Told in the perspective of six students and one teacher, MASCOT presents the voices of those both for and against a difficult subject. Fictional Rye Community Schools in Virgina has used the Braves as their mascot for as long as most residents can remember. During pep rallies and at sporting events the colors of red and yellow, the face of a Native American, and the tomahawk chop have been part of what many call a Rye tradition. Some students are speaking up about the fact they see it as racism, and they want change.
Callie, a Black Cherokee Nation citizen and new resident, is seeing this for the first time. Others like Priya whose grandparents were born in India, and Tessa, formerly homeschooled, has heard stories from her grandparents who marched with MLK, Jr. are also thinking it is time to change the school's mascot. Franklin, a huge sports fan, doesn't see a problem at first, but he begins to understand the anti-mascot side once he listens to the arguments and sees how it relates to his Black heritage.
Sean's Irish family background goes back generations. He doesn't see anything wrong with the Braves as a mascot. Luis also doesn't see what all the fuss is about.
An English project assigned by their 8th grade teacher has all these students facing off against each other as they passionately research and argue about a community tradition. Old friendships will suffer while new friendships are forged as the battle for and against rages over the course of a school year. Will the Braves still be the school's mascot when the dust settles or will there be a change?
MASCOT is a sure winner for middle and high school aged readers. It could easily be used in the classroom to inspire research and debate about a current sports related topic.
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