Thanks to Scholastic for the free advance copy of this book.

TAKE THE MIC is a fiction anthology featuring stories of young people making small acts of everyday resistance. Ranging from advocating for gender-neutral restrooms to refusing to wear a shirt with a racist slogan on it, these are stories of teens finding their voices.

I think this book is exactly what young readers of today need. So often, it feels like change is beyond our reach and world events are out of our control. These stories show kids that even taking the smallest stand is worth it.

While a number of the stories come across as a little Very Special Episode-esque, I think that's probably just due to the age group it's aimed at. I’ve read basically no middle grade fiction so I don't really know if that's the standard. I did love the variety of stories told, though. Everything from race to religion to disability to queerness is covered. I particularly enjoyed how many stories hinged on a young girl deciding she wasn't going to be quiet and polite just to keep the peace.