In the Role of Brie Hutchens...

by Nicole Melleby

Overview

A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2020

An own-voices LGBTQ novel from the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season, about eighth grader Brie, who learns how to be true to herself and to her relationships with family, friends, and faith.

Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera super fan, aspiring actor, and so-so student at her small Catholic school. Brie has big plans for eighth grade. She’s going to be the star of the school play and convince her parents to let her go to the performing arts high school. But when Brie’s mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie panics and blurts out that she’s been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her school’s May Crowning ceremony. Brie’s mom is distracted with pride—but Brie’s in big trouble: she has not been chosen. No one has, yet. Worse, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student.
 
Desperate to make her lie become truth, Brie turns to Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. But sometimes just looking at Kennedy gives Brie butterflies. Juggling her confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, not to mention her hilarious non-star turn in the school play, Brie navigates truth and lies, expectations and identity, and how to—finally—make her mother really see her as she is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616209070
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	10 - 18 Years

About the Author

Nicole Melleby is a born-and-bred Jersey girl with a passion for storytelling. She studied creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University and currently teaches creative writing and literature courses with a handful of local universities. When she’s not writing, she can be found browsing the shelves at her local comic shop or watching soap operas with a cup of tea.
 

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/16/2020

One of the few things 13-year-old Brie and her mother have in common is their love of soap operas, and the eighth grader can’t wait to use her extensive knowledge of their dramatics when she auditions for her New Jersey school’s play. But when her mom walks in just after she stumbles upon Playboy photos of her favorite female actor online, Brie blurts a lie to distract her: Brie will crown Mary during her Catholic school’s annual celebratory mass. In reality, that honor is usually reserved for top students such as Kennedy Bishop, a classmate on whom Brie develops a crush. Mediocre student Brie redoubles her scholarly efforts, hoping to crown Mary and prove that she’s responsible enough to try out for a performing arts high school. Brie also worries about her disassociation from her faith, which is linked in her mind to her awakening sexuality and the growing distance she feels between herself and her mother. Melleby (Hurricane Season) paints Brie as a recognizable teen: authentic in her self-centeredness and sympathetic in her attempts to embrace her identity. Brie’s anxiety over her faith, as well as how to come out to her loved ones, is wrenching and genuine in this accomplished, leisurely paced read. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Melleby paints Brie as a recognizable teen: authentic in her self-centeredness and sympathetic in her attempts to embrace her identity. Brie’s anxiety over her faith, as well as how to come out to her loved ones, is wrenching and genuine in this accomplished, leisurely paced read."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review 

“A nuanced exploration of how to reconcile faith and identity. Melleby's clear, honest voice expertly captures the frustration, awkwardness, and fear of being vulnerable—as well as the potential rewards. This funny, tender, and heart-wrenching story will have readers calling for an encore.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The story honestly conveys Brie's confusion about her sexuality, while at the same time, moves plotlines to the next level by also delving into the way the family's Catholicism affects events. Younger teens questioning their sexuality—or faith—will find much to ponder here.”
—Booklist

“Chapter openings describing events from soap operas—the one strong interest she shares with her mom—underscore how dramatic the events feel to Brie, as well as the fact that, though she’s realized something new about herself, she’s still the same person.”
—The Horn Book

"Her struggles and those of her family seem authentic, their interactions realistic, and Brie’s desire to be really seen and loved for who she is will ring true with many middle school readers."
—School Library Journal

“This middle grade book is really a great coming out story. It does not all go smoothly, and Brie has a lot of challenges that she has made for herself, but it's truly heartfelt and genuine. Readers who may be dealing with the same situation will find pieces of themselves in Brie's story. The process is all too real (over and over again) with reactions running the gamut. Brie is passionate and still learning, and her story is overall full of angst and charm… Overall, a captivating and charming middle grade contemporary.”
—YA Book Central

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

Gr 6–8—Eighth grade is proving to be a difficult year for Brie Hutchens as she negotiates crushes, play tryouts, friendships, parental tensions, awakening sexuality, and a need to do better on her schoolwork in her small Catholic middle school. Brie wants to be an actress like the ones she and her mother watch in the soap operas every afternoon, to land the lead role in the school play, and to attend the Theater High School next year. But her father has lost his job and works as a custodian in her school in return for tuition, and her mom has to work even more hours to help make ends meet, so that school may be out of reach. When she is caught looking at suggestive pictures of a pretty soap-opera star, Brie lies about being chosen to crown the Mary statue during the very important May Crowning Ceremony at her school. She knows that the honor will probably go to someone who excels in class—someone like the lovely Kennedy. Unlike her best friend, who crushes on every boy in class, Brie finds herself attracted to Kennedy; this causes her to wrestle with very confusing emotions, to have some tense conversations with her parents, and even to question her Catholic faith. Her struggles and those of her family seem authentic, their interactions realistic, and Brie's desire to be really seen and loved for who she is will ring true with many middle school readers. VERDICT Although not all readers will identify with the Catholic school experience, they will empathize with Brie as she strives to find herself, comes to terms with her sexuality, and navigates the social maze that is middle school.—MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2019-12-18
From the author of Hurricane Season (2019) comes a story about the lengths to which people go to avoid the discomfort of change.

Aspiring actor Brie, 13, loves soap operas, with their dramatic plot twists and complex webs of relationships. Brie does not love school: Her mediocre grades, "organization issues," and ambivalence about religion dismay most of the teachers at her co-ed Catholic middle school. But after her mom accidentally learns that Brie likes girls, not boys, Brie attempts to become an A student and a more devout Catholic to "keep [her] mom's focus away" from this developing discovery. The problem is that being a "good girl" is not so easy as Brie's perfect, pious classmate Kennedy makes it seem, and in trying to be like Kennedy, Brie realizes they might have more in common than she thought….Unlike the soap operas Brie devours, this is no rehashing of stale tropes. Brie's journey is not one of escape from a stifling Catholic girlhood but is a more nuanced exploration of how to reconcile faith and identity. Melleby's clear, honest voice expertly captures the frustration, awkwardness, and fear of being vulnerable—as well as the potential rewards. Brie, Kennedy, Brie's best friend, and their families appear white; Wallace, "one of three black kids in their grade," is a well-developed secondary character.

This funny, tender, and heart-wrenching story will have readers calling for an encore. (Fiction. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews