Tear This Down

by Barbara Dee

Overview

From Barbara Dee, the critically acclaimed author of Maybe He Just Likes You, comes an “empowering” (Booklist) middle grade novel about a girl who makes the choice to speak out against a problematic historical hometown figure no matter the cost—perfect for readers of Dress Coded.

For as long as Freya can remember, she has loved living in her cozy hometown of Wellstone. Not only is the town itself named for local and historical hero Benjamin Wellstone but everything in it: schools, beaches, and stores. There’s even a giant statue of him to remind everyone of the good things he did.

But while doing research for a big school project, Freya discovers that Benjamin isn’t the big hero everyone has been taught to believe. He had some redeeming qualities, but he also held incredibly problematic views towards women, believing they shouldn’t have the right to vote—or even to exist outside of the home. Disappointed by her revelation, Freya wonders if she could figure out a way to not only show what the hometown hero was really like but replace his statue with one of an unsung hero: local suffragette Octavia Padgett.

Though Freya knows not everyone will agree with her, she is shocked when her efforts cause even bigger issues than she could have imagined. Even her own parents seem uneasy with Freya’s cause. With the help of her beloved Nan, friends new and old, and the coolest librarian she’s ever met, can Freya stand firm and tear down outdated views?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665917674
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	02/25/2025
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

Barbara Dee is the author of fourteen middle grade novels including Unstuck, Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, Violets Are Blue, My Life in the Fish Tank, Maybe He Just Likes You, Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including The Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books, the ALA Notable Children’s Books, the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Barbara lives with her family, including a naughty cat named Luna and a sweet rescue hound named Ripley, in Westchester County, New York.

Read an Excerpt

Color-Blind

COLOR-BLIND
Why does the ocean have to be blue?

One time when I was in kindergarten I asked my dad this question. He was a high school science teacher, and he gave me this big, complicated answer about molecules, and water absorbing red light. I had no clue what he was talking about, and anyway, he wasn’t answering my actual question.

“No,” I told him. “I mean why in pictures do they always paint the ocean like it’s blue? Because in real life it isn’t.”

This was something that bothered me, because we lived right by the Atlantic Ocean in a little town called Wellstone. And we spent enough time on the beach to know the truth: that the ocean was actually brownish grayish green. Sometimes black before a storm. Never the Crayola color blue.

“Fair point, Freya,” Dad told me, smiling.

And Mom, who was an art person, said, “But you know, bunny, when it’s your drawing, you can make the colors any way you want.”

After that I drew the ocean purple and the sky yellow. I painted red grass and pink clouds. But when the teacher sent me to the nurse’s office to get tested for color blindness, I got the idea that maybe I should stick to regular colors.

I kept asking questions, though; I couldn’t help it. They just sort of bubbled up inside me until they burst out of my mouth.

Like:

What’s the point of white chocolate, and why does it taste exactly like vanilla?

How come kids need to learn cursive?

Who decided we have to eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

“Is that a question or an opinion?” my grandma Nan once asked, and I told her, “Both. It’s an o-question,” and my whole family laughed.

Around third grade I started asking another sort of o-question. I’m not sure where these other questions came from, exactly. But I was beginning to notice certain things that just seemed wrong to me. Like how grown-ups called boys “buddy,” but they never used that word when they talked to girls. And how if a boy burped or farted loudly, it was “funny” and the whole class laughed. But if you were a girl (for example, me) and you made a loud joke burp in the middle of math class, the other kids said you were being “gross” and didn’t invite you to their birthday parties.

“Why can boys be gross but not girls?” I asked my parents.

I caught Dad giving Mom a look like, You want to answer that?

Mom sighed. “Oh, Freya,” she said. “No one should be gross.”

Which pretty much ended the conversation.

After that, though, I couldn’t stop thinking of other o-questions. They just kept crashing through my brain, one after the other, like waves:

Why is “bossy” an insult for girls but no one uses that word for boys?

Why do girls play softball, not baseball, and why are “softball questions” supposed to be the easy ones?

How come girls are supposed to be skinny, but boys are supposed to be big?

Why don’t girls’ clothes have more pockets?

Why aren’t half the presidents women?

“What a great question,” people would tell me.

Or they’d smile and say something like, “Who knows, Freya, maybe when you’re old enough, you’ll change the rules.”

But the thing was, they never gave me any answers—no good ones, anyway. And that just made me keep asking more questions.

Editorial Reviews

"Tear This Down is a powerful and moving celebration of standing up for what you believe in and a fantastic introduction to activism. A wonderful and engaging read!"

Lisa Moore Ramee

The age-appropriate, relatable, and realistic lessons Freya learns are reinforced by supportive grown-ups in her life. Readers will readily root for the impassioned protagonist on her hard-fought feminist journey.

Kirkus Reviews

Dee (Unstuck) strategically and effectively weaves Freya’s nascent feminism into timely subplots involving craftivism, the unrecognized labor of women in history, and the importance of research in this smart and passionate read.

Publishers Weekly

Wow did I love this book. Tear This Down is history and feminism and family dynamics and friendship and community sewn into a brave and brilliant story. It's going to inspire a generation of changemakers. Bravo, Barbara Dee, queen of middle grade storytelling!

Carrie Firestone

Barbara Dee’s books are to today’s kids what Judy Blume’s books were to me at that age. She tackles such complex subjects with care. As a student once told me, ‘She just gets us.’

Amanda Jones

"Barbara Dee has done it again, creating a heroine with a big voice and an even bigger heart."

Katherine Marsh

"This empowering novel leads by example as Freya finds agency, uses her voice, and works to spark change with friends new and old."

Booklist

Every middle school library needs a full set of Barbara Dee’s books.

John Schu

Master-of-middle-grade Barbara Dee has done it again. In this story of change-makers finding their voices, Dee ties the courage of women in the past to the courage of young girls and their allies today. The result is a moving, stirring account of a new generation fighting for a better world and learning to navigate its complexities. Here is a book to put into all our daughters’ hands—and the hands of mothers and grandmothers too.

Brigit Young

"How a seventh grader with a lot of questions about gender inequality uses her curiosity to give voice to those who were silenced. A stirring and timely book about the power of kids to build community and move us all forward."

Susan Hood

2024-11-09
Seventh grader Freya Stillman creates her own brand of community activism after a school project reveals hard truths about the town’s history.

Named for abolitionist Benjamin Wellstone, Freya’s cozy coastal town is very proud of its history. Reading some of Wellstone’s letters for school, she’s surprised and angered to learn that while he may have been a hero to some, he vehemently opposed women’s voting rights. Irish American Freya and her new friend Callie, who presents white and has ADHD, also unearth information about local suffragist Octavia Padgett. They consider her to be more worthy of their attention. The girls publish a fiery op-ed in the town’s website about Benjamin Wellstone’s problematic values and their desire to see the prominent statue of him standing on Wellstone Green removed. The article divides the residents, eliciting strong opinions from the girls’ friends, families, and even the mayor. After some misguided protest attempts that involve vandalizing the statue and lying to her parents, a frustrated (and grounded) Freya finds a new focus for her cause through thoughtful discussions with trusted, empathetic adults. Freya dreams up a project that will honor art protest movements, like the famous AIDS Memorial Quilt, while highlighting little-known local suffragists. The age-appropriate, relatable, and realistic lessons Freya learns are reinforced by supportive grown-ups in her life.

Readers will readily root for the impassioned protagonist on her hard-fought feminist journey.(Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews