The True Definition of Neva Beane, Christine Kendall
The True Definition of Neva Beane, Christine Kendall
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The True Definition of Neva Beane

Author: Christine Kendall

Narrator: Channie Waites

Unabridged: 4 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/15/2020


Synopsis

From the author of Riding Chance comes the story of a girl whose dictionary is helping make sense of the world, her changing body, friendships, and a family that's struggling to stay strong amidst the turbulent backdrop of activism, across generations.Being twelve isn't easy, especially when you're Neva Beane. Neva feels beautiful wearing her new bra, but she's confused by how others respond to the changes taking place in and out of her body. Her best friend, Jamila, is getting all the attention. Her brother, Clayton, is becoming an activist. And Mom and Dad are gone working-again. Grandad and Nana aren't much help, either, with their old ways and backward views.Neva struggles to find her place in a world that, like the political landscape that's always shifting around her in her West Philadelphia neighborhood, is uncertain, at times scary, but most always, filled with unanswered questions. Neva is left with what comforts her most-words and their meanings, which she chronicles herself. While the pages of her beloved dictionary reveal truths about what's happening around her, Neva must discover the best way to define herself. In this wholly original story by the author of the NAACP Image Award nominee Riding Chance, a girl finds her voice in unexpected ways.

Reviews

Goodreads review by nataliee on May 18, 2021

ahhh very good book, definitely would recommend to my age group!!......more

Goodreads review by Julie on February 21, 2021

I wanted to like this book a lot more! The protagonist sounded so fun--a tween girl who loves words and language. But I had a really hard time connecting with her. It was hard to keep track of everyone she wasn't talking to and why, and I felt like she didn't have an unselfish thought until about 2/......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on January 18, 2021

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! Geneva Beane is home for the summer with her grandma, grandad, and brother. Her parents are overseas as her mom and dad are trying to get their music career started with a singer. Clay, her brother, is working at Swim Club, but is also getting involved in some protests in......more

Goodreads review by Laura on August 09, 2020

Thanks to Scholastic for the free review copy to share with Kidlitexchange. I wanted to love this book, but I struggled to get into it at first. At first it seems to be about Neva’s changing body and her obsession with words. Reading to the end, though, I found that the book is mostly about Neva and......more

Goodreads review by Abbie on May 18, 2021

This new book by Christine Kendall is about a girl on the cusp of growing up and seeing the world beyond her own little world. Neva's obsession with the dictionary and her vocabulary words is fun, and she feels like a real person. I just wish the book had started with something other than her obsess......more