Audiobook6 hours
Mighty Inside
Written by Sundee T. Frazier
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD–WINNING AUTHOR SUNDEE T. FRAZIER WRITES HER MOST PERSONAL, HEARTFELT WORK TO DATE.
Melvin Robinson wants a strong, smooth, He-Man voice that lets him say what he wants, when he wants—especially to his crush Millie Takazawa, and Gary Ratliff, who constantly puts him down. But the thought of starting high school is only
making his stutter worse.
And Melvin’s growing awareness that racism is everywhere—not just in the South where a boy his age has been brutally killed by two white men, but also in his own hometown of Spokane—is making him realize that he can’t mutely stand by.
His new friend Lenny, a fast-talking, sax-playing Jewish boy who lives above the town’s infamous (and segregated) Harlem Club, encourages Melvin to take some risks—to invite Millie to Homecoming and even audition for a local TV variety
show. When they play music together, Melvin almost feels like he’s talking, no words required. But there are times when one needs to speak up.
When his moment comes, can Melvin be as mighty on the outside as he actually is on the inside?
Melvin Robinson wants a strong, smooth, He-Man voice that lets him say what he wants, when he wants—especially to his crush Millie Takazawa, and Gary Ratliff, who constantly puts him down. But the thought of starting high school is only
making his stutter worse.
And Melvin’s growing awareness that racism is everywhere—not just in the South where a boy his age has been brutally killed by two white men, but also in his own hometown of Spokane—is making him realize that he can’t mutely stand by.
His new friend Lenny, a fast-talking, sax-playing Jewish boy who lives above the town’s infamous (and segregated) Harlem Club, encourages Melvin to take some risks—to invite Millie to Homecoming and even audition for a local TV variety
show. When they play music together, Melvin almost feels like he’s talking, no words required. But there are times when one needs to speak up.
When his moment comes, can Melvin be as mighty on the outside as he actually is on the inside?
Related to Mighty Inside
Related audiobooks
The Wednesday Wars Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Icebreaker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sunker's Deep Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be a Girl in the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Steering Toward Normal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Haru, Zombie Dog Hero Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOperation: Happy: A World War II Story of Courage, Resilience, and an Unbreakable Bond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shine On, Luz Véliz! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUpstander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Light Comes to Shadow Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnstuck Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Ship of Stolen Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gut Reaction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diamond Willow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Ghostly Photos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattlesong Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wild Huntsboys Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Bear House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Optimistic Decade Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Honeybees and Frenemies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sail Me Away Home (Show Me a Sign Trilogy, Book 3) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Jake Show Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Watchdog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruby in the Sky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Lie Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Martin McLean, Middle School Queen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMid-Air Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Came from the Stars Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Children's Historical For You
Farmer Boy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ground Zero Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little House on the Prairie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Refugee Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little House in the Big Woods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Heir (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On the Banks of Plum Creek Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Night Divided Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne of Green Gables Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Devil's Arithmetic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine (National Book Award Finalist) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Do You Live? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Four Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iceberg Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5By the Shores of Silver Lake Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5These Happy Golden Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wednesday Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Town on the Prairie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hitler's Last Days: The Death of the Nazi Regime and the World's Most Notorious Dictator Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One False Note (The 39 Clues, Book 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Long Winter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love in the Library Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Allies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making Bombs for Hitler: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Place to Hang the Moon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (I Survived #1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inside Out & Back Again Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Mighty Inside
Rating: 4.428571499999999 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
7 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book feels like a tapestry, or a song -- so many themes that move through it and create a beautiful and terrible portrait of Spokane in the 1950s. Terrible, in the many forms of racism that Melvin is in the process of waking up and recognizing. Beautiful in the bonds of family and friendships and moments of empowering self-acceptance. It's a true and thoughtful and authentic coming of age that is extremely well written for the middle grade audience who are experiencing the same awakening.
Things I loved:
Racism is a terrible thing, but our country is steeped in it, and this book does a tremendous job of turning over different stories that reflect that -- from redlining neighborhoods, to segregation in a nightclub, to the various micro and macro aggressions of being a Black child in a predominantly White school, White neighborhood, White town and the horror of Emmett Till's brutal death and display. But also, conversations about Japanese internment and what it was like to be a family starting over after release. And also anti-Semitism's pervasive and ugly face. All of that, balanced against allies who stand up for each other. Girls who refuse to let their Black friend ride the service elevator alone, boys who refuse to let a bully knock their friend down, teachers who refuse to look the other way. For all the flood of racism, there are these moments of resistance that make the book an ultimately hopeful read.
I also loved that this is a book about a person with a stutter, but his triumph in the end is more about accepting the strengths that come from that condition than from eradicating it. The profound message of self acceptance that is modeled by a teacher with a missing hand, and Melvin's own journey are both powerful statements. Add to that, it's just a really great read. Great characters, great story, great setting.
Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Melvin and his family live in Spokane in the 1950s, one of the few Black families in Spokane and in their neighborhood. Melvin dreads starting high school without his best friend--he stutters, is regularly bullied by one of the football players, and his big brother Chuck says he's not going to defend Melvin anymore. But he finds a new friend in Lenny who is Jewish and lives with his mother above the Harlem Club where she works in the kitchen. After the death of Emmett Till, Melvin becomes more aware of the racism in Spokane and learns about the Japanese internment from Millie, his crush. A part of him wants to speak out to the injustices he now witnesses, but his stuttering is a barrier. He soon realizes it is the love and support of his community that enables him to speak out what he feels. The book is based on the author's family history which is detailed in an author's note. Although Melvin is in high school, the book is aimed at upper elementary to middle school readers. A solid and layered story about living as an outsider.