FIERCELY FICTIONAL celebrates fierce, inspiring fictional girls we know you’ll love. To us, “fierce” isn’t just about slaying dragons or solving mysteries. It’s about breaking free from your comfort zone, discovering your confidence, fighting for what you believe in, & discovering your emotional strength. Any girl can shine bright & be fierce, & in this series, we’ll connect you with a new fiercely fictional character every month!
FIERCELY FICTIONAL is back, and this month, we’re highlighting the empowering Bess Stein from Same Page, the newest novel from Elly Swartz.
Bess Stein is the freshly appointed sixth-grade class president, and with her VP and new best friend June by her side, she’s ready to make good on her big campaign promise – installing a book vending machine. Bess believes it’s essential for kids to have access to all kinds of stories and makes sure the books are inclusive of diverse perspectives, identities, and cultural histories. When some of the books are removed because they’re questioned by an upset parent, it’s not just the book vending machine whose fate is threatened – it’s the fate of Bess and June’s friendship because that unhappy parent happens to be June’s mom and June refuses to go against her.
How does Bess react? By joining a group of librarians called the Book Warriors and rallying her classmates to speak out in front of the school board, advocating against the bans threatening to erase crucial access to stories to kids who deserve to read them. This is middle school, though, so Bess isn’t just navigating her newfound activism. She’s trying to find her calm when she’s anxious, be a good older sister, deal with bullying, her first crush, and figure out the whole friendship thing. Is it possible to be a supportive friend when your opinions about major things are so different?
You’ll have to read it to see how things turn out for Bess, but we can promise one thing – you’ll be fired up and eager to get involved in the issues that matter to you!
Same Page:
From the beloved author of Hidden Truths comes a novel about take-charge sixth grader Bess Stein, who brings together friends and a group of rockstar librarians called the Book Warriors to fight a book ban happening at her middle school.
Bess Stein is more than ready to be 6th grade class president. She’s got tons of ideas—including a book vending machine—and her new friend June is beside her as vice-president. Together, they’re unstoppable.
But when the books the girls want included in the vending machine come under fire, Bess is stunned. How can one person believe they have the right to decide what other people can read? It turns out that June’s mom is leading the fight, and now everything’s a mess.
Bess misses June—but she wants to make sure kids who might like these books get the chance to read them, even if it means she and June can’t be friends. With such different opinions, will they ever be on the same page?
Same Page
AUTHOR: Elly Swartz
PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press
DATE: January 14, 2025
The Book Warriors and their battle against book bans is empowering for any reader, but it’s not the only stand-out part of the story. Same Page also tackles friendship rifts, mental health, mindfulness, standing up for what you believe in, and even a crush on your best friend’s brother. It’s relatable and warm and insightful in the way that all of Elly’s books are, and it’s an absolute must-read. Oh, and did we mention there’s a ridiculously adorable dog named Barnaby in this book?
What makes Bess fierce? It’s possible that a tween fighting against censorship and book bans is the most fiercely fictional a character can be, right? But it’s not just her activism that makes her fierce. It’s her commitment to kindness, the way she doesn’t give up in the face of failure, her bravery when she’s not feeling strong, and her determination to make change that benefits her classmates.
We’re excited to share that rockstar author Elly Swartz is here to share a peek between the pages of Same Page and all the reasons Bess is totally fierce!
Five Reasons Bess Stein is Totally Fierce:
She’s Brave Even When She’s Scared:
Spoiler – Bravery is not about never feeling scared! It’s about doing things even when you are!
Bess hates public speaking. To her, standing on stage in front of everyone is like a palm sweating, heart pumping, words stuck in the back of her throat kind of moment. But when the books she loves are being challenged, she agrees to speak up for what she believes in at the school board meeting. In front of everyone! She does this not because she’s overcome her pit in the stomach fear. Or because she’s sure she won’t throw-up. But because she’s brave.
“Being brave isn’t about doing stuff when you’re not scared; it’s about doing stuff when you are.” (p. 130) Go Bess!
She’s a Book Warrior:
Bess is determined to do the right thing. Determined to make sure all her friends’ and classmates’ lives and hearts and histories are represented in the pages of the books in the book vending machine at her middle school. After all, that was the promise she made when she became class president. That and no homework Wednesdays!
So when some of the books are challenged, Bess becomes a fearless book warrior! Bringing together friends – including her crush Knox – and rockstar librarians to fight the book ban happening at her middle school. She knows that we are stronger and better together.
She has a Giant Heart:
Kindness. Love. Compassion. That’s Bess. Friend and ally. Speaking out for all. And taking care of her little brother Avi who has anxiety he calls the fishes. Letting him know that he is brave even if he’s worried and even if he cries sometimes. She reminds him that bravery can look a lot of different ways and assures him that he is his own Superman.
But Bess’s heart doesn’t just wrap itself around her brother and her friends. Bess loves her 4 legged family with that same big heart. Meet Lola her milk-shake brown horse who loves apples, and Barnaby, her dog with the pointy ears.
Bess shows us all that fierceness has a heart. A giant heart!
(Fun fact…Barnaby is my dog! In real life, his name is Baxter Bean. But he has the same pointy ears!)
She Doesn’t Let Rejection Rule:
When Bess’s plans to fight the book ban fail. Over and over and over again. When people say some not nice things. Bess doesn’t hide. Well, maybe that one time under her covers. (We all need a moment, right?)
But she gets up. She doesn’t let the rejection, the failure, the people telling her she can’t and she’s wrong, define her. She knows in her heart that she is more than what others say. She is more than her worst moments. More than her failed attempts. She realizes she has the power to define her worth. Who she is. And she has decided, she is empowered, brave, and fearless!
She Knows That Kindness Matters:
Namaste, friends. When Bess is feeling anxious or just needs to center the spinning world around her, she says a kindness meditation. Hers goes like this: “May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe. May I be peaceful. May I be strong.” (p. 45)
But what I love about Bess, is that she doesn’t stop there. She says a kindness meditation for the people in her life she loves and for those she’s mad at or doesn’t understand. Because Bess knows, everyone needs kindness. And maybe, just maybe, those who are angry, misunderstood, and mean, need it most.
Be kind, friends!
📚Need another fierce read to add to your shelf after Same Page? Catch up on our FIERCELY FICTIONAL series!
💖Participating in our YAYOMG! Reading Challenge? Knock “highlighted in our FIERCELY FICTIONAL series” or “Book that features activism” & more off your list with this inspiring read!
