BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Shayla Willows is starting seventh grade at Emerson Junior High in Los Angeles, determined to avoid trouble at all costs. She is allergic to trouble, she says, and her hands literally itch whenever it gets near. She wants to stay close to her two best friends, Isabella and Julia, earn top grades, run track, and maybe get the green-eyed boy named Jace to notice her. But the world keeps pushing back: a police officer has gone on trial for shooting an unarmed Black man on video, protests are building outside her school and across the city, and Shayla is slowly realizing that staying silent and safe might be its own kind of problem.
Free Battle of the Books questions for A Good Kind of Trouble
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about A Good Kind of Trouble. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a science teacher pair a Black girl with a huge boy she fears?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Mr. Levy, who looks like a mad scientist in his lab coat, partners Shayla with Bernard. This forced pairing sets up one of the book's key relationships as Shayla slowly learns Bernard isn't the bully she assumed.
- First half
In what book does a girl borrow her friend's favorite top to match a crush's bright green eyes?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Shayla begs Isabella to lend her the green peace symbol shirt because it matches Jace's eyes. The plan backfires when Jace praises the top and then asks whether Isabella has one like it.
- First half
In what book does a coach whisper "Get up every time you fail" to a fallen hurdler?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Coach West echoes the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote engraved on the statue out front. The line ties Shayla's track struggle to the bigger theme of facing challenges in the rest of her life.
- Second half
In what book do a mother and daughter rush past mall protesters as a rock shatters a window?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Shayla and her mom leave the mall to find an angry crowd chanting about justice. Glass shatters, someone gets handcuffed, and Shayla witnesses her first real protest up close while waiting for the verdict.
- Second half
In what book do three girls corner the narrator in the bathroom and call her an Oreo?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Angie, Natalie, and Stephanie (Tyler's cousin) follow Shayla into the girls' bathroom and accuse her of thinking she's too good for Tyler. The confrontation almost turns into a fight before Angie bursts out laughing.
- Near the end
In what book does Principal Trask announce over the PA that armbands violate the school dress code?
✓ Answer
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
After students start wearing black fabric strips for BLM, Principal Trask uses the public address system to ban them. She warns that failure to remove the armbands will lead to disciplinary action.
