Meg is a seventh grade soccer star dealing with injury, burn-out, and pressure from her dad to keep playing. Jo is a fashionista, part-time caretaker of their school’s mascot goat, Babette, and hoping that a new medication will be approved to treat her juvenile arthritis, for which she uses a crutch. But as rivalries heat up among students to be named “Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.)” (a sort of prom royalty accolade) at the annual Harvest Ball, injustices emerge about Babette’s treatment by the school—and Babette goes missing. The self-centered principal suspects Jo and Meg, but the girls see in Babette’s rescue not only a better life for the beloved goat, but also a way to right other inequalities, such as how school athletic fields and open spaces are being used. But can the girls trust that each of them has the same vision for the outcome? What about the handful of other students they have to engage to pull off the heist and get Babette back?
The entertaining escapades will delight readers who love a good caper—but underneath the fun are themes of self-care, bodily autonomy, activism, and friendship, explored thoughtfully but not pedantically through the alternating perspectives of each protagonist. Jo is also queer (something she and everyone around her seamlessly accept), and her crush on another girl (not Meg) forms a significant but not predominant part of the story.
I particularly love that both Meg and Jo are confident in who they are and what they can do right from the start, while also showing growth over the course of the book. Many middle grade books have protagonists who start from a point of self-doubt about their identity, skills, or social standing. Those are important stories to tell, but it’s nice to see some balance with protagonists who feel reasonably confident and competent to begin with, even as their self-perceptions and goals change during the narrative.
The sometimes-complex threads of the hijinks and characters’ motivations probably make the book best for the upper end of the middle grade range, who will likely enjoy it immensely. Funny, smart, and perhaps unexpectedly moving, it’s a highly recommended tale.
Both Meg and Jo are White.
