Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! After my heaviest reading month yet I'm decided to switch gears and read something a little lighter.  Simone Breaks all the Rules is the latest by veteran YA author Debbie Rigaud who I did an interview with last year. I received an arc from Scholastic for review.

Simone Thibodeaux is a Haitian-American teenager preparing for graduation. Her strict parents have plans for her to commute to school like her older sister and Simone is tired of following in her footsteps. She's ready to break free and start experiencing more things before high school ends. Simone has her eyes set on attending prom with Gavin, a boy from a rival school who rides the same bus as her in the mornings. But her parent's have already selected the son of a family friend, Ben to be her date. So she teams up with two other girls who also have strict parents and plans her "promancipation" along with a list of other activities they want to complete behind their parents backs.

One thing I appreciated about this book is that Simone lives in a Black neighborhood, uses AAVE, and has Black love interests. Sadly that type of representation is rare in YA lately. Even though she attends a mostly white Catholic school the book doesn't center around that aspect of her school experience. There were reminders that anti-Haitian sentiments are real and that the world is harder for Black girls. But that wasn't the entire story. It doesn't delve into centering whiteness and race-based trauma. And sometimes I feel some YA stories focus on the hardships of being Black like you can only show Black pain or Black joy versus showing the full spectrum.

Simone's parents though strict are also not written as caricatures. They mix kreyol in with their English and sometimes the words are explained in text and sometimes they aren't and that's okay. They are strict but well meaning and love their daughters very much. Despite her mother being overbearing at times we still saw moments of levity where Simone could joke and laugh with her. I enjoyed their interactions when Grandmere came to visit. She also has a close relationship with her cousin Gabby who also attends the same school. Children of immigrants will definitely be able to see bits of their households in the Thibodeaux family. I definitely saw so much of myself in her.

Over all this is an enjoyable contemporary with plenty of heart along with funny moments and great friendships. And it's available just in time for the teens to start their summer reading.