Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai
Written by Debbi Michiko Florence
Published by Scholastic, Inc.
When Jenna Sakai gets dumped over winter break, it confirms what she learned from her parents’ messy divorce: Relationships are risky and only lead to disappointment. So even though she still has to see her ex-boyfriend Elliott at newspaper club, Jenna is going to be totally heartless this semester — no boys, just books.
But keeping her cool isn’t always easy. Jenna’s chief competition for a big journalism scholarship is none other than Elliott. Her best friend Keiko always seems busy with her own boyfriend. And cute-but-incredibly-annoying Rin Watanabe keeps stealing her booth at the diner she’s been hiding at every day after school. Rin is every bit as stubborn and detached as Jenna. And the more Jenna gets to know him, the more intriguing a mystery he seems. Soon Jenna is starting to realize that being a loner is kind of, well, lonely. And letting people in might just be a risk worth taking.
Primary ISBN: 9781338671568
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 08 or older
Community Represented: Japanese/Japanese American
Themes: Arts, Cross-Group Dating, Cross-Group Friendship, Family Relationship: Parents, Format: Audiobook, Own Voices/Lived Experience
Setting: United States
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey:
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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