Serena Says is a wonderful middle grade novel about change, friendship, and finding your voice. I loved seeing Serena grow both through her actions and via her vlog.
There's an interesting piece to the friendship story that surprised me. Serena's struggles with JC and her relationship with a new friend are fairly typical for middle grade books. But here, it's framed as a normal part of growing up. Friendships change as the individuals in them change, and that doesn't mean anyone is bad or wrong. It just happens. I would have liked a little more empathy for Serena as she struggles with this; the feedback that these things happen could come off a little unsympathetic. But I liked the overall message.

I enjoyed this book. It was great to see Serena develop into a more confident girl as she dealt with the evolution of her friendship with JC. I also really loved the relationship between Serena and her older sister. Though they didn't always see eye to eye, they supported each other the way we hope family would. I also really loved how vlogging was interwoven into Serena's transformation as a person. It served as a new age journal, an outlet for her to speak her truth and share her experiences with others as a means to help them through similar situations.

Overall great story about friendships, self confidence, and getting to know people before you judge them.

3.5 stars = Good+

I enjoyed this friendship story with an emphasis on finding your voice. Serena is a great character. I think kids will enjoy her vlog entries as she tries to find the right rhythm as well as her comfort in front of the camera. Her growth there translates to some growth in her relationships, and at school, which I enjoyed a lot.

There's an interesting piece to the friendship story that surprised me. Serena's struggles with JC and her relationship with a new friend are fairly typical for middle grade books. But here, it's framed as a normal part of growing up. Friendships change as the individuals in them change, and that doesn't mean anyone is bad or wrong. It just happens. I would have liked a little more empathy for Serena as she struggles with this; the feedback that these things happen could come off a little unsympathetic. But I liked the overall message.

Add this to your home or classroom library if you are looking for a good friendship story with a side of finding-your-voice-and-using-it. I think kids will enjoy Serena's story!

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Serena Says, and she has a LOT to say! Serena has it figurered out and is preparing to share her knowledge with the world. Fueled by her big sister's vlog, Serena decides to start her own. But when will her vlogs finally get posted?

And then there is the new school year starting. Her best friend, JC, won't be there, as she's had a kidney transplant. But the two of them have stood side by side since forever, so of course, nothing could ever change that! Until the new girl shows up. Serena has always bee in the spotlight, or at least the shadow of JC's spotlight, which is fine with her. But, when she feels she is being replaced and shoved to the side, what will become of her?

A great novel for preteen girls, going through all of these changes, without the extra stuff Serena has thrown at her. They'll learn to find their own voices, their own strengths, their own speeical gifts they have to offer to the world.

I love a great middle grade book that includes diverse characters that make a change! Find your voice! Followers (Teachers, students and families) of Stephen Covey will like this one!

Serena is a spunky, confident, careful sixth grader. She misses her best friend, JC, when she begins to hang out more with Serena's nemesis. Serena's problem solves her way through various challenges, sometimes using her voice for good and sometimes learning that not saying anything is the right path.

Her biggest fear is posting the Vlogs she has been recording, and she ALSO fears always being too afraid to post them.

Serena is a positive role model for girls and would be a great choice for helping kids who have something to say learn to break out of insecurity and share their views with the world. As a librarian in an inner-ring, older suburb, I am always happy to see non-stereotype books with non-white main characters that I can recommend to the students and families I interact with.

Serena Says by Tanita S. Davis is an absolute delight! It's the kind of story I wish had been in print when I was a tween/teenager, trying to navigate the complexities of shifting friendships.

Serena was comfortable in the shadow of her best friend, JC...until she realizes that JC is becoming closer to another girl. Now she needs to find her voice, and step up.

I loved how much heart Serena has, and how she slowly turns her nervousness and insecurities into something she can grow through to build her confidence. This is heartwarming and so sweet, and is perfect for young middle-grade readers looking for some confidence!

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Serena is a really fun character, and I enjoyed this 'peek' into her life as she deals with friendship issues in middle school. As many other reviewers have said, I think the author did an excellent job exploring the loss of friendship (and other changes) that happen during these tween years.

