Michelle

Quite talented writer, book marred by serious flaws that I imagine I'll elaborate upon at some point.

Okay, on 4/3/20, I'm elaborating. It's day whatever of my captivity, and I imagine yours as well, so might as well make a respectable Goodreads showing.

For whatever ridiculous reason, YA books with gay boys corresponding is my jam. How is this a thing? Oh, right – thank you, Simon. ;)

My issue with this book is the author got to have her cake and eat it too to a bonkers degree. If you decide to have the book be epistolary ... told solely through letters ... you have to take the limitations. That means the reader can't always be present, and you figure out how to credibly fill in some of the gaps this creates, and then allow some gaps to remain.

To have these boys recite minute details back to one another of events they both witnessed is jarring, artificial, and unacceptable to me. These flaws inherent in not excepting the limitation mars a book that should have been able to be listed with the best of the best of not just this sub-genre, but also YA.

I can wave away both characters having the seasoned writing skills of professional novelists. Mostly. But the “cake-eating” just got more jarring and absurd.

I think the author is really terrific, though. My fault is not with her, but with the people who should have fixed or made her fix this devastating error. She could have self-pubbed if she weren't going to have guidance.

And I would totally read another book by this author.

Mild Spoilers Ahead:

So much good here, like the handling of the repercussions of abuse. I personally appreciated the discussion of how someone can technically be an adult, a physically strong adult, and still allow abuse by parental figures. As someone who experienced this, I carried shame for along time, and making clear that the psychological power people wield due to their position in your life can then allow them to wield physical power as well, even as the abused are no longer minors.

Also, Prince and Minnesota, so that's all good! :)

Loved it!

Is there a delicate way to say this is like a Kim Harrison novel, only much better? The Rachel Morgan books are good, but they were never a perfect match for me, not in the way this book pleased me. I'm really stoked about this series – at least the first book in the series.

Sabina Kane is half vampire/half mage, but has only lived in the world of the former, never giving thought to the other half of her heritage. The title refers not just to her red hair, a sign of vampire blood, but also to her second class citizen, never being completely embraced status in community that raised her. It refers to her desire to gain the approval of her grandmother, because it's not freely given to her.

The story concerns Sabina being sent to infiltrate the camp of a half-demon, half-vamp, and how doing this becomes the thing that in many ways frees her.

The author, Jaye Wells, has a knack for secondary characters. My favorite, and I'm going to assume the favorite of anyone with a sense of humor, is “Mr. Giggles” – a demon who becomes her familiar and is occasionally a – well, read it and see.

I found Sabina to be a likable and sympathetic character, even if occasionally she made dumb decisions, which characters in these types of books are contractually obligated to do anyhow.

I look forward to future books.

Whenever I read something autobiographical I always ask myself if I'd like to have lunch with that person. I think this explains why I tend to like books by funny or gossipy women. This was a real winner for me. Humor is subjective, but I found myself either laughing or smiling a lot – and definitely wanting to do lunch! Mindy Kaling's tone was light, and funny, and clever, and I'd even say infectiously girly. I was utterly charmed and I related to a lot of her anecdotes about friendship.

One of my favorite passages:

“I've found my productive-writing-to-screwing-around ratio to be one to seven. So, for every eight-hour day of writing, there is only one good productive hour of work being done. The other seven hours are preparing for writing: pacing around the house, collapsing cardboard boxes for recycling, reading the DVD extras pamphlet from the BBC Pride and Prejudice, getting snacks lined up for writing, and YouTubing toddlers who learded the ‘Single Ladies' dance.”

his is a nice bullet point read that is more a refresher if you've ever read more than a couple histories on Abe! I was also curious to see what people tend to ask. This is not, by any means, a comprehensive view, but the writer – Gerald Prokopowicz – seems amiable enough. I got it because I was reading my Kindle when a show came on the History Channel about how long it too Lincoln's body to finally be safe and at rest. People wanted to steal the body, he was occasionally hidden on the basement of his tomb under old boards, eventually the structure was no longer stable, and people kept wanting to look in the coffin to make sure he was really there. Anyhow, was in the mood for a Lincoln book that didn't tax me too much – have more brainy, weighty choices in the TBR list.

This is the best, most touching and remarkable, book I've read in forever! Beautiful. I borrowed this from the library to read on my Kindle, and I'm going to return it right away for someone else to read, and I hope they get as much out of it as I did. I'm thinking I need my own copy.

I liked this, but found my attention wandering now and again. 3 stars represents both my enjoyment and my wandering attention, as well as I'd read the first 35% before, and had so much trouble remembering it that I went ahead and read it again.

