I really liked this story about Mary Kate and her middle school friends. They form a climate change club and try affecting a change in several different ways. Along the way, they encounter some other problems like racism that add some really interesting dynamics to the story. This one is probably too big for my elementary school library but I thought it was great.

I absolutely loved Dress Coded and encouraged, much to the dismay of my administration, them to think about our own dress code. I walked into The First Rule of Climate Club in the same way. Again, students are leading and thinking for themselves. While there won’t be anyone climbing out of windows in my school (mostly because the windows don’t open that far and the ones that do open are really high up) but I am taking this energy into my classroom next year. By some coincidence I will be teaching a curriculum about being a preparedness ambassador.

The book at times felt like it was trying too hard to shove too many issues into one story. They are all related, though. The characters had little development over last time, but having them back was like looping with a class and having the same kids for another year. I can’t wait to use this in conjunction with my new curriculum,

This book is the sequel to Dress Coded. It's the next school year and several students have been selected to be in a special science class about climate change. Even though much of the book focuses on climate change, there are several other issues in this book including the long-term undiagnosed illness of a friend and systematic racism. I like the middle school characters better than the adult characters in the book. At times the book is cheesy but activist-minded middle school readers will have lots to takeaway from this book. This book should appeal to 5th-7th graders.

I loved this book! If you have middle grade students in your life (or even if you just like excellent middle grade fiction), this is a must read.

Written by Carrie Firestone, The First Rule of Climate Club takes us back to the world of her last novel, Dress Coded. And like Dress Coded, this is another novel where students take ownership of an issue and make a real difference by simply standing up for what they believe in. This time, instead of an unjust dress code, the issue at hand is climate change, while also touching on racism and privilege. Mary Kate is in a pilot science class where students are tackling the big issue of climate change through project-based learning. They come up with all kinds of ideas to help the planet, such as composting, ditching leaf blowers and a clothing swap. I loved the characters here and, while climate change is a real and very scary reality, the book itself is hopeful because these young activists are willing to fight for our planet.

I loved this novel so much and cannot wait to add it to my library collection. Recommended for 5th grade and up, The First Rule of Climate Club is out now! Thanks for #netgalley for the ARC.

This is an excellent book about climate change and social justice, which, through the experiences of Mary Kate and her 8th grade classmates, helps to give kids concrete ideas for things they can do, it definitely attacks the idea of intersectionality head on, and the difference between not racist and antiracist. This would be an excellent book for class discussion and should absolutely be included in libraries.

One thing I would LOVE to see the author do is to write a sequel from Lucy (and possibly Andrew's) experience, both because PANS/PANDAS and chronic illness from an infection isn't something well covered in efen adult fiction (and due to long COVID, is increasingly relevant), but also because anxiety is ALSO something a lot of climate and justice minded kids face. Being sidelined due to illness and feeling unable to do anything, and Andrew's experience of existential anxiety and his parents keeping him from taking the class out of concern, but that increasing the feeling of being unable to control the situation are topics that deserve expansion.

Firestone knows how to get readers invested in characters and their stories! The First Rule of Climate Club will hook you from the start. I especially enjoyed the mix in of the essays the different students wrote to get into the special climate class (they help us get to know them and their passions/ motives better). The podcast episodes and the letters to baby Penelope were a nice touch as well. Filled with honesty about the struggles society is facing along with hope that we can actually make the changes necessary with education, research, passion and the will to fight against both injustices and problems with “the way things have always been”.

The First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone is a wonderful book for students in middle school. When Mary Kate joins a special science program that focuses on climate change at school, she begins to notice how everyday actions have affected our climate and what they can do about it. For example, food tossed out can be used for compost. While working with other students she discovers that the students who are bused in from another area are not treated fairly. Finally, after her best friend has become very ill from tick related diseases, she finds out that these diseases are becoming worse due to climate change. As Mary Kate and her friends create podcasts and begin to fight for climate change, they realize that their mayor is not interested in helping with their cause.

After reading The First Rule of Climate Club, I began to think more about what I could do to help with climate change. This book would be a great tool to use to get middle schoolers to think about what they can do to help with climate change. Finally, Carrie Firestone has written a story that is interesting on a very important topic.

This was a fun companion to the first book! I thought it did a fantastic job touching on the intersection of race, poverty, and climate change - something I haven't encountered in many books (much less a middle grade) before! Highly recommended.