The only thing I struggled with is how JC is supposedly this bright light that keeps Serena in the shadows, but the entire time we know her, she's struggling (understandably so) with her health issues. I almost wish we had started the book a few months earlier or had more flashbacks of younger JC...since this was supposed to be a major plot point.

I would love to see more of Serena in the future!

Reading this book was like traveling back in time and reliving all of those middle school highs and lows. Highs like making new friends and growing into your voice as a leader; lows like losing your best friend without really knowing what went wrong. Serena accurately narrates these ups and downs with the confusion and confidence of a typical middle-schooler. I appreciated her relationship with her family and with her classmates as she sees some of them with a new perspective, but most of all, the author doesn't work to resolve Serena's friendship with JC. Instead, she writes this relationship realistically - friendships change and evolve, and through it all Serena thrives and takes advantage of her time to shine.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC. Definitely one for the classroom library.

Serena Says is about a middle grade black girl named Serena who is going through some of the ups and downs of middle school. This book brought back some memories I had from middle school. It was such a time for learning who we were and how we were going to fit in the world. This book had the perfect atmosphere. I love that Serena was using vlogging as a tool to learn how to talk to her friends, family and people in general.

I loved how Serena started out with her friendship with JC but had to figure out how to really communicate with her now that there relationship was changing a bit. Luckily they learned to communicate with each other and are still friends in the end.

I've had this book on my NetGalley shelf for a while, and I have to admit I was avoiding it. I'm more into mysteries and adventure. I requested this book because I have students who like realistic fiction about friendships, but they are not my thing. But I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

Serena is a very relatable character. She's going through the normal relationship issues that come with middle school and really struggling to figure out where she fits in. By the end of the book, she makes some hard decisions and is learning to stand up for herself. Not everything is resolved by the end of the book, but you know that Serena will be okay.

I know this book will be popular with my students who enjoy realistic fiction.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story and feel like a lot of middle grade readers will relate to many of the things in the story. I loved how the author used the vlogs to really show how Serena was gaining confidence throughout the book. It was fun to watch Serena discover her gifts and talents and learn that she has things to say, so she should share them! And by the time I was finished reading I wanted to try a DIY project or two!

Serena St. John and Jolynne "JC" Gerardo have been best friends ever since Serena first joined their class in fourth grade. Now in sixth, JC is going to be out of school for several months because of her kidney transplant, but Serena is still looking forward to visiting her.
That is, until she gets a cold and can't see JC in the hospital. As a result, JC ends up spending much more time with their classmate Leilani. Soon, she's ditched Serena's craft fair idea to work with Leilani, and doing her homework with her instead of Serena. Meanwhile at school, Serena's absences have caused her teacher to give her class-ambassador title to Leilani, and she is recruited by the Student Senate in its place. This is where other students inspire her to "stand up and speak out," running ideas for things like school assemblies and anti-drug week. Soon, this inspires her to start sharing the vlogs she used to make in secret on her older sister's YouTube channel.
I say it all the time, but I love books that don't follow the traditional plot structure. You know the one, where everything goes wrong or gets ruined at one point and the main character has to work to make it right. That didn't happen. Serena spends the majority of the book trying to think of how she can get close to JC again, as this conflict happens early on. It's not a book about friends fighting, it's more about an individual finding their voice.
The only thing I had a problem with were the multiple times Serena described JC as prettier or overall better than herself. I'm just tired of main characters who claim they "live in the shadow" of people like that. But it wasn't very frequent.

