Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Serena Says
Tanita S. Davis · 2020
84/100
👍 Worth It
Serena Says is a thoughtful, well-crafted middle-grade novel that gives Black girls a protagonist whose anxieties and growth feel genuinely real. The dual-format structure — vlog transcripts woven into everyday narrative — is inventive without being gimmicky, and the handling of chronic illness is compassionate rather than heavy-handed. Kirkus starred it for good reason: this one earns its place on the shelf.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety95
substance82
craft85
originality80
accuracy80
hype75
age-fit92
human-eye84
Penny’s verdict84
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