Genius Jolene

by Sara Cassidy, Charlene Chua (Illustrator)

On her annual trip in her father’s 18-wheeler, Jolene is ready for some new adventures. Eight-year-old Jolene is headed to Los Angeles on a six-day road trip to deliver some newsprint with her dad. Just like last year, they tell each other stories and listen to music. They also keep up their favorite critiquing one type of food at every stop. This time it’s onion rings. But this year is also different. Unlike last year, Jolene’s parents are no longer together. They split up when her father came out as gay. These are big changes for Jolene, but she is spunky and smart and has a good heart. She’s ready to stand up for what’s right―both on and off the road.

Genres: Canada, Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2020

About the author

Sara Cassidy is an award-winning Canadian author of 20 acclaimed books for children and teens. Her early novel GENIUS JOLENE won the 2020 Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize. Her middle-grade novel NEVERS was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in Young People's Literature and the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Two novels appeared on Kirkus's Best Middle Grade Books of 2018 and 2016: THE GREAT GOOGLINI and A BOY NAMED QUEEN.

She is the author of the highly praised picture book FLOCK, and the wordless graphic novels KUNOICHI BUNNY and HELEN'S BIRDS, a 2021 Canadian selection for the Silent Books Collection (IBBY). Her board books include I MAKE SPACE, about creating boundaries, THE SUN IS A PEACH and THE MOON IS A SILVER POND, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Sara lives on Vancouver Island and loves to visit classrooms over Zoom/Skype/Teams. sarascassidy@gmail.com

Reviews

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not easy to make a book this short so interesting, and while it's a quirky little story, there's a lot packed in. Loved that the focus of the trip is the long-haul trucking experience and what that's like -- totally fascinating to hear about how those cabs are laid out! And that in background it turns out that Jolene is a biracial kid who's family has recently divorced because her father has comes out as gay and gotten seriously involved with a new Indigenous partner -- and all of that and none of that matters, because the book is about Jolene, and her loving relationship with her dad, and the things they like to do together (pick a food and rate it, talk about what they see from the windows while driving, pack minimally, think about poems). It's pretty great, really, and enlivened by an emergency situation that includes some intolerant behavior and a really great step by step of how to speak to a 911 operator, should you ever be called on to do so.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is strange at start because there's like no intro she just starts her day but when you go farther you get used to what's happening. and they went past her school and Jolene and her father said there hungry and that's something I like that its like they have no idea there in the book it makes things fell more natural and they talk about things that happened early in the day and when I read a book its always they usually know there in a book example: dog man, bad guys (really good books that have a series check them out.) I like how the Dad tells things funny that aren't funny but make me laugh I forgot to tell you the looks Jolene looks like a girl with green eyes black skin (remember don't be racist) and brown hair that's curly (forgot to menschen this book is realistic) and the dad short hair with a gold tooth (sorry I could not find a color picture of him) and that's the a review of Genius Jolene.

[Sandy Wilmering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. There are a lot of big topics in this little book! Jolene is only 8 years old but has already experienced her parents getting divorced, her dad being in a same-sex relationship, and a stranger showing intolerance to homosexuality. Thankfully, Jolene has a strong and loving relationship with her dad, and is able to talk to him about her feelings. This book would be great for some children in this age range, but not for others.

[Alice B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to the kids on the iPad. Very short! As previous reviewers mentioned, lots of missed opportunity to dive deeper into some important topics.
Jesse: I liked when they saved the day.
Jane: I liked when Jolene found the Opossums.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this short book from 8 year old Jolene's perspective--great supportive dad, neat peek into long-haul trucking, nice exploration of what makes a delicious onion ring, and a positive example of multiple parents supporting the important child in their lives.

[Topy.Loving.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a short story but full of adventures for Jolene who goes with her dad in his 18-wheeler. During their trip they decide to taste onion rings in different places and rate them. Jolene is 8 years old and her parents got divorced last year, because her dad realized he is suppose to love men in a romantic way, like he tried to explained to her. Now he lives with his boyfriend. And Jolene alternate living one week with them, and one week with her mom. She had to see her mom being really sad for a while. During her trip with her dad, she has to face for the very first time homophobia.

It was a nice way to talk about the topic, from a young kid's perspective. To help children who get through it or know someone who do.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jolene’s enjoyable and insightful journey makes the complex themes of family, acceptance, and forgiveness accessible to young readers through easy-to-read text and spirited illustrations." -- CM Magazine