Dear Rachel Maddow
By Mary Cosola,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Teen can't stop confessing to her hero in poignant story.
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What's the Story?
In DEAR RACHEL MADDOW, Brynn Harper's life is on a steady downward slide. Her father left the family, her brother died of an overdose, her mother married a cruel, abusive man, and her grades have tanked. Furthermore, Brynn's girlfriend broke up with her, and she's banned from working on the school newspaper -- her one passion at school -- until she raises her GPA. When her teacher assigns his students to write to a "celebrity hero," Brynn chooses television news personality Rachel Maddow. After getting a response from Maddow, Brynn continues to write to her but saves the emails to her Drafts folder rather than sending them. The emails serve as a journal of sorts for Brynn. She writes about the turmoil in her life, both at home and at school, and about her grief over losing her brother to an overdose. An opportunity comes up at school for Brynn to run for a special student representative position. While these types of roles always go to the honors students, Brynn feels that the concerns of the average and special-needs students are rarely considered by the more elite kids and the administration. After watching The Rachel Maddow Show so often, Brynn has a good idea of what a representative democracy should be and how all voices should be heard. She takes what she has learned from her television hero and dives into the election at school, upsetting the entrenched power structure. Through it all, she has to figure out what she's going to do with her life and where to find the reserves to keep chugging along when life won't stop throwing her curve balls.
Is It Any Good?
A teen girl pours her heart out to her celebrity hero, Rachel Maddow, in this poignant and funny story. Dear Rachel Maddow starts out a little slow but picks up as Brynn Harper's personality starts to shine through her hundreds of unsent emails. Brynn's voice is witty and engaging. Her creative swearing is entertaining but will likely turn off readers who don't like profanity. The best part of the story is following along with Brynn and seeing what she faces on a day-to-day basis. She often wants to give up but finds a way to keep battling on. She's the kind of kid easily overlooked at school because she isn't a superstar, plus she has serious trouble at home because her dad left and her mom married a verbally and physically abusive man. She also faces some bullying at school but handles it quite well. In fact, she is a good gay role model for kids in that she owns her sexuality and it isn't an issue for her at all. When Brynn dives into the school election, you can't help but root for her. Her reluctant hero attitude is endearing.
The main downside to the plot is that Brynn has so much stacked against her at one point that the story starts to tip into bleak and overwhelming territory. Most of the secondary characters are one-dimensional, especially her opponent, Adam. But Brynn is such a fun, cool character, she more than makes up for that deficit.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
How do you feel about stories about unlikely underdogs and reluctant heroes, like Brynn in Dear Rachel Maddow? Do you want the underdog to win every time, or are you OK with other outcomes?
How do you feel about the social and student-government power structure at your school? Are the same people always calling the shots, or is it spread around among lots of types of students? Do you feel that the needs of regular kids and those who aren't high-achieving get overlooked?
Do you have a celebrity hero? Why do you admire that person? Also, what are the downsides of hero worship?
Do you have anyone you can talk to about your feelings or about things that have happened to you? Are you a person who buries feelings or do you always let everything out?
Book Details
- Author: Adrienne Kisner
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
- Publication date: June 5, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 18
- Number of pages: 272
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: April 23, 2020
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