So Done - by Paula Chase (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When best friends Tai and Mila are reunited after a summer apart, their friendship threatens to combust from the pressure of secrets, middle school, and the looming dance auditions for a new talented-and-gifted program.

Fans of Renée Watson's Piecing Me Together will love this memorable story about a complex friendship between two very different African American girls--and the importance of speaking up.

Jamila Phillips and Tai Johnson have been inseparable since they were toddlers, having grown up across the street from each other in Pirates Cove, a low-income housing project. As summer comes to an end, Tai can't wait for Mila to return from spending a month with her aunt in the suburbs. But both girls are grappling with secrets, and when Mila returns she's more focused on her upcoming dance auditions than hanging out with Tai.

Paula Chase explores complex issues that affect many young teens, and So Done offers a powerful message about speaking up. Full of ballet, basketball, family, and daily life in Pirates Cove, this memorable novel is for fans of Ali Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish and Jason Reynolds's Ghost.

"Chase vividly conjures the triumphs, tensions, and worries percolating in the girls' low-income neighborhood." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

From the Back Cover

Jamila Phillips is so done with secrets.
So done with Pirates Cove.
So done with everyone calling her Bean.
So done with living across the street from her so-called best friend.

Metai Johnson is so done with summer.
So done with ballet.
So done with her useless father.
So done with her supposed best friend, who answered exactly zero texts all summer.

But how do you take a break from being somebody's best friend? Especially when you're in the same middle school and auditioning for the same talented-and-gifted dance program. Especially when you can't stop thinking about what happened that day at the end of seventh grade--can't stop thinking about that secret you've never told.

What happens when you're done with your so-called life, but it's not done with you?

Review Quotes

"A beautifully written and achingly realistic portrayal of the growing pains even the best friendships often must endure. Tai and Mila's journey felt as real and messy and ultimately hopeful as all true friendships are." -- - Jo Knowles, award-winning author of See You At Harry's, Still A work In Progress and the forthcoming Where the Heart Is (2019)

"Chase vividly conjures the triumphs, tensions, and worries percolating in the girls' low-income neighborhood. Tai's exuberance forms an effective foil to Mila's internal turmoil, and the building anticipation about who will be chosen for the program and whether Mila will divulge her secret will keep readers turning pages." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Themes of friendship, trust, loyalty, and family are examined with a sharp eye... Characterization is nuanced and skillfully layered...A pitch-perfect look at changing adolescent relationships and resilience." -- School Library Journal (starred review)

"The protagonists tell their stories in memorable voices that ring true to their characters. ...both Mila and Tai are young women that readers will root for." -- The Horn Book

"An honest coming-of-age tale with two different girls dealing with real issues, crushes, and finding themselves ...Chase pulls no punches when it comes to emotional honesty... The dual-perspective narrative tackles serious subjects through an adolescent lens" -- ALA Booklist

"Chase presents genuine characters whose interactions are authentic...So Done excellently embodies the experience of young, black girls and the stress and triumphs of striving to be an individual in a community that respects sticking together above all else." -- Shelf Awareness