Mango Delight

by Fracaswell Hyman, Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Overview

“Mango is as delightful as her middle name indicates, and middle-grade readers will easily recognize their own experiences in her friendship struggles.” —Booklist (starred review)
 
What happens when your BFF becomes your EFF . . . EX-Friend-Forever? When seventh-grader Mango Delight Fuller accidentally breaks her BFF Brooklyn’s new cell phone, her life falls apart. She loses her friends and her spot on the track team, and even costs her father his job as a chef. But Brooklyn’s planned revenge—sneakily signing up Mango to audition for the school musical—backfires when Mango not only wins the lead role, but becomes a YouTube sensation and attracts the attention of the school’s queen bee, Hailey Jo. Hailey Jo is from a VERY wealthy family, and expects everyone to do her bidding. Soon Mango finds herself forced to make tough choices about the kind of friend she wants to have . . . and, just as important, the kind of friend she wants to be.
 
*“Hyman marries traditional tween elements with a fresh and original plot, and his multicultural cast sparkles with individuality and authenticity. . . . Hyman’s supporting characters, both kids and adults, are vivid and dynamic. Mango is as delightful as her middle name indicates, and middle-grade readers will easily recognize their own experiences in her friendship struggles. This is Hyman’s first novel; here’s hoping it’s not his last.” —Booklist (Starred review)

“[T]he characters . . .  are deftly crafted, and their relationships play out in ways that carefully avoid cliché. . . . Mango’s supportive family is also well drawn, particularly her comforting Jamaican immigrant father and her no-nonsense, former athlete African-American mom, who’s a loving but demanding figure. Kids who’d settle for making it through middle school unscathed but still dream of shining in it will find a kindred spirit in Mango.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454929628
Publisher:	Sterling Children's Books
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Series:	Mango Delight , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	264,492
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

Fracaswell "Cas" Hyman is an award-winning television writer (Humanitas Prize, Alma Award, Peabody award) and screenwriter (UCLA Extension Best Screenplay winner.) He is also a playwright, theater and television director, and producer who has created and executive produced successful live-action (The Famous Jett Jackson, Romeo, Taina) and animated (Little Bill) television series for Disney and Nickelodeon. Cas lives in NC, and Mango Delight is his first novel. You can connect with Cas on Twitter @fracaswellhyman.

Editorial Reviews

*“Hyman marries traditional tween elements with a fresh and original plot, and his multicultural cast sparkles with individuality and authenticity. . . . Hyman’s supporting characters, both kids and adults, are vivid and dynamic. Mango is as delightful as her middle name indicates, and middle-grade readers will easily recognize their own experiences in her friendship struggles. This is Hyman’s first novel; here’s hoping it’s not his last.” —Booklist (Starred review)

 “The unexpected loss of a dear friendship leads to anxiety and ultimately resilience in television writer and producer Hyman's first middle-grade novel. Mango is a thoughtful 12-year-old black girl at Trueheart Middle School when her BFF gets a new cellphone, and suddenly they are on different planes of existence. When Mango accidentally drowns the phone in the bathroom sink, the fallout includes a lost job for her dad, a lost friend, and, above all, a lost sense of self and trust in others. ‘From then on, I was going to be uber-careful about who I got close to and who I let get close to me.’ Fortunately, despite her mounting anxiety, Mango learns that not everyone is as mercurial as her ex-BFF. Izzy, an exuberant Mexican-American classmate and former preschool play date that she had lost touch with, is the first of many to show Mango what a true friendship based on honesty and trust can look like. From cast mates in the school play to mentors and parents, a diverse community surrounds Mango as she learns to believe in herself and others again. Even former enemies can turn out to be friends when one learns to be real. Though this book clearly helps fill the need for minority female leads, the universal themes it addresses give it broad appeal across ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds. A short and sweet story that will encourage deeper conversations around shame, honesty, and courage.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The writing is accessible without being trite, and Mango’s inner struggle to be a better person is presented in an interesting and relatable fashion. . . . An appealing addition, featuring an African American protagonist, for all middle grade collections; hand to readers who enjoy friendship drama and gentle realism.” —School Library Journal

“The characters . . .  are deftly crafted, and their relationships play out in ways that carefully avoid cliché. . . . Mango’s supportive family is also well drawn, particularly her comforting Jamaican immigrant father and her no-nonsense, former athlete African-American mom, who’s a loving but demanding figure. Kids who’d settle for making it through middle school unscathed but still dream of shining in it will find a kindred spirit in Mango.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Author Fracaswell Hyman has built a fascinating story for middle-graders with well-rounded, believable characters and a story that will keep readers turning pages.”  —San Francisco Book Review

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Mango and her BFF Brooklyn have many things in common: they love to run, they are on the track team together, neither girl is allowed to have a cell phone until she turns 13, and they have a shared dislike for the mean and shallow "Cell-Belles," led by Hailey Joanne. This all changes in the span of a day—as middle school life is apt to do—when Mango beats both Brooklyn and Hailey Joanne in a race and Brooklyn gets her cell phone before her 13th birthday. Brooklyn is immediately enfolded into the Cell-Belles, leaving Mango feeling a little left out. There is further drama when Mango intercepts a hurtful text Brooklyn has sent about Mango's mother, and she accidentally breaks Brooklyn's new phone. The rest of the story plays out in a rather predictable way: Mango must broaden her circle of friends and try new things. The writing is accessible without being trite, and Mango's inner struggle to be a better person is presented in an interesting and relatable fashion. VERDICT An appealing addition, featuring an African American protagonist, for all middle grade collections; hand to readers who enjoy friendship drama and gentle realism.—Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD

School Library Journal

2017-03-29
The unexpected loss of a dear friendship leads to anxiety and ultimately resilience in television writer and producer Hyman's first middle-grade novel.Mango is a thoughtful 12-year-old black girl at Trueheart Middle School when her BFF gets a new cellphone, and suddenly they are on different planes of existence. When Mango accidentally drowns the phone in the bathroom sink, the fallout includes a lost job for her dad, a lost friend, and, above all, a lost sense of self and trust in others. "From then on, I was going to be uber-careful about who I got close to and who I let get close to me." Fortunately, despite her mounting anxiety, Mango learns that not everyone is as mercurial as her ex-BFF. Izzy, an exuberant Mexican-American classmate and former preschool play date that she had lost touch with, is the first of many to show Mango what a true friendship based on honesty and trust can look like. From cast mates in the school play to mentors and parents, a diverse community surrounds Mango as she learns to believe in herself and others again. Even former enemies can turn out to be friends when one learns to be real. Though this book clearly helps fill the need for minority female leads, the universal themes it addresses give it broad appeal across ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds. A short and sweet story that will encourage deeper conversations around shame, honesty, and courage. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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