Burgess, Tamika. Sincerely Sicily. Harper/Collins, 01/2023. 304pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-0-0631-5960-0. GRADES 4–7. ADDITIONAL.
Sicily longs to go to the same middle school as her squad of friends but instead must attend a school closer to home. She is hurt and embarrassed when new classmates laugh and question her identity: “If your family is from Panama and they speak Spanish, why are you Black?” Through the course of the story, Sicily finds a powerful way to answer that question, leaning into her heritage and finding her voice as a writer in the process. Readers will gravitate towards this smart and resilient sixth grader, who loves hanging out with friends and styling hair. Content-heavy journal entries about Afro-Panamanian history tend to slow the pace, adding a didactic tone to an otherwise compelling story. Sicily describes herself as having dark brown skin; her best friends are Filipino and mixed race.
Jenny Andrus—Independent