Patina

July 15, 2017
African-American track phenom Patina Jones takes the baton from Ghost (2016) in the second volume of Reynolds' Track series for middle graders.Reynolds tells readers almost all they need to know about Patty in two opening, contrasting scenes. In the first, Patty misjudges her competitors in an 800-meter race she's certain she should have won. Running well but second is not enough for the ferociously competitive Patty. In the other, she braids her little sister's hair before church, finishing off each of Maddy's 30 braids with three beads. She does this every Sunday because their white adoptive mother can't ("there ain't no rule book for white people to know how to work with black hair") and because their birth mother insists they look their best for church. Their father dead and their birth mother's legs lost to diabetes, the two girls live with their father's brother and his wife, seeing their mother once a week in an arrangement that's as imperfect as it is loving and necessary. Writing in Patty's voice, Reynolds creates a fully dimensional, conflicted character whose hard-earned pragmatism helps her bring her relay team together, negotiate the social dynamics of the all-girls, mostly white private school she attends, and make the best of her unusual family lot. When this last is threatened, readers will ache right alongside her. Another stellar lap--readers will be eager to see who's next. (Fiction. 8-12)

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October 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Patina Jones not only loves to run, she needs to run-and win. She's a gifted athlete, and since the death of her father and her mother's life-altering health problems, Patty's track club has become the focal point of her life. Running helps her to navigate the changes she and her younger sister, Maddy, are experiencing. They have left their urban neighborhood to live in a different part of the city with their uncle Tony (who is black like Patty and Maddy) and their aunt Emily (who is white) and attend a new school, Chester Academy. In this follow-up to Ghost, the award-winning author continues to display his mastery of voice. Patty's observations about her new classmates are pointed: "a whole bunch of rich girls whose daddies own stuff." Over time, Patty begins to understand that her success depends on teamwork. Her changing views are sparked by two collaborative projects. One is based on the life of Frida Kahlo. Working with classmates, about whom she had formed erroneous assumptions, gives her opportunities to widen her perspective. The second and more central catalyst is being selected as a member of the 4x800 relay on her elite track team. With the encouragement of her loving family and supportive coaches, Patty ultimately becomes the anchor of her team, both on and off the track. Patty's story is an invitation to grapple with the need to belong, socioeconomic status, and the dangers of jumping to conclusions. VERDICT This "second leg" of Reynolds's series is as satisfying as its predecessor and a winning story on its own.-Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2017
Back for the second leg of the Track series relay, the Defenders team has passed the baton to title character Patina, nicknamed Patty. First introduced to readers in Ghost (rev. 11/16), Patty has been forced to grow up quickly. After her father dies suddenly, Patty's role in raising her younger sister Maddy grows larger as their mother gets ill and ultimately becomes a double amputee due to complications from diabetes. While moving in with their godparents, who have adopted them both, has relieved some of the pressure, Patty is not always certain how to relinquish her role as caregiver. She takes it upon herself to braid Maddy's hair (as opposed to letting their adoptive mother, Momly, do it) because ain't no rule book for white people to know how to work with black hair. Patty pushes Ma in her wheelchair to and from church on Sundays. She does all the work on her group project at school, and angrily counts her second-place ribbon at a track meet as fake. At some point, Momly reminds her, Folks who try to do everything are usually avoiding one thing. Those words ring true when an almost-tragedy strikes the household and Patty is forced to face the thing --the loss she feels at the death of her father--and start to trust others. For his first book featuring a female protagonist, Reynolds has done an excellent job of providing insights into the life of an African American middle schooler. Track scenes (and drama) are interspersed with home and school scenes (and drama); and as the new girl at an elite academy, Patty's interactions with her vapid hair-flipper classmates, especially, are both humorous and authentic. eboni njoku

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)