In “Serena Says,” Tanita S. Davis brings to life a sensitive, imaginative heroine navigating the turmoils of middle school. After her friend JC’s kidney transplant, Serena observes a shift in their friendship. She worries their interests and social circles have changed, and turns to vlogging as a means of self-expression and creativity. Chapters alternate between transcriptions of her videos (which include DIY crafts and anecdotes) and her day-to-day life. When JC ends up back in the hospital, Serena is forced to confront their differences, while dealing with the upcoming WinterFest at school and her role on the school’s Senate. She learns to communicate her feelings, and respect her friends’ boundaries. The book also aptly depicts mental health and the importance of privacy. “Serena Says” features a diverse and lively cast of characters that helps propel the story forward. Serena’s family dynamics feel particularly believable and relatable: a nagging sister, tense family dinners, frustrating conversations with parents. While Serena is in Middle School, the prose reads at a younger level and would appeal to elementary-aged children. The storyline lacks focus at times, and the purpose of the vlogs unclear. However, young readers will find in Serena an energetic friend working through the challenges of growing up.

I loved Serena and I overall did find the book fairly enjoyable. I felt like the ending fell really flat, but I would still recommend this book to others!

This is a great middle grade book about the way that friendships change in middle school and the power in both believing in yourself and giving others a chance. It also highlights the power in putting your words out there, for yourself or for others, in writing or as videos. Sometimes we just have to get the words out to better understand how we feel.

Serena has been best friends with JC since Serena skipped 3rd grade and entered 4th. When JC undergoes a kidney transplant, it seems to change her personality and Serena has to be on her own at school for the first time. But when a cold keeps Serena from being the one to bring JC the 6th grade class gift and JC seems to enjoy the visit with the new girl, Leilani, the green eyed monster rears its head. Lani has such an effervescent personality that she even takes over as the class ambassador, giving out great ideas for WinterFest, further annoying Serena who struggles to speak up. It goes from bad to worse when JC bails on their WinterFest project to work with Lani, Serena gets voluntold to be on school senate, gets paired up with Harrison to run Spirit Week, and then gets put into a group project with Lani. That's a lot for a tween to deal with. Serena makes mistakes along the way, but learns how to navigate her new world and even find her voice. The chapters are interspersed with Serena's vlogs, some of which get posted, some of which don't. Serena Says feels like what 6th graders go through and parts may really resonate with young readers. (Ages: 8-12)

This is a very sweet, very earnest middle grade novel, and Serena's tentative vlog chapters are very cute and bubbly. I will say that this seemed geared/written 'younger' than some of the other middle grade novels that have come out lately, and Serena is VERY innocent, despite the novel handling chronic physical illness/organ transplants and mental illness.

Serena is a phenomenal middle school narrator with so much to say and offer! Her honesty about being unsure, nervous, scared, lonely, mad, and more will really resonate with middle schoolers (and everyone!). Friendship issues are so real and so huge for kids and this book does a good job communicating the enormity of that. The sibling relationship is so well done and the vlogging is a great hook into the book for students and a reminder to find your own voice! It's also just a fun format and provides a different take on a middle school saga. The side stories and more minor characters and friendships are all so real and portray the complexities of middle school and navigating so many things at once accurately. Also, I love the representation in this book - it is done in the best way possible, as characters just happen to be fill in the blank instead of their race, family, disability, etc being their whole story. So many students will love to see part of their experience reflected in this book. The discussion of mental illness is particularly well done as it is not explained away easily or made "okay" but simply something that a friend's family is going through and working on. There is no easy answer or explanation and that is both realistic and humanizing. Can't wait to get this into the hands of students!

Serena is having friendship issues. Her best friend seems to be getting very close with a new student. Friendships are tricky. I appreciate that this book deals with that because so many elementary and middle school readers are dealing with this too. Because she's not with her bestie so much, she is also beginning to see other students and interact with them in different ways.

An added bit of fun in the book is that Serena is experimenting with blogging and DIY craft projects.

If you are looking for a heartfelt and humorous book with an engaging young black girl look no further. You have found it in SERENA SAYS. Davis nails the middle grade experience in her descriptions about friendship drama, family issues, schoolwork angst, and day-to-day life of POC.

I highly recommend purchasing this book for classroom and school libraries so we continue expanding our collections of #ownvoice and #diverse books. Let's give students more book where they can see themselves reflected in the pages they are reading!

Thank you Harper Collins: Katherine Tegen Books and Net Galley for this e-arc.