Kellen Hertz

I was pleasantly surprised to find Courtney's second book centers around the AIDS pandemic and how reactive people were (which reminds me of current disinfo around the COVID-19 pandemic). Courtney's new friend Aaron is a hemophiliac who got an infected blood transfusion, mirroring the real life case of Ryan White, and the descriptions of angry people protesting him being at school and in public places reminded me that the real people who did similar are today's grandparents, alive and well (and potentially still narrow minded). AIDS is addressed at an age-appropriate level for middle grade, and this would be a good introduction to the concept of why we should be kind to people with chronic illness instead of treating them like pariahs.

I kinda wish Kip had more to do here, and kind of wondered at Courtney apparently being the only friend to go visit Aaron in person when he was at home. From his surname, I'm guessing Kip is of Japanese descent, and his relatives likely experienced outward discrimination from WWII onwards (or contemporarily, given Vincent Chin's murder by racist autoworkers in 1982) so he absolutely could've been another friend empathizing with Aaron's experiences.

The product placement was cute but I thought it was funny that Courtney's dad just... gives her a Christmas present months early because her books ditched the classic school year format in favor of being from January through fall of 1986. I do agree with Sarah though- I was fascinated by Kirsten's lunch pail in the catalog! (growing up, I got the catalog to look through but like Courtney's mom, my parents thought the dolls were too expensive).

In terms of impactful education about a decade, I liked the Courtney books more than MaryEllen even if I still find it horrifying to tag 1986 as historical fiction. Courtney's books show the impacts of divorce more strongly than Julie's (again, it really was a missed opportunity to center Ivy as a main historical character but that's my forever AG soapbox).

Dreading the inevitable '90s which will be siiiiiiiiick (rise of Saturday morning cartoons? I dunno mattel, tell me what you're going to zoom in on)… (altro)

whoops, I really need to be more on top of marking where/when I'm finishing books- actually completed this a few days ago!

It's fascinating to me to see an era only a couple years before I was born be in the historical era (I cannot stress enough how weird it feels to tag this as historical fiction), and yet as I write this review, 1986 is 36 years ago, which would've been analogous to me reading a 50s era girl, I suppose (hey Maryellen, what's up?) Familiarity with the era does make a lot of the "period" things (the corded phone snaking under the bathroom door as Tina talks to a friend, hanging out at the mall because what else do tweens do I guess?) jump out.

Most of the other historical books take place in the year that ends in 4 (Samantha- 1904, Molly, 1944, Julie, 1974, etc.) but moving Courtney to 1986 allows AG to do two things: 1) use the Challenger launch as the background to her school project and later understand grief, and 2) introduce themselves as Pleasant Company was founded in 1986 (though since this novel takes place in January, the Molly doll doesn't show up here and presumably will in the second volume). The latter feels like a potential cash grab by Mattel for nostalgic Millennial moms (and if you read the reviews for that Pleasant Company Doll, it was effective), but I definitely feel like Courtney's life lessons are more meaningful than Maryellen's. Julie's books talk about divorce, but Courtney's address what being in a blended family is like.

While I miss having the six separate books following different adventures, two longer ones give more room for individual stories to breathe (Tina in particular needs a hug). The Looking Back section briefly mentions Reagan as a popular president with a benign outlook for America before talking about how malls and video games were what people did for entertainment with friends without social media or cell phones. Also discusses how the Challenger explosion was one of the first nationally televised tragedies, which makes me wonder how the 2000s will be covered in the future...
… (altro)

Courtney is looking forward to summer. After experiencing the high from participating in Hands Across America she decides she will do awesome things that summer that help others. Going to the arcade after Hands Across America she meets Isaac who is super good with video games. Hoping to see him again, she continues going to the arcade with her friends but Isaac does not show again. She does meet him when school reopens and they are in the same class. She learns more about him and discovers why his family moved to California. She learns what he went through and becomes an activist to teach people about others like Isaac.

I enjoyed this book very much. I could not put it down. It puts a face onto Isaac's illness and how others treated him without knowing much about his disease. I liked how Courtney had his back though it was hard. She learned to navigate how to choose right over easy. I also liked how Kip, another friend, also stood by her and Isaac.

I appreciated the section at the back of the book that talks about what was happening in the 1980's when this book takes place. I lived through all of it and remember it. This was a good read.… (altro)