Mascot
By: Charles Waters & Traci Sorell
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 256
Published: September 5, 2023
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Dates Read: September 3, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

When an eighth grade honors English teacher assigns her students a debate about their school’s mascot, they must decide if it should stay, or go. When some of the students end up getting really involved, the issue turns the DC suburb upside as everyone chooses sides.

This is a wonderful novel in verse that really showcases a diverse group of six students’ backgrounds and beliefs as they talk about the subject of their school’s mascot. With each student, we see them change and grow as they think about the mascot and what it means to them. Some change their opinion about it, while others keep what they thought in the beginning.

A lot of the reasoning why one of the kids didn’t want to change it had a lot to do with generational stuff (their parents also went to the same school and were also the mascot) and I think, as a kid, that’s all the reasoning you need to not change something. There’s more to it, of course, but I enjoyed that the novel did show so many different perspectives.

The changing of the names of sports teams and mascots have been in the news for many years. It is nice to see it written out in a way that middle schoolers would be able to understand it.

Though this aimed at middle grade, I believe those who are older would also get something out of it as well.