What Lane?, Torrey Maldonado
What Lane?, Torrey Maldonado
List: $15.00 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.50

What Lane?

Author: Torrey Maldonado

Narrator: Torrey Maldonado

Unabridged: 2 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/14/2020


Synopsis

"If you are wondering how to begin confronting Anti-Black racism in your classroom, start with What Lane?"--School Library Journal: The Classroom Bookshelf

"STAY IN YOUR LANE." Stephen doesn't want to hear that--he wants to have no lane.

Anything his friends can do, Stephen should be able to do too, right? So when they dare each other to sneak into an abandoned building, he doesn't think it's his lane, but he goes. Here's the thing, though: Can he do everything his friends can? Lately, he's not so sure. As a mixed kid, he feels like he's living in two worlds with different rules--and he's been noticing that strangers treat him differently than his white friends . . .

So what'll he do? Hold on tight as Stephen swerves in and out of lanes to find out which are his--and who should be with him.

Torrey Maldonado, author of the highly acclaimed Tight, does a masterful job showing a young boy coming of age in a racially split world, trying to blaze a way to be his best self.

About The Author

Torrey Maldonado (torreymaldonado.com), the author of the critically acclaimed Tight and Secret Saturdays, is a teacher in Brooklyn, New York, where he was born and raised. His books reflect his students' and his experiences.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Katy O. on June 16, 2020

A very short and relatively simple middle grade story that is 100% a strong “message” book about race and growing up a black male in NYC. The sweet spot for this is 5th-7th grades.......more

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on February 12, 2022

This is a difficult one for me to rate and review. On the one hand, I think it's a good conversation starter for those figuring out how to discuss race with their children; however, I had some serious issues with the character development. What Lane? focuses on Stephen, a young biracial boy who's beg......more

Goodreads review by Christina on February 17, 2020

Note: Review of Advance Readers Copy - Book releases 5/2020 Twelve-year-old Stephen can't be pigeonholed into any one lane. He is more than the Black kid who hangs out with his white friends watching Into the Spiderverse or Stranger Things, the same kid who sometimes also hangs with his Black friends......more

Goodreads review by Lorie on September 17, 2020

First, I am beyond grateful to Nancy Paulsen for sharing an early copy of this book with our reading group. I feel so lucky to be one of the first to absorb the story. If I could give WHAT LANE? infinite stars, I would. Three words to describe this book? Riveting. Relevant. Relatable. Torrey Maldonado......more

Goodreads review by Alexis on June 20, 2021

Thank you Torrey Maldonado and Nancy Paulsen Books for sharing What Lane? with the LitReviewCrew in exchange for an honest review! This book is what my library, and many libraries and homes, need. Here are 3 things I loved: 1-Finding yourself 2-Racially divided world 3-Short, but deep read I hope you r......more


Quotes

* “In an NYC landscape deeply shaped by race, sixth grader Stephen struggles to speak his piece. . . . Maldonado pursues a story about biracial boyhood, healthy friendships, and self-discovery while gesturing toward the influence of social movements like Black Lives Matter in reshaping what accountable friendship looks like. Voiced in the creative language of NYC youth, the novel models what it means to embrace the power of self-awareness and relationships built on mutual respect. Bridges everyday racism and accountable allyship with sincerity.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*
“Engaging, timely novel. . . . Maldonado (Tight) paints a vivid, relatable picture of an adventurous boy learning the rewards and dangers of straying out of his lane against the backdrop of an unfair system that could see him killed or arrested for the behaviors his white peers easily engage in. The characters are warmly realistic, by turns impulsive and regretful. In relatively few words, Maldonado elucidates matters related to racial profiling, police violence against black people, and allyship, all through the eyes of a brave kid trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

*
“Maldonado depicts his young hero’s awakening to the ugly realities of contemporary American racism. Caught between his best friend Dan, and Dan’s racist cousin Chad; straddling the line between his overprotective, naive white mother and his realist, all-too-aware Black father; and doing his best to integrate his middle school friend group, biracial Stephen is finding it tricky to ‘stay wide in all lanes.’ . . . Maldonado uses a biracial adolescent boy’s perspective to draw his readers into an engaging story of identity and tough choices that will appeal to middle schoolers everywhere. An ideal choice for school book clubs and advisory.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“Sixth-graders Stephen and Dan are so close that they could be twins aside from their race difference, but that difference is beginning to matter to the outside world. . . . Presents an honest account of a Black boy who has to grow up faster than his white friends, all while wishing his friend groups could just be together regardless of race. . . . Makes the point that the frequency of racist encounters means they’re daunting yet mundane, and there is an interesting dynamic between Stephen’s Black father and white mother, who both want to protect their son but take different approaches. His father and friend Wes both tie in real life details about current events such as Tamir Rice’s shooting and the Black Lives Matter movement, which adds to the authenticity and could make this selection a discussion starter.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books