I loved this book and i regret not having read it long before. I cleared my time and dived in, and I was glad I did instantly. We need more stories that actually forces society to stop, look, and listen. I loved that this was purely about finding his own identity and beliefs. I loved how the camp focused on black history and music and more, and I couldn’t but want more. Added to my to buy list!

I absolutely adored this book, and I'm recommending it to customers at Tailored Book Recommendations (http://mytbr.co). It's also one of the possible results on a personality quiz I did at Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/middle-school-books-quiz/

I did a short review on Goodreads as well, linked below.

It Doesn’t Take a Genius by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich was a wonderful middle-grade novel about brotherhood and friendship that had Sophie excited that summer is on its way.

Thirteen-year-old Elliott (who would prefer you call him E) is fiercely smart and a debate champion at his school. He also sticks close to his older brother Luke, which is about to become a problem because Luke is leaving to have his senior year at a prestigious art school. E plans to have one last amazing summer together when he learns that Luke has taken a job as a junior counselor at a summer camp focused on Black Excellence.

To Luke’s annoyance, E contrives to attend the camp in the hope of still having summer together, but when he arrives, he quickly realizes that Luke’s busy schedule means he can’t hang out with him. Worse, every kid at camp is a certified genius in their own right, from E’s roommate Charles, who can apparently play every instrument ever invented, to Natasha, who aims to follow in her film director mother’s footsteps. E suddenly feels like a very average fish in a very smart pond. Can he find a way to find his own feet and make new friends by himself?

It Doesn’t Take a Genius is inspired by the 2019 film Boy Genius, but you don’t need to have seen it to enjoy this wonderful coming-of-age take on brotherly love, discovering your own self, and the complexity of Black identity. I loved the characters—especially nerdy Charles—and the relationship between Luke and E felt deeply believable. The writing felt skewed toward the younger end of middle grade, but older readers will certainly enjoy it too.

The camp in It Doesn’t Take a Genius definitely has more summer school than summer camp vibes. All the kids have majors, have mandatory classes, and are expected to work on multiple projects and assignments. Everything has a focus on Black history and culture, which made it extra interesting and eye-opening for Sophie who had never heard of many of the names mentioned when campers discussed music, dance, and other areas.

This was a fun and heartwarming read that Sophie would highly recommend to everyone.

A story charting the relationship between brothers who are approaching the separation of their shared path and space. Emmett really wants to make this last summer with his brother the best yet, but in trying to accomplish that, he ignores all the cues and clues that indicate he is making the experience all about him.

I love that Rhuday-Perkovich used a sibling relationship to depict finding oneself and learning of how one's actions can affect the ones we love and others who are in their orbit. The camp setting was the perfect place to examine the brothers' bond and how growing up and moving away can change it. It also served as the perfect backdrop for Emmett to encounter new situations that challenged him and to forge new friendships that would last.

There was humour, play, exploration of memory and fear, as well as conversations around the Black experience and existing within the diaspora. It Doesn't Take a Genius was an enjoyable read that portrayed vulnerabilities and selfishness and how that can affect the relationships that we hold true and close to us.

At the start, I was not much of a fan of this book. I found Emmett's self-centered and self-aggrandizing behavior hard to swallow, even if it is typical of middle grade kids. We can see how his choices are making his situation much worse than it needs to be. As the plot went on, though, I began to see how Emmett was going to grow, the realizations that were ahead for him. He learns to define himself outside of Luke, outside of being a debater and a "genius". He has to risk ruining everything to move forward. That's all pretty standard middle grade messaging. It doesn't stop there, though. Through the camp setting, Emmett and his peers have real conversations about race, the expectations of Black exceptionalism, the views of their own families and of society. Their conversations aren't oversimplified and don't give easy answers. These conversations aren't about coming up with answers but rather about being willing to have the discussion at all, to think critically about society.That alone makes this an excellent choice for book clubs, environments where readers are open to sincere discussion and deep critical thinking.

I picked up ‘It Doesn’t Take a Genius’ by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich because the front cover looked like a good old-fashioned summer camp story in addition to showing Black boy joy. And that’s exactly what this book is!

Synopsis: It’s the end of the school year and Emmett is super excited to be spending the summer with his big brother! After all, Luke is going away to a private boarding school next year. He soon finds out that Luke has plans of his own, but Emmett has his ways. He manages to secretly get a place at the summer camp (think Camp Atwater) where Luke is a junior counsellor. The trouble he’s always so busy! Join Emmett as he tries to negotiate his relationship with his brother, defines his dreams and works through his understanding of his own identity.

Thoughts: This book is well balanced. Although it talks about struggles such as gentrification and living in a single parent family, it also provides enriching examples of of Black joy and excellence. I particularly like that notable artists and thinkers are referenced throughout the book and social justice issues are briefly introduced. A thread that runs throughout is the exploration into what it means to be Black when taking into account the entire diaspora. There’s no specific class or political party being bolstered and these conversations do not feel forced or out of place.

Verdict: This middle grade novel is excellent and is filled with all the classics such as a group of core friends, self discovery, relevant references and even your not-so friendly local bully. I would wholeheartedly recommend this not only to students 10 and over, but also to adults who want a starting point for looking into contributions of key Black figures. Last but not least, I would say this book is particularly relevant for the current American context and I would go as far as to say it should be considered for required reading at the middle school level.

