starting to post a little too much.
The book is told from two different perspectives. Will lives with his dad. A dad who has a podcast called Dr. Dad and shares all of Will’s life with his listeners. Will is not a huge fan of this. I completely understand. Will doesn’t feel like he can be all that open with his dad because he doesn’t want to give his dad more material for his podcast. That is sad to hear. I get that his dad wants to help other parents, but it’s sad that he is pushing his own son away to do it.
Lily lives with her parents and her older sister. She has two best friends who are starting to move away from her. They play soccer and are often away for practice and games, leaving Lily to entertain herself. One of her friends has also shared a secret with her. Her friend confessed that she has a crush on another girl. Lily doesn’t know what to do with this secret. It’s not seen as a bad secret; she just doesn’t know whether she can talk about it openly with their other friends or if she has to pretend she doesn’t know.
Lily is also dealing with a bully. Sienna. Sienna is the most popular girl in school, and she acts like she controls everything and everyone. Well, she seems to boss just about everyone around. She likes to meddle in everyone’s lives. I think the first time we meet her; she is writing down the names of kids who are going to the upcoming dance together. She wants it all sorted out so that “there’s no confusion”. I think she just wants to know everything about everyone.
Most of the book is about everyone keeping secrets. I get it. It’s middle school, and you don’t know how others will react, so you just keep pushing forward. But of course, because it is middle school, the secrets start to get out there. None of them are ‘call the police’ kind of secrets, but it is good that they got out in the open. The ending was still a little open-ended. It was a good ending, but not everything was tied up in a bow.
Three Out of Five Magical Coffee Cups (More like 3.5)
Literary Coffee 