I just finished If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period, and I’m not sure yet how I feel about it. Kirsten is white, affluent, and overweight. Her parents fight constantly, she has terrible self esteem, and she eats to feel better. Walk is black, poor, and brilliant. He is told his father died in the Air Force, and his mom works hard to give him better opportunities in life. The book follows them as they enter 7th grade at an expensive private school outside San Francisco. He’s on scholarship, her family can afford the tuition. They become friends and discover some very explosive family secrets. They also deal with the trials of middle school, including a very powerful and very unfriendly Queen Bee figure in their class.

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