In this delightful story about Black excellence and growing past personal flaws, readers are introduced to Emmett, a middle schooler who is used to being the gifted overachiever. When Emmett's brother Luke is accepted as a junior counselor at a Black summer camp, Emmett's plans to spend time with Luke before he goes off to a prestigious art school are slashed. Unknowingly to the rest of Emmett's family, he applies to the summer camp in order to spend more time with Luke--and gets in! What follows is a relatable and nuanced story about recognizing mistakes and growing past them.

When engaging with diverse literature (especially kid's literature), it is impossible to separate one's identity from the story of the characters. Indeed, Emmett's Blackness is important to the narrative. Throughout Emmett's time at summer camp, Emmett is asked to think critically about his culture, interests, and perspectives of the world. While Black Excellence is shining and the story is largely an optimistic and joyful one, discussions about Emmett Till and other examples of racial injustice are brought up in the narrative. These discussions are important. In order for Emmett to learn about who he is, he must also see himself in his history and culture. The story's setting at a Black summer camp was excellent for this reason, as it allows Emmett to grow naturally while also having the exposure to learn more about his culture. While the focus of the story is not racial injustice, it was great to see these topics handled so well in the story. This is undoubtedly due to Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich's own perspectives as a Black person, and I'm grateful more Own Voices literature is coming out in middle grade fiction.

The main focus of the narrative is truly Emmett himself. It is easy for many middle grade novels to create a self-centered protagonist who is played for laughs or is made incredibly sympathetic to the reader. Neither is the case here, as Rhuday-Perkovich allows the reader to sit with all of Emmett's selfish and self-centered actions, and then watch Emmett grow as a result. In a story where the character starts off as a student who rarely fails, bringing the character into a summer camp with others who are known for their gifted qualities was an excellent idea. Emmett can no longer rely on his gifted reputation, but must truly push himself and learn from new situations. What results is a messy and complicated learning curve. Emmett definitely grows from his time at the summer camp, but not in the ways the reader may predict. The narrative is not wholly about Emmett and Luke's relationship. Emmett must overcome his fear of swimming, desire to take charge always, and need to be the center of attention. All of these talking points do tie into Luke and Emmett's relationship, but they also tie into all of Emmett's relationships he makes at the camp. Emmett learns, whether he likes it or not, that he has plenty of learning to do on his own.

It Doesn't Take a Genius is a great book for its diverse perspective and central themes. Even so, there are aspects of the book which I wish were handled more delicately. Emmett is self-centered, jealous, and at times annoying. This is intentional and essential for Emmett's growth, but many scenes which could have had emotional punches instead gave waves of secondhand embarrassment to the reader. At times, it was hard to be sympathetic towards Emmett because even the consequences he does experience never quite matched up to Emmett's worst actions. He has no real consequence of forging his way into the Black summer camp or purposely sabotaging other people in the story. In addition, Emmett is shown to be a bright child, but when he goes to summer camp, he struggles to shine. I appreciate the novel's attempt to say that a child doesn't need to be smart or excellent to be a better person. I also wished that we were able to see Emmett learn more in the story, rather than his friends laugh at how little he apparently knows. At times, I definitely considered how socio-economics played a role in the different character's successes and talents--especially with the characters who considered themselves "legacy" campers. At the end of the day, I felt many of Emmett's blunders were not from a lack of intelligence, but instead experience. Having this brought up, rather than enforcing the idea that Emmett was just lucky to be there, would have been a nice touch.

Overall, this is the perfect middle grade novel. There is plenty of relatable emotional beats true to middle school personas while offering plenty of learning opportunities for the readers without feeling preachy. The importance of cultural identity is discussed in a way which feels more like an encouragement to inquiry than a textbook. At the same time, the book is unapologetically Black. The characters are Black and proud to be Black. The Black characters discuss ways to celebrate both their excellence and their Blackness. It's novels which are able to perfectly acknowledge the challenges and joys of cultural identity that are truly important, and I can appreciate that this sub plot runs next to Emmett's own personal challenges. By the end of the book, Emmett hasn't quite figured out who he is, what he wants, or how he wants to be better than he is now. This is realistic and okay for a book about a twelve year old boy, especially one who has finally learned when to say he's not always in the right.

I was drawn in by the cover and the book didn't disappoint. The story and characters are so adorable!! I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a cute read to enjoy with their children

So good! I loved this so much, and I really love the cover too! Great story and characters, I would recommend everyone to read

What a great book about two brothers who go off to camp doing different things but both discovering much about each other and themselves. Emmett, or E, the youngest has a tough time in the beginning of camp trying to find his way but eventually makes friends and helps many of them collaborate for camp activities. The arts and social justice are intertwined along with some Street Style dancing and community minded activities. Emmett finds out what’s important to him and that you can be anything you want to be. So many great discussions and people mentioned. Loved Emmett’s voice.

I requested this book as I have been trying to diversify my knowledge of the middle grade genre. This was a new author to me (possibly a debut?) and a read I enjpyed and would recommend.

This is my first time reading a middle grade from a Black author and I requested this title because of the author's name. I mentioned all this just so you'd know I had no expectations at all.

I almost dunno what to make of this. Maybe I'm not used to this category of books, I do appreciate the fact that the writer can weave a story. It's fast-paced and the language is pretty easy to follow, I just didn't enjoy it and I think it's more of a personal preference thing. I would recommend it though