But I plan on listening to the podcast Phoebe does with Jessica Williams.

I liked this book okay as I was reading it, but suspected the real power of the story would hit me at the ending, that the book was building toward something. Sometimes books are like that. This IS how the book worked for me – when I looked back on the story.

I enjoyed the characters, and the idea of finding a mother/a self-nurturing side inside yourself. I think there are the mothers we have in the most literal sense and then the archetypal mother – sometimes the two are interwoven and other times ... not. The important thing is that it is deeply human to crave the a deeper, unconditional, life-giving, encompassing love we associate with mothers.

When I was a teen, my mother broke my heart, and I remember crying about wanting my mother, but in that moment I didn't mean her, I meant someone who would give me what I lacked, who would help heal the hurt caused by my actual mother's limitations.

Eh, I don't know.

This is the second book I've read by this (white) author, and both contained prominent black characters going through significant hardships at the hands of white people, and I have to confess I feel conflicted. Of course people should be allowed to write about characters of different races from their own. Still, I can't help but feel like people of color are the best people to write about slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and civil rights until their voices are given as much weight as the voices of white authors.

Originally posted to Red Adept Reviews.

Overall: 3 1/2 stars

Plot/Storyline: 3 3/4 stars

It???s a great idea, right? So cool of a concept that I read the article and purchased the book as soon as I could. I love the concept, but am a little less enamored when it comes to the execution of the story and to matters of characterization.

As far as it goes, I think it???s a helpful book for teens. Any story that preaches that bullying and casual cruelties have consequences is a needed message. The issue becomes what responsibility Hannah has for her choice and if the punishment fits the crimes. If nothing else, the discussions it opens up will be interesting.

Hannah says to these people that what they did lead to what she did and, by implication, they should carry the guilt of that. I suspect most readers will think that in the case of one or two of the people they should have to live with and struggle with that. However, some of the people were rude, or ignorant, or mean, or even casually cruel, but it???s arguable if it???s fair to expect them to carry the burden of Hannah???s decision ??? particularly in the case of a girl who was a victim herself or a guidance counselor whom she only met one time and set up for failure.

While the premise is good, I couldn???t help but think that it needed to take two paths ??? one of benevolence and education toward people who could not have known or one of anger toward people who were truly reprehensible. The difficulty is her anger toward both groups as if their ???sins??? were equal. Ultimately, this choice will put some readers in the uncomfortable position of realizing they dislike, or disapprove of, a girl who took her own life.

There was also the small detail that she threatened that if people didn???t listen and pass it on that another party would make sure that the tapes got out ??? but I can???t imagine that the adult recipient wouldn???t contact the authorities based on details in the tape. I also can???t imagine Hannah not knowing that.

Lastly, the reason why Clay was on the list seemed too easy, a bit off a cop-out, even a cheat, since ??? without saying more ??? he stood alone. This removed some of the power I might have felt.

Characters: 3 1/4 stars

There are two main characters here. Hannah and Clay. We meet the other characters who have received or will receive the take, sometimes during the course of Clay???s travels around town as he listens, but mostly through Hannah???s narration. As mentioned, when she speaks we also read Clay???s reactions to her words. Clay is pretty likable character. Some of the other characters are villainous. Others seem like kids making stupid mistakes.

I believe that we were supposed to see Clay as someone who could have saved her, if only he was more confident, if only he had listened to rumors less. For once, I don???t think Hannah put the burden on someone else so much as Clay felt understandable guilt at not reaching out to her sooner. (Understandable in the sense of it being a natural reaction, not in the sense of being justified.)

As mentioned, I had complex feelings toward Hannah. Obviously there???s built in sympathy for her, but it was hard to read her deliberate cruelty toward others. Suicide can sometimes be a very angry act, a way to punish others for real or perceived grievances, and the choice can be made for what seems to the outside world to be petty, but feels like the weight of the world to the person in question. Understanding all of this doesn???t change the fact that Hannah comes across as vindictive and looking for scapegoats.

I don???t get the feeling I was supposed to agree with Hannah completely, but I do get the impression I wasn???t supposed to be as irritated with her as much as I was, which was about 60% of the time. While teens are self-involved and this one was in a bad place, she was surprisingly difficult to root for in her efforts and I ??? yeah, I???m going to hell ??? never felt particularly saddened that the girl speaking had shuffled off this mortal coil. The inherent poignancy of the story she was telling couldn???t always rise above what seemed to be a need to punish. Think of Carrie, without the supernatural stuff, with 100% less pig???s blood, and with more time on her hands and a tape recorder.

On the plus side, there were a fair amount of minor characters, and the author did a pretty good job with them. I felt like I knew them.

Writing Style: 3 3/4 stars

Several nice moments, but in many ways this felt like a first book. This book called for a balance between Hannah???s telling her story and Clay reacting and also moving around town as he listened, and it never felt like the author quite worked out the right ratio. Many of the descriptions were good, places were described vividly in several cases, but at other moments it all felt a little flat.

I cannot say enough about this novel, and so I'll opt not to say much other than I get something new out of this book every time I read it. It's a novel that is entertaining – that's the way he rolls – but it also makes you think.

The title refers to the story of Cain and Abel, and the book deals with this story, as well as the themes present in the Adam and Eve tale. There is, in fact, a character named Adam, but he also represents Abel and God at other points in the story. Just as Shakespeare points out that

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.

Steinbeck says that we all relive the archetypal stories. A man can start as a favored son with a jealous brother, grow to manhood to fall in love with a woman who is no damned good, and become a father with sons who seek his approval. Some stories are a part of us, because we can't stop retelling them, because we can't stop living them.

There's also some tasty stuff about whether or not people are born evil and the nature of choice.

I love Becky Albertalli's writing. I started a new book right after this one from another author and had to put it down because what comes so naturally to BA seemed clunky from this author. I had to get some distance before giving that author another chance.

I didn't like “Upside” as much as “Simon,” but that's to be expected because I like Simon even more as time goes by. Another issue is that I get a little impatient with love triangles, especially since there is no real mystery about who is the right object of affection. Every moment she was with the wrong love interest took away page space from Molly spending time with the guy she really liked.

Lots of love and embrace of the LGBTQA community. I loved that both Molly and one of the love interests have two mom – with the love interest's moms as Molly's boss – and yet this similarity took up no head space any more than of they each had one blond and one red-headed parent. Her bosses didn't even know this until Molly told them her parents became engaged to celebrate marriage equality.

I also love that among Molly's crushes was a trans boy, and this is also handled like there is nothing to handle or parse.

Becky Albertalli is one of the best YA author working today!

Review pending resolution of HarperCollins strike.

If “All Lives Matter” has ever come out of our mouth as if you thought you were saying something, this is not your book. If you are that person, you'll just write a review about how the main character is an angry black woman, the author is racist against white people, how it wasn't a thriller until the end, and the resolution came out of nowhere.

In reality, the main character has a lot of reasons to be angry and depressed, the author is just holding up a mirror, tension started mounting on page 1, and everything was clearly foreshadowed. A lot of the end was ... inevitable. Everything you thought was over the top has happened in some form. The book actually mentions those forms.

Sydney's close-knit community is changing fast. Everything and everyone who meant safety to her is disappearing. She's a Black woman, and her life is one viral video of Karens* making her life miserable after another, only without the viral video. Nothing feels safe. She doesn't know who she can trust. So many things are just a little off, but not so off that if she told someone she wouldn't be in danger of being committed, or at least laughed off.

Like a lot of thrillers, this operates on the old saying that you're not paranoid if people are really out to get you. The last several years would make anyone paranoid who is confused over why people they thought were good and decent are anything but, what with racism and misogyny running rampant. It makes you wonder what's going on, and if things are still worse than we even know.

This is a book about if all those fears are built on a foundation of fact.

I would love to see an intelligent group of students be assigned this.

The romance was only okay for me. Theo, the love interest, wasn't my favorite, or nearly good enough for Sydney. But he did pass the friendship test in terms of “shovel duty.” The style of the sex scene felt out of place, and more in line with her romance novels.

This is such a tiny issue in a book I adored.

(Library borrow through Libby.)

*Karen is a lovely name. I think it means pure. If you're a nice she, he, or they named Karen, it's not about you. Used for shorthand.

The Sheltie in the sling caught my eye, and was the reason I impulsively used an Audible credit to purchase it. The fact that this is true indicates I'm one bad week – who am I kidding? – three bad days from shoving one of my Shelties into a sling. For the sake of my back, maybe I'll pick my mini dachshund.

In all seriousness, I really enjoyed this listening experience. The author and the narrator told a very engaging story that made me both laugh out loud and tear up. I had to listen to some passages at a quicker speed due to my own issues ar0und loss.

Courtney Patterson, the narrator, really wowed me with the different voices and the wonderful line readings, including a woozy scene in a dental chair.

I related Judy's search for renewed creativity and her loneliness. I also related to her husband's anxiety struggles.

I could have used a few more pages wrap up, and the middle lagged for me somewhat, but this story of anxiety, and loss, and the need to love and be comforted really resonated with me.

Three Agatha Christie books in 1 ... And Then There Were None, Crooked House, and Endless Night.

Christie will never be my favorite author, but drawing room mysteries will never be my favorite genre either, so...

I joke that you should do a shot every time Christie is racist. Don't come at me. She was a product of her time, and the original title of And Then There Were None could not be any more eye-poppingly horrible. I've never read a Christie novel without a racist moment or moments. I accept these are the price of admission, or baked into the cake, or something.

I did like that each novel was genuinely different, felt genuinely different, than every other novel. That's amazing, really. Crooked House was my favorite, but I would say Endless Night holds up the best in having tropes and twists that would still be used, and work, today. At the same time, this is what also makes it perhaps most predictable – the things you would assume in a modern novel are the things you can assume here, making the murderer so obvious that you immediately dismiss this person as being too obvious. And then, yeah. Even with that, I appreciated that there was clues I missed. I figured out the general thing, but there were other details in plain sight I only got when it was all laid out.

And Then There Were None was my least favorite, and felt the most dated for me. I cared about and rooted for no one, which in all fairness makes sense as everyone was meant to be a villain. Still, none of the characters came alive for me, and it was the epitome of plot at the expense of character, and I'm a fan of character above all.

If you love Maverick in The Hate U Give, I believe you'll love reading about him as he gains the strength and wisdom we came to know. Very poignant to see some of our favorite characters as babies or babies to be. 

I???m never going on vacation. I???m never seeing my friends. I???m never getting my bed back. My brutal, crazy, exasperating year with Trump is going to end???by not ending at all. Trump will be president. The most powerful person in the world. And I will be locked in a press pen for the rest of my life. Does anyone really believe he???ll respect term limits? I have a vision of myself at sixty, Trump at a hundred, in some midwestern convention hall. The children of his 2016 supporters are spitting on me, and he is calling my name: ???She???s back there, Little Katy! She???s back there.???

The above was my first laugh-out-loud moment, imagining her reaction to the possibility that her brutal time on the campaign trail would never end, and that she would forever be called out by a man with no qualms about endangering or seeking to bully her. It was a laugh based on great sympathy.

Katy Tur is a very engaging writer, with a ton of heart, and no lack of guts. This book is something only a small group of people could write, and Katy was there from the beginning covering a campaign and a candidate like no other.

The crowd in New Hampshire is frothing as Pence talks about Clinton. He???s got a microphone, but in the middle of his speech another message cuts in, a maniac with a buzz saw of a voice, screaming out from the crowd. He???s close enough to the press pen for me to hear but far enough from Pence that the God-fearing running mate keeps on talking as if nothing were happening. I don???t know if Pence even hears this other man. Probably not. But I do, and I will never unhear him: not the man???s message, and not the thousands of other voices that summarized 2016 by not shouting him down.

???Assassinate that bitch,??? the man said.

And the crowd said nothing.

???Assassinate that bitch.???

And the crowd cheered on.

I wonder if the author named the main character Rebecca because the name Becky is associated with basic, privileged white women ... and that's about right.

I don't think characters have to be likable, and some of the best characters are despicable to one degree or another. I guess in this case her bubble was just so frustrating. Toward the end, she is called out on living her life as if everyone else is a secondary character who only exists to support her, but this is after a book of watching her do this ... and nothing said to her seems to stick.

I wonder if, like the name Rebecca, it might be intentional to make her the protagonist, as opposed to a person of color, like Cheryl. That's privilege, in a nutshell. At the same time, I don't think an author would choose the least interesting character in the story in order to make a point.

Rebecca claims to love Priscilla – the nanny whose child she adopts – but Priscilla is an enigma out of, seemingly, Rebecca never taking a genuine interest. Later, she claims the same thing about Cheryl, Priscilla's daughter, but doesn't know her any better than she did her mother.

Her children seem to only exist to orbit around her – to be her inspiration, or validation, or frustration. Her husband's problems are unacknowledged other than to assert that everything will work out.

Privilege.

Rebecca would be the person saying she doesn't see skin color, and that someone could be purple with polka dots for all she cares. The only pass I can give her is that the book is set in the 80s and 90s, even if white women are still sorting out platitudes and microaggressions to this day.

The author does use the time period cleverly to speak to a modern reader. Rebecca hopes her black son will be like Bill Cosby. Even as she deals with Princess Diana's premature death, she imagines sparkling futures for other golden people who the reader knows will also die tragically. She believes in the near future racism will be a non-issue. Does it feel like a non-issue to you? Have we reached the promised land?

