Girl Made of Stars

TW: discussions of rape and childhood sexual assault

Blake, Ashley Herring. Girl Made of Stars. HMH BYR, 2018.

Mara and Owen are twins, and Mara is also close friends with Hannah, Owen's girlfriend. So when Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara isn't sure what to do. She doesn't know whom to believe and isn't sure how to react, and it's bringing up memories she had tried to quash.

As a childhood assault survivor, I nearly didn't read this book, not because I didn't think it would be well-written or well handled, but because I wasn't sure if it would be triggering. Mara was assaulted at the end of eighth grade by one of her teachers, and she doesn't tell anyone about it, and then her brother is accused of rape and her family is all rallying around him and her school is rallying around him and no one is standing up for Hannah, and Mara ends up in a sort of tailspin. This is a good book, and a realistic book, in that Owen is never actually brought to trial or formally charged or given any sort of punishment for what he did, and in fact his family doesn't really acknowledge that he did anything wrong.

I am glad for this book's discussion of rape that occurs within a relationship and how difficult it can be for the survivor to be believed since they already had a sexual relationship with the rapist, how it becomes a "he said, she said" situation, etc. etc. I am glad for the Speak-esque plot for Mara, who finally finds the courage to tell others what happened to her. This is a good book, and a necessary book, and the story was handled with the delicateness appropriate for the topic. For survivors, the flashback scenes are in italics, so it would be easy enough to skip over them if you'd like. The assault scene is fairly descriptive and frightening as is appropriate for an eighth grader being assaulted by an adult man.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: descriptions of assault, discussion of rape, slut-shaming,
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Speak, All the Rage, Learning to Breathe

Alan Cole is Not a Coward

Bell, Eric. Alan Cole is Not a Coward. Katherine Tegen Books, 2017.

Alan's older brother Nathan torments him constantly, so when Nathan comes up with another CvC (Cole versus Cole), Alan has to agree to go along. Each brother has a list of seven tasks and one week in which to complete them. If Alan doesn't agree to do this, Nathan will tell the whole school that Alan has a crush ... on a boy.

To be honest I really, really didn't like this book at the beginning. The brother is just SO cruel, and forcing a middle schooler to compete in this brother vs brother thing or face being outed is just over the top. To make matters worse, Alan and Nathan's father is extremely unkind to his children. He calls Alan "goldfish" because he's forgettable and unimportant and Nathan "pig" because he's messy. He rules over their house with an iron fist, and regardless of what we find out at the end, this makes for a rough beginning of the story.

The middle of the book shows Alan trying to finish his tasks, eventually learning a few things and developing a backbone, and finally we get the *big reveal* where we find out everything that caused this family to be such a mess (which I won't discuss here because spoilers). So there's a reason the father is a cruel heartless dictator and a reason Nathan is following in his footsteps. It does have a happy-adjacent ending, but wow the beginning of this book is rough. I think this is one I would recommend as a "read together" book instead of an independent reading book.

Recommended for: tweens and their grown-ups
Red Flags: bullying, emotional abuse
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt; Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle

All the Things That Could Go Wrong

Foster, Stewart. All the Things that Could Go Wrong. Little, Brown BYR 2018.

Alex has OCD which is seriously affecting his ability to do his schoolwork and interact with his classmates. Dan's older brother has been incarcerated, and Dan's so angry about this that he attacks and bullies Alex. The two boys are forced to spend time together when their moms, who are friends, decide they could each use a friend.

Let's start with the characters before moving into a traditional review. Alex has OCD, but he is not on any medication or seeing a therapist with any regularity. His parents worry about the expense of a therapist, which is understandable, but Alex's OCD is problematic, causing him to be frequently late for school and damaging his hands and his school supplies from multiple washings. It also appears that his teachers are indifferent or ignorant of his condition.

Dan is set up as a secondary protagonist, and the reader is supposed to sympathize with him because his older brother is in juvenile detention for stealing a car and robbing a store. Dan bullies Alex because Dan hangs out with bullies at school, bullies who aren't really friends to him, either. While Dan is a fully fleshed-out character in this story, the other bullies - the Georges and Sophia - are just random evil flat characters.

The whole point of this book is clearly to make a person feel empathy for a bully and to understand that bullies have back stories and things going on in their lives that cause them to bully. However, the worst of the lot - Sophia - is not given a story. All we ever see her do is instigate trouble with Dan, with Alex, and with others.

All in all, this is an easy enough story to read, although I think that since Alex's OCD was diagnosed it would have been more realistic for him to have some more support for it, and the story's very didactic feel may turn off the very readers it was intended for. The two main characters are well-rounded, but all of the rest fade into the background, which only adds to the didactic feel of this story.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: lots of bullying - Alex has his head stuck in a toilet, for example, which is horrifying for a neurotypical person but traumatic for a person with OCD
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read Instead: You Go First, The Losers Club, Absolutely Almost

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Meaning of Birds

Brown, Jaye Robin. The Meaning of Birds. HarperCollins, 2018.

Jess and Vivi were inseparable for more than two years. Jess felt like Vivi completed her, understood her, helped calm the rage of anger that so frequently spilled over before. But now Vivi is dead, and Jess isn't sure what to do anymore. Her rages and fights at school land her in an alternative school for a month; her mother is hoping she will use this time to work through her grief and find her own way.

This is a lovely book about grieving the loss of a loved one. It is not a happy book, but it is a good one and a necessary one, particularly because of the amazingly queer cast of characters. Jess is a lesbian; Vivi never self-identifies but reads as pansexual; Jess's best friend is asexual; a classmate at the alternative school is a straight guy who is dating a transgender girl and he takes a lot of flack for it but loves her anyway. Jess's grief reads as genuine. She spirals in and out of rages; she loses interest in her activities from before Vivi's death; she loses touch with her friends. Numerous people figure she should be "over it" by now, as if grief somehow has a deadline.

I also appreciated the discussion of alternative education opportunities - internships, etc. - for those who may not be interested in attending college. Jess becomes interested in blacksmithing, which is fascinating and different and not something you'd see at most traditional colleges or universities. With the student loan debt situation and job situation we have in this country, it's good to remind people that there are other ways to make a living and be an adult, and not all of them require fancy degrees.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: some language; some violence particularly on Jess's part; one character grabs Jess's crotch in order to determine what kind of genitalia she has; lots of underage drinking and recreational drug use
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: We Are Okay, Summer Bird Blue, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

After Zero

Collins, Christina. After Zero. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018.

Elise keeps tallies in her notebook - one tally mark for every one word spoken aloud. She tries her best to stay at zero every day. If she doesn't speak, then she won't make a mistake. If she doesn't speak, she won't embarrass herself or others. Ellie's silence, though, is affecting her life at school, and once her mom clues in to the fact that things are not as rosy as Ellie is making them seem, Ellie is faced with a family secret that may prove louder than her silence.

This is an #ownvoices story according to the author information in the back of the book, and I can only barely imagine the frustration of a child or teen who is dealing with selective mutism. I was glad that the author highlighted this very real struggle that some people are facing, as well as the difficulty some students have when transitioning out of a homeschool environment and into a public school. The ending isn't a Disney-esque rosy picture where everything wraps up perfectly, but it is satisfying. Well-developed characters and a measured plot make this an ideal middle grade story. Recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, tweens
Red Flags: bullying
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Red Pencil, The One and Only Ivan, The Benefits of Being an Octopus

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Forget Me Not

Terry. Ellie. Forget Me Not. Feiwel and Friends, 2017.

Calli is in 7th grade and has started at a new school eleven times. Her mom has a habit of hooking up with a guy, dating for a brief period, then having a messy breakup where she packs everything into the car and hauls Calli to a new town to start over again. Calli also has Tourette Syndrome, and she has been warned not to explain this to her new teachers or classmates. Jinsong is Calli's neighbor and he likes her - possibly as more than a friend - but he's also student body president and very popular, so he isn't sure how/if he can stand up for her when the inevitable teasing starts.

Calli's chapters are told in verse, which makes this book a pretty fast read, and that fits with Calli's personality because she is interested in space but is also artistic. Jinsong's internal struggle between standing up for Calli at school and hiding his interest in her reads true and is perfect for this age group, too. The fact that Calli's mom hasn't taken the time to understand her condition and insists that she could just "not do it" when her tics occur rings true as well. The author states in a note at the end that she also has Tourette Syndrome, so this is an #ownvoices novel. I could see this book appealing to kids who enjoyed Wonder and also to those who like reading novels in verse. This is a much-needed addition to most library collections.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: Calli is bullied quite a bit, mostly by the stereotypical Mean Girl in the story; it turns out this person also bullied Jinsong because of his ethnicity and that moment is described as well.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Wonder, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Absolutely Almost

The Losers Club

Clements, Andrew. The Losers Club. Random House, 2017.

Alec is the only sixth grader sent to the principal's office on the first day of school, and possibly the only student sent to the office for reading during class. When the principal and Alec's parents tell him he can't read during his classes, he sets up an after school club for silent reading. Hoping no one will join him and he can find some peace and quiet, he names it the Losers Club. Unfortunately for Alec, word spreads about his reading club and it becomes quite popular. Now he has to balance running a club with escaping into his beloved books.

This is an adorably cute middle grade book that is perfect for kids who love to read. It's funny, there's a great Disney-style ending, and there are plenty of good books mentioned throughout. I have only a couple of caveats:

1. Alec is far too self-aware to be a standard sixth grade student. He says things like, "Nina is Nina and Kent is Kent and I can't control anything about them; I can only control myself." This may be a true statement, but I'd be hard pressed to find an 11 year old who will self-talk that way. It's nice to see Alec model this and other positive traits, but it isn't very realistic.

2. I am a librarian, and in the end of this story Alec asks his club members to email him permission to look at their circulation records at the school library for a project. There is no way on earth that the school librarian A) keeps records like that, because that stuff gets erased unless the book is still checked out to the student and B) allows Alec access to those records. If the mystical records existed, I could see each of the kids getting their OWN record to give to Alec, but no way a librarian worth their salt is going to give patron information to a sixth grader, even a nice one like Alec.

Other than that, this is a cute, fun story that I'd recommend easily to kids who like to read or feel like they don't really fit in with their peer group.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: mild bullying, all of which is explained and apologized for by the end of the story
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Island of Dr. Libris, Book Scavenger, Ban this Book!, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Just Like Jackie

Stoddard, Lindsey. Just Like Jackie. HarperCollins, 2018.

Robinson lives with her grandfather in Vermont. She loves helping him in his auto shop after school, tapping maple trees with him to make maple syrup, and being the one to squeeze the cheese sauce into the mac'n'cheese. She's his right hand man. But Grandpa has been forgetting things and mixing up his words a lot. Robinson isn't sure what to do. She thinks she can take care of her grandfather, but who will take care of Robinson?

This book is beautiful and sweet and everything that you could want from a middle grade book. Robinson gets in trouble at school because she fights back when she's bullied, but when she and her tormentor are placed in a group together by the guidance counselor, she sees that there's more beneath the surface. Harold, who is Grandpa's assistant at the auto shop, is at home with his husband and their new baby, so Grandpa is left to run the auto shop alone when Robinson is in school. Grandpa is African American, but Robinson is biracial and very light-skinned, so they get a lot of raised eyebrows when they go out into the world. There is a satisfying, nearly Disney-esque happy ending to the story, and the scary bits aren't too scary for middle grade readers. Recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: a few instances of bullying; Robinson and her fellow groupmates say "effing" a couple of times along with other mild swears like "crap" and "suck."
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Someday Birds, The Benefits of Being an Octopus, Fish in a Tree

Damselfly

Prasad, Chandra. Damselfly. Scholastic Press, 2018.

Touted as a modern retelling of Lord of the Flies, Damselfly follows a group of private school students as their plane crashes on a remote tropical island with no civilization, no adults, etc. If you know the plot of Lord of the Flies, you know this one.

In spite of the diverse representation of characters and discussion of race issues, bullying, etc., this book fell flat for me. The story was not intense enough to match the intense situation the teens were facing. There were times when the pace slowed to a plod. The dialog didn't match with the supposed age of these teens at all; they sounded more like young middle school students than upperclassmen.

The idea of retelling Lord of the Flies in a modern setting and tackling modern issues relevant to teens by using the story is a good one, but it isn't original with Damselfly; Libba Bray's Beauty Queens does the same thing, but does it in a much better way. This set itself up to be Beauty Queens without the humor, but it didn't work for me: too many weird plot holes or inexplicable character actions. That being said, teens who like "trapped on an island" type stories may enjoy this one.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: language, bullying, fat-shaming, racist language, violence
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

Read Instead: Beauty Queens by Bray, The Island by Levez, I Am Still Alive by Marshall

You Go First

Kelly, Erin Entrada. You Go First. Greenwillow Books, 2018.

Charlotte lives in Pennsylvania; Ben lives in Louisiana. Both in middle school, they compete online in Scrabble games and become casual friends. Both are outcasts at their school, and the book opens with a tragedy in each of their lives: Charlotte's father has a heart attack and Ben's parents tell him they are divorcing. Both Ben and Charlotte are navigating the world of middle school and trying to survive through changing friendships, bullying, and the difficulties in their personal lives.

What I Liked: The online aspect of this book is appropriate even for middle school students. The changing friends dynamic that Charlotte deals with as her best friend finds a new friend group and leaves her hanging. Ben's careful consideration of all aspects of his campaign for student council rings true as well. The fact that at the end of the book there is hope that both Charlotte and Ben will continue to be friends with the people they've met.

What I Didn't Like: I kept expecting Ben and Charlotte to talk to each other about their respective difficulties, and although the author occasionally teased us with them talking on the phone and almost telling each other the truth, it didn't actually happen. Since this is a character-driven novel, I was hoping for more development of their friendship.

Overall, this is a story that is well-written and may appeal to middle grade students who prefer stories that are character driven rather than plot-driven. This is a book you hand quietly to a kid who is in the library on their own rather than a book you talk up in front of a large group.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: bullying of both Ben and Charlotte
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: When You Reach Me, Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World, Definitely Daphne

Darius the Great is Not Okay

Khorram, Adib. Darius the Great is Not Okay. Penguin, 2018.

Darius is a socially awkward Trekkie (or Trekker, if you're picky). He doesn't have a lot of friends at school and is obsessed with tea, even though he works in a Teavana-esque store that sells a lot of "tea," which is mostly sugar. Darius and his family go to Iran to visit his maternal grandparents as his grandfather is dying of a brain tumor. This will be Darius's first time in Iran, and he's nervous. His Farsi isn't nearly as good as his younger sister's, and he has been warned that his extended family will not understand his need to take medication to control his depression. While in Iran, Darius learns more about his heritage and befriends the neighbor boy; if he had stayed longer, perhaps they would have been more than friends.

Darius has a lot of hang-ups: he feels like his father doesn't approve of him because he isn't a jock and because he hasn't been able to control his medication-derived weight gain; he is frequently teased at school and his bullies even follow him to his job; he feels invisible in his own family because his little sister's big personality steals the spotlight. It's super awkward for him at first in Iran because his Farsi isn't very good and many of his relatives don't speak English super well, so he's sort of left out. Then he meets Sohrab. Sohrab is a neighbor boy about his same age, and they become friends quickly. Sohrab invites Darius to play soccer and speaks up for him when he won't speak up for himself. When his family finally leaves Iran to return to the United States, Darius is sad to be leaving Sohrab and sad to be leaving a family that feels more real to him than they had when he only knew them via Skype.

I found this book to be very readable. Darius is an awkward teenage boy, and this book reads true to that voice. He refers to his bullies as the Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy, talks about paying attention to various Iranian social cues, and relishes the time he spends watching Star Trek with his dad. Darius doesn't understand why his dad is so hard on him, and he feels like he is constantly disappointing his dad. All of these things would make this book very relatable for many teens. I love the addition of Persian culture and the trip to Iran, and for most of my patrons, this will be a window into a world they've never visited.

For those wondering about the LGBT content: Darius's father has two moms, and it's hinted in the book that Darius might be gay, although that's not something he's quite ready to process yet. His friendship with Sohrab certainly appears to be blossoming into something more before he has to return to the States.

This book definitely fits into the "awkward teen without backbone is having troubles, then grows a backbone and starts speaking for himself and standing up for himself and things are a bit better" category of books, which are ones my teen patrons love, so I can easily recommend this title.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: The bullies at Darius's school call him D-bag and a few other savory terms; the bullies in Iran mock Darius because he is uncircumcised (and they see this in the post-soccer shower room). Darius's extended family doesn't understand his need to medicate for his depression and say things like, "Just don't be so sad," which could be problematic to some readers.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Jack of Hearts (and other parts); Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel; Jaya and Rasa

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

Speak: The Graphic Novel

Anderson, Laurie Halse and Emily Carroll. Speak: The Graphic Novel. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018.

Melinda begins her freshman year a very different person from the one who just finished eighth grade; over the summer she was raped at a party and called the cops. Her classmates don't know about the rape, but they do know about the cops breaking up the party. Melinda is an outcast at the school. She finds herself unmoored without her former friends and is further traumatized by her rapist, who also attends her school. Throughout the school year, Melinda slowly finds her voice and begins to heal.

The novel version of Speak is one of those rare timeless teen books which belongs on every library's shelf. This book is an amazing adaptation of that story. Parts of the book have been updated (references to Instagram, etc.), while the original message of the story is still present. The black and white drawings are appropriate for the serious topic, and the novel manages to portray the ridiculousness of some aspects of high school (such as the constant changing of the school's mascot and the lack of supplies for the art class) while also demonstrating the very real impact the social aspects of school have on a teenager's ability to thrive and learn. Melinda is shown as a very real, developed character who has hidden inside herself; throughout the story we get to watch her unfold and learn to speak again.

I have recommended before that everyone read Speak; I say the same of this graphic novel adaptation.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: underage drinking, rape, bullying
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Puddin'

Murphy, Julie. Puddin' (Dumplin' #2). Balzer + Bray. 2018

Millie is determined not to go to fat camp this summer; instead, she wants to go to a journalism camp. She is working at her uncle's gym to help him out when the gym is vandalized, and the culprit is required to work at the gym to pay for the damages. Callie never expected to get in trouble, but now she's had her entire life taken away from her - her phone, her freedom, even her afternoons as she has to work at the dumpy gym she and her friends trashed. Millie and Callie are thrust together and have to learn to navigate around each other.

I really enjoyed this book. There are powerful messages in here about working toward getting what you want and dealing with the consequences of your choices. I really liked that Millie chose to befriend Callie and bring her into Millie's group of friends, even though Callie was pretty much the last person any of them would have chosen to befriend. My only small complaint with this book is the lack of Dolly Parton drag queens like there were in Dumplin'.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: bullying; moderate amounts of fat-shaming from one character's mother; minor amounts of violence (one teen smashes another teen's phone against the wall, intentionally breaking it, etc.)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purposes of review.

Run

Keplinger, Kody. Run. Scholastic Press, 2016.

Agnes is a good girl. She always follows her parents' rules and never asks for exceptions. She knows the rules are there to protect her because she's legally blind. Bo, on the other hand, is the type of girl Agnes has been told to avoid. She comes from a family with a bad reputation and her mom is high on meth more often than she is sober. But when Bo and Agnes become friends, both of them realize that there may be more to life than what they have been given so far. It will take both of them stepping out of their comfort zones to realize the importance of their friendship.

This is the book which recently caused quite the brouhaha in the YA and LGBT community. VOYA listed this book as appropriate for older teens, citing mature themes including bisexuality. That entire issue has been discussed elsewhere, so that's all I'm going to say about it. That being said, this is a hard book to read. The characters are dealing with a lot, especially Bo, who just wants to graduate and get out of her house and avoid being sent into foster care again. There is mention of drugs, there is drinking, there is strong language - all of these things cause me to recommend this book to older teens. I wanted this book to be more than it was, to dive deeper. I wanted Agnes to rage against her parents instead of accepting her punishment. I wanted Bo to escape again in order to avoid foster care, as that seemed more fitting with her character. I'd add it to my collection if I had unlimited space, but otherwise I'll just suggest teens put it on hold.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: alcohol and drug use by adults and teens, slut-shaming of Bo (even though she's a virgin), Agnes has sex with Bo's cousin, strong language
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, Not Otherwise Specified, Just Call My Name

It Looks Like This

Mittlefehldt, Rafi. It Looks Like This. Candlewick, 2016.

Mike is the new kid in school. His family has relocated, and Mike's dad is trying his best to make sure Mike doesn't turn out "soft." Mike's friendship with Sean soon turns into something more than friends, though, and Mike's parents have to decide how they want to respond to the person their son is becoming.

After a very slow and stilted start, this book picks up and becomes interesting about halfway through. The characters are not very fleshed out, and the mention of church in the blurb is a bit of a misnomer, as church does not feature prominently in the first two-thirds of the story. The family could not accurately be described as evangelicals or religious or anything of that nature. I continued to read this book mainly out of obligation as I intended to write a review, but not because the pace or characters were interesting enough to keep me going. The story seemed to be told almost without emotion, and the flat, short sentences did not draw me into the story at all. As there are other books on this topic that are better written and more enticing to a reader, this one is not recommended to any but the largest libraries or those with extensive collections of LGBT literature.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: bullying, teen alcohol use, teen sexual experiences, drunk driving, a teen is sent to a conversion therapy-style camp, at said camp there is a creepy almost molest-y director, mild language
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

The Other Boy

Hennessy, M.G. The Other Boy. HarperCollins, 2016.

Shane loves baseball, drawing and writing his own graphic novel, and spending time with his best friend, Josh. Shane hasn’t told anyone at his school that he is transgender, but when a classmate finds out Shane’s secret and spreads it to the rest of the school, Shane has to deal with the consequences in his friendships and especially with his crush.

A middle grade novel in the vein of George and Gracefully Grayson, this book features a middle school student who is transgender. Unlike the protagonists of George and Grayson, however, Shane is already out to his family and has begun treatments including visiting a therapist and receiving hormone blockers. He plays on the boys’ baseball team at school and uses the boys’ locker room, just like everyone else on the team. Shane’s best friend, Josh, is amazingly supportive of him throughout the bullying incident(s), walking with him to class like he is a bodyguard and responding to those who are teasing Shane.

While bullying is absolutely a reality in school, particularly for those who are transgender or gender nonconforming, it is handled gently in this story, which makes Shane’s tale a perfect fit for a middle grade audience. Considering the dearth of middle grade stories featuring transgender characters, this book is a must for public library collections. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: Shane is bullied when it is discovered he is trans; there is a scene where Josh, not knowing Shane is trans, brings him to the locker room to "prove" to the rest of the team that he's a guy [Josh is trying to help at this point and doesn't realize how traumatic this situation is for Shane]
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Gracefully Grayson, George, Wandering Son, Vol. 1, The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island

The Weight of Zero

Fortunati, Karen. The Weight of Zero. Delacorte Press, 2016.

Cat is planning to die. She has bipolar disorder, and she knows that her current level of stability will eventually disappear to be replaced with overwhelming depression. The last time that happened it nearly killed her mother. Cat is planning to kill herself before that can happen. She doesn't want to live through the depression and doesn't want to be a burden on her mother. But as Cat continues with her therapy, with school, with life, she realizes that maybe, just maybe she actually wants to live.

I imagined a very different ending for this book than what I found. What I found was not a devastating, "the character I have grown to love dies" kind of ending, nor was it a Disney-esque "happily ever after" ending, either. But it was a satisfying ending. I appreciated this author's use of research to portray teens with various disorders and issues in a balanced light. I was glad for the realistic portrayal of Cat's family struggling to make ends meet as they pay for her various therapies, which would ring more true to my patrons than a teen who has an endless supply of funds for whatever types of therapy are needed. I'm especially glad for the not "happily ever after" ending: Cat doesn't find a magical cure for bipolar disorder. Her former friends don't see the light and give tear-filled apologies and become besties again. What Cat gets is a real life, complete with its ups and downs.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: discussion of suicide, Cat plans to lose her virginity (she doesn't), teen alcohol use at a party, language, members of Cat's therapy group struggle with eating disorders, OCD, and other issues which could be triggering
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Butter, All the Bright Places, Everything, Everything

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

If I Was Your Girl

Russo, Meredith. If I Was Your Girl. Flatiron Books, 2016.

Amanda is the new girl in school. She is trying to keep her head down and just survive without drawing any attention or making waves, until she meets Grant. She likes Grant a lot, and finds herself making friends and spending more time with them than she originally intended. But she isn't sure if she can reveal her biggest secret - that she is transgender - to her friends or especially to Grant.

