The follow up to her fantastic MG debut, Ellie Engle, we now get Bree’s story from @byleahjohnson
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Bree Boyd has GOALS. Ones her father has set for her, but they’re also ones she wants to achieve like winning the school’s spelling bee competition. But when Bree has to move on to the next level of the competition, she finds herself easily distracted after a lightning strike gives her the ability to levitate items & people! Now Bree’s life that used to be routine and planned is spinning out of control!
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This was such well-done middle grade sequel that I might have loved even more than the first and how often does that happen?! This novel was filled with quotes that I couldn’t stop underlining!
“Oh, Beyonce, please purify Bree with your legendariness!”
“Middle school is like a dumpster full of feral cats.”
So many funny and poignant moments in this one. Check it out March 4!

CW: anxiety, classism, abandonment

4.5 ⭐️

Bree Boyd is a fan of knowing what's coming next. She's the school's reigning spelling bee champ, and is on track to become the regional champion. Bree has never minding the high expectations her father has for her and her sisters because it forces her to work hard. However, everything changes when Bree is accidentally struck by lightning during a storm. Now, everything in her life is turned upside down when she suddenly develops powers. Just like her friend Ellie.

Will Bree's powers show her how to let loose a little? Or will they lead her to disaster?


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Review: Bree Boyd is a Legend

By Amanda on February 1, 2025

A stack of books with Review in a box

Title: Bree Boyd is a Legend

Author: Leah Johnson

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication date: March 4, 2025

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Summary
Bree Boyd is a fan of knowing what's coming next. She's the school's reigning spelling bee champ, and is on track to become the regional champion. Bree has never minding the high expectations her father has for her and her sisters because it forces her to work hard. However, everything changes when Bree is accidentally struck by lightning during a storm. Now, everything in her life is turned upside down when she suddenly develops powers. Just like her friend Ellie.

Will Bree's powers show her how to let loose a little? Or will they lead her to disaster?

Review: Bree Boyd is a Legend
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an advanced copy of Bree Boyd is a Legend by Leah Johnson to review! Leah Johnson is definitely a favorite of mine, and I love that she's ventured into the middle grade market. Ellie Engle Saves Herself was a favorite of mine last year, so jumping back into that world was fun!

Let's start with the characters. You'll see a lot of familiar faces if you've read the first book, but we also get to meet some new people! Bree is a fantastic narrator, especially as she learns to let go a little. Her dad puts so much pressure on her, and part of her arc is learning how to do things that are fun. Things that are just for her. There are a lot of middle grade readers who will likely relate to her story.

One of the things I loved most was Bree's relationships with her sisters. They all work together to figure out how to communicate to their dad, and they all definitely get to a better place by the end. It feels realistic and relatable, and shows middle school readers that they can have difficult conversations with the adults in their lives.

This is a great read for anyone who loves realistic stories with a touch of magic. If you've been sleeping on Leah Johnson, this is the year to pick up her books!

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it,

Bree is good at spelling. Bree has to live up to her father’s expectations and the example her older sisters have set. Bree sometimes feels way too much pressure and doesn’t have enough time with her friends….and, after a rather unexpected accident….Bree is now telekinetic. That’s a lot for one kid to manage. Like with Ellie Engle, Leah Johnson has given us a lovable, relatable protagonist. As someone who teaches gifted kids, I love that Bree’s struggles are typical of gifted kids…except that her “gifts” include a very atypical one. And it’s AWESOME to see a Black gifted kid!

This is an enjoyable book that I think will be a favorite of many kids.

Bree feels she’s only been good at one thing-spelling. Being the youngest of three
sisters raised by a dad who expects only the best is a lot of pressure. In the midst
of her dad campaigning for a political office, she suddenly gains a superpower
like her friend Ellie. Trying to navigate 7th grade, an absent father who expects
perfection and a new superpower while also trying to win the regional spelling bee
is a lot for any 13 year old. Along the way, Bree learns what truly matters- being
your authentic self even when it my night not match others’ visions of who you
should be.

Bree, who is best friends with Ellie, Abby, and Sammy, is a good speller, and works hard at this because her older sisters, Lex and Chris, are good at everything else. Her father, who used to be a college professor before he got into politics, is very proud of her abilities and expects her to win all of the spelling bees she enters. He has even enlisted the school counselor, Carrie, to tutor Bree. The father is very determined that all of his daughters will work twice as hard as everyone else, even though the saying goes that they might only get half as far because of the challenges Black people face. After the power goes out and Bree gets shocked trying to reseat the breaker, she develops telekinesis, which doesn't work to her advantage as much as you might think. She tells her friends about this, and they understand, especially since Ellie has the ability to reanimate the dead. Because Abby wants to perform in the talent show but every group needs at least four people, Bree agrees to perform, even though her father thinks it is a waste of her time. Her father's strict guidelines are further shattered when Chris comes home from law school with a tattooed finace who works as a floral designer. Bree participates in an exhibition spelling bee, and Carrie tries to get her to get "out of her head" by suggesting she answer as if she were different animals. It's fun, but spelling still is not what Bree really wants to do. When the final bee is on the same day as the talent show, will she have to do what her father wants, or will she be able to be there for her friends?
Strengths: It's good to see middle grade characters who have interests, and I can't think of many other books where the protagonist is interested in spelling competitions other than Blakemore's The Friendship Riddle or Seltzer's 2009 I Put a Spell on You. Bree's family is high acchieving, and the father is very invested in their success, even if he is less invested in taking care of them. Bonus points to Ms. Johnson for not killing off the mother, but having her just leave the family. It was also good to see Bree finally make up her own mind about what she wanted to do, preferring to hang out with her friends and have fun. I'm curious to see if Abby and Sammy get their own books.
Weaknesses: While this is definitely on trend as far as current mental health practices are concerned, it's hard for me to get my head around children not listening to their parents. No matter how unreasonable my parents were, I would never have contradicted them, and certainly family therapy wasn't something that would ever have been considered.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like magical powers set against a background of reality, similar to Baptiste's Moko Magic or Ireland's Emma and the Love Spell.