Just Kickin' It

Jesse’s parents are killed in a car accident; money is tight. Jesse’s friend Tay comes from a family where buying high priced “kicks” is well within the family budget. Jesse has saved for almost a year to buy a new pair of kicks, but, when they are short on the monthly bills, Jesse forfeits the kicks to keep Wi-Fi in the house.

The desire for the new pair of kicks and the convenient friendship between Tay and a new kid in town, Derrick, who offers the boys money for a job, sets a heist in motion. The three boys hatch a plan to rob the convenience store owned by Mr. Yang. “All the kids hang out at Mr. Yang's. He is Korean. Doesn't look like half the people in our town. We hang out there because Mr. Yang treats us a bit better than the white shop owners.” (p. 12.)

The first time they attempt the robbery, Mr. Yang has closed early. This makes Derrick jumpy. When they attempt it a second night, Derrick panics and attacks Mr. Yang. Derrick had been extorting Tay and Jesse, but Jesse executes a plan to remove the evidence from Derrick’s phone. His doing so frees them from Derrick but not the law.

Just Kickin’ It is a book in the “Orca Anchor” series, “short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for teens reading below a grade two level.” The story is told in the first person. The plot is fast moving. The sentences are short and written in the vernacular. The characters are designed to move the plot forward. Jesse and Tay are Black, and the convenience store owner is Asian. Two of the police officers are women, and the investigating officer is “dark-skinned”.

Author Julie Thompson is a police officer and a youth communication specialist and a mother of two boys. She was honoured in 2018 by the City of Markham for her outstanding work with youth within the Black community. “As a mother of two boys, she is especially drawn to books that honor Black Boy joy.”

Collections looking for material for this audience will find Just Kickin’ It a good addition.