This was an unusual take on a YA story about a trans* teen in that Amanda has already begun HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and had SRS (sex reassignment surgery) before she begins attending this school. Physically she now matches her gender identity, instead of having to go stealth and hope that no one finds out. This is extremely unusual, especially since most doctors will recommend that trans* teens wait until they are adults before having any surgical procedures performed. Other than that, this story didn't stand out from any of the other "trans* teens starting at a new school and hope that no one finds out but of course they do" kinds of stories out there.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Amanda is outed and nearly raped; teen alcohol use; Amanda attempts suicide
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Almost Perfect, Beast, Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity, Run, Clarissa, Run

Beast

Spangler, Brie. Beast. Knopf BYR, 2016.

Dylan is a self-proclaimed beast. He's taller than anyone else in school, has enough hair on his body to make a wig for a yak, and could probably snap your neck with his bare hands. But he is tired of people seeing him for his size and ignoring his intelligence. After an accident involving a lost football, a roof, and Dylan's leg, Dylan is sent to a therapy group for those who self-harm. There he meets Jamie, who is the most amazing girl he has ever seen. She loves photography, tells it like she sees it, and has recently started attending a new school because she's trans* and she was being bullied at her old school. Dylan is head over heels in love with Jamie until he finds out that she's trans*. Will his father, dead since Dylan was young, send him a sign so he can know what to do about Jamie?

I'll admit, I started reading this book and then couldn't remember why I wanted to read it, and I almost gave up. Dylan, like many teens, is so stuck on himself and his own little universe that I wanted to scream at him. He was not the sympathetic character I was hoping for. Jamie, on the other hand, has a fully defined personality and seems closer to the average sort of teenager who is still stuck on herself but also realizes there is a world around her filled with other people. I did appreciate that this story is more about Dylan coming to terms with his father's death, with his relationship with Jamie, with the reason he was on the roof to begin with, rather than focusing on Jamie discovering that she is trans* and beginning to transition. The Beauty and the Beast parallels aren't as obvious as they have been in other retellings, so I would likely recommend this book as a read-alike for self-harm rather than a fractured fairy tale.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Jamie and Dylan buy a lot of beer (but end up not drinking it); Jamie and Dylan also make out (but don't have sex); when Dylan first realizes that Jamie is trans*, some of the troglodytes at his school have some very transphobic comments about Jamie
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: If I Was Your Girl, Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity, Winger, Cut

The Art of Being Normal

An unbelievable story of two transgender teens who support each other through high school.

Williamson, Lisa. The Art of Being Normal. Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, 2016.

* Because both David and Leo present as male throughout this book, I will be using male pronouns for both, although I realize that David (soon to be Kate) will eventually identify as female.

David is an outsider at school. His family and classmates think he's gay, and he's bullied endlessly at school. But David isn't gay; David is transgender, and he is working up the courage to tell his family that he wants to transition. Leo, on the other hand, has left his old school to start a new school and new life. He's hoping to fly under the radar at his new school, in spite of the rumors about him. David is desperate to be friends with Leo, which would prevent Leo from remaining invisible.

This was an interesting enough story, but it doesn't stand out among novels about trans* teens. David's story was pretty typical: he hid women's clothing in his closet, had already come out to a couple of close friends, and was working up the courage to tell his parents, who ended up being very supportive. Leo, on the other hand, was an oddity: his family was not well-off, he didn't seem to have a good relationship with his mother, but somehow he was able to go stealth and present male at school. He also had regular meetings with a counselor and was on hormone blockers, but his family couldn't afford to have food in the cupboard? Unless Leo had some sort of wonderful government medical assistance, I don't buy it. Hormone blockers are expensive, and there was never any mention of his family choosing to starve so he could transition. That, along with the magical coincidence of two trans* teens meeting at school and not at a trans* therapy group, made this book a bit too Disney-esque to be a good reflection of reality. However, there are few enough books featuring trans* characters, so this one will appear on my library's shelves.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: bullying, the teens go to several pubs/bars - nothing graphic is mentioned about anyone's transition; transphobic and homophobic slurs
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alike Suggestions: Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen, Run, Clarissa, Run,Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.