Dec 15, 2021 Staff Reads: Just Jaime
Just Jaime by Terri Libenson
Reviewed by Miss Michelle, Youth Services Librarian
Jaime and Maya have always been best friends, but on the last day of seventh grade, that may change. Jaime has noticed that her friend group seems to be leaving her out, and they’ve been making fun of her a lot. Maya, on the other hand, has been annoyed with Jaime for acting babyish, or at least that’s what her other friends have told her.
Just Jaime has realistic characters that tackle the challenges of middle school friendship in an approachable and humorous way. It’s incredibly relatable to anyone who’s ever been to middle school, as they’ll likely be able to identify with one of the characters in this book. Just Jaime is told with alternating points of view between Jaime and Maya, so you can empathize with what both of the main characters are thinking at each point in the story. The author also includes a lot of references to youth and Internet culture. While this can often be cringey in other books, in this one, it was integrated well, so it made the characters much more realistic.
If you’re a fan of authors like Rana Telgemeier or Jennifer L. Holm, this book is definitely for you! It’s available either in print or eAudio. There are four other books in the Emmie and Friends set, including Becoming Brianna, Positively Izzy, Invisible Emmie, and Truly Tyler.