Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Six students in a Brooklyn elementary school are given one hour a week to just talk together, with no adults present. As they share their stories, friendship and understanding develops among them.

I was skeptical of the premise at first — that it would be allowed, and that it would result in the deep discussion that happens in the book. Woodson sells me on that, at least with this group of characters. There’s not much plot to this book; it seems to be mostly focused on showing how many current events and concerns relate to kids on a personal level. As an adult reader, I thought the lessons being imparted were a little too obvious, but I’d be interested to see how kids react. The writing is strong, though the decision to represent dialogue with italics rather than quotation marks bugged me. Recommended to readers of realistic juvenile fiction, particularly teachers, as I can see this being useful in a classroom setting.

(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)