Mighty Inside by Sundee Frazier – Book Review

Title: Mighty Inside Author: Sundee Frazier Publisher: Levine Querido Release Date: September 14, 2021

Melvin wants nothing more than to vocalize the smooth, free-flowing words in his mind. However, his speech impediment prevents him from saying much of anything. When he starts high school in Spokane, Washington, the challenges Melvin will face, speaking up in class, standing up to his bully, and even talking to his crush Millie, seem nearly insurmountable. Still, a new friendship with Lenny, a saxophone loving Jewish boy, encourages Melvin to take a few chances and let loose like the jam sessions they have after school. As he does, Melvin begins to see the barriers segregation and discrimination have and continue to create for him and his middle-class Black family in the 1950s. Then, an opportunity to showcase his talents to all of Spokane and stand up for what is right demands Melvin tap into the strength and might he knows is inside.

Sundee Frazier’s Mighty Inside is an intimate portrayal of life for a Black family integrating a white neighborhood in Spokane in the 1950s. The characters’ challenges – small, large, and institutionally imposed – are explored through Melvin’s growing awareness of the conflicts. This slow unveiling adds nuance and depth to these consequential topics, topics that will surely generate important and timely questions about the history of racism and discrimination in America. In addition, Frazier takes on the misconceptions and judgement those, like Melvin, with speech impediments face. The treatment is effective because Frazier’s writing is realistic but not off-putting, a testament to the author’s thoughtful approach, talent, and skill. As the title Mighty Inside suggests, the novel has seemingly infinite strengths buried within its pages for every reader to discover on their own.

Mighty Inside gives middle grade educators a unique opportunity to explore a myriad of conflicts and issues pertaining to the 1950s but as relevant as ever today. The novel provides a glimpse into the prejudice and discrimination faced by a Black family, as well as other minorities, far from the Jim Crow South. The intersection of these conflicts offers a unique way for teachers to interrogate a portrait of America during this time period. Frazier’s novel alludes to many of the decade’s pressing issues. Instead of focusing on one topic, such as Jim Crow laws, Japanese internment, or housing discrimination, for instance, a cross-curricular study would lend itself to studying them all. This study would then open up endless avenues for students to research, learn, and deepen their understanding of history. A mighty task but possible with a mighty book.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Levine Querido, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of the Civil Rights Era. It could focus on the history of the Great Migration to the Civil Rights Movement, including different groups of people the discrimination they faced.
• Literature Circles – Use the novel as part of a study about the Civil Rights Era.
• Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading historical fiction.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Civil Rights Movement
• Jim Crow Laws
• Japanese Internment
• Housing Discrimination

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Mighty Inside. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
• We Are Not Free by Traci Chee (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)

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