I don't know what to do, mentally, with this book, how to file it on my mind. Other than irritation at the main character, my reaction is pretty muted. I wanted more time with Cheryl, and by that I mean as the main character. Perhaps the best scenes were the ones where she called Rebecca on her cluelessness. I would love to know Priscilla's thoughts as well. Come to think of it, the husband would have been an interesting POV character. Her son, Andrew.

Instead I spent 300 pages with Becky. :)

???Am I the worst person???? ???Well, no,??? says Simon. ???That would be Voldemort.??? ???But I???m close, right? Like, Voldemort is here.??? I level my hand up, almost to the roof of the car. ???And I???m here.??? I drop my hand a few inches. ???And then the next worst guy is down here. Like, the dentist who killed that lion. He???s right here.???

Becky Albertalli is one of the best YA writers today – fight me!

She consistently writes diverse, funny, relatable character, and she did it again. I'm not sure any book will beat “Simon” in my heart, but I think I had more laugh out loud moments this time around.

When I say she writes diverse characters, I mean she does it in this wonderful this-is-the-world-today way that seems so natural and right, and I'm a sucker for it.

If you like her previous books, I don't see how you wouldn't like this one, with all the familiar characters, the poignancy of realizing their group is about to break apart as they head to different schools, the confusion of first love, the funny moments – like where they ate dinner prom night – and even a plot about the courage to call out a friend for being racist and not letting anyone convince you it's not a big deal.

Edited July 2020 to include a critical link to the Native representation in the book: Twitter Thread on Justina Ireland's DREAD NATION .

I liked Dread Nation for many reasons. It's the type of book I go out off my way to read. Own voice, diverse characters, LGBTQA+ representation.

Honestly, there are white cis male authors I enjoy, but I don't particular feel I need more of that perspective in my life to the extent I have to do looking for it – that POV tends to find us all. Even in this novel, we wrestle with the powers that be thinking the color of their skin makes them more favored in the eyes of God, more valuable, more deserving of wealth and safety.

The difference is that Justina Ireland treats this perspective as the evil it is.

I enjoyed the story through out, but it never transcended into love. I'm glad I read it, I never got impatient for it to end, I was intrigued at where the plot was going, concerned about the characters. tense when the shamblers (zombies) were shambling, appreciative of the subtext that spoke to racism, colorism, shooting unarmed black men and women out of unfounded fear, and happy that a very important character was clearly written as asexual, while the main character seems quite possibly bi.

I don't know if I bought the discussions where the last details emerged. The asexuality reveal felt natural enough, but it seems to me that during that time period people often felt same sex attraction without really identifying it in those terms. This might just be me not reading the right books written in this time period, but I've read books that definitely made me wonder, but no one at the time the story was written, or the diary passage, or the letter seemed to think twice about it.

I'm open to suggestions that will prove me wrong about homosexuality or bisexuality being on the radar of your average person back then.

Oh, I loved that Jane was reading Tom Sawyer, and how I thought I knew exactly what she was reading based on the version we all know, but this version is set in a world where the dead roam. :)

And Tom Sawyer, of course. I???ve taken a liking to the little urchin, and I???d like to see where he ends up. It seems the boy is always running afoul of a pack of shamblers in the midst of his Missouri adventures, and the boy???s derring-do reminds me of my own exploits.

I look forward to the next book in the series! And, to be shallow, the next book cover which I hope si just as stunning!

This was THE best, and I would love to see this become a classic. I'd love this to be read by anyone perplexed by BLM who is looking to really understand why people are angry and in pain. Which is not to say the book is only anger and pain, there's also hope and love.

???The survivor who was raped at knifepoint feels guilty she has taken up the space of a survivor who was raped at gunpoint. Everyone believes there is suffering worse than her own, that they should be strong enough to cope without me.???

The title undoubtedly refers to how many times this phrase, and similar ones, come up in the essays. Writer after writer wrestles with guilt for feeling pain over something that's “not that bad” compares to someone else, and the realization that what happened was plenty bad. Telling themselves “not that bad” to get through while trying to impress on the people they meet how bad it really was.

Anyhow, these essays are important, informative, and worth your time. We all have the power, in some way, to make this world safer, kinder, more empathetic, to choose to align with the hurt instead of bolstering a system that protects the perpetrator.

This is the story of how my best friend disappeared. How nobody noticed she was gone except me. And how nobody cared until they found her . . . one year later.

Why isn't there, at this moment, a cover image tied to the Kindle edition? The author, the book, and whomever did the cover art deserve that respect.

Okay...

Neutral: I figured out the twist right away. I think that has to do with my being an adult YA reader who read a similar twist in a book by an author who also happens to be mentioned in this novel.
spoiler: My Sweet Audrina, VC Andrews The structure, in order to make sense, also gives a big clue.

I'm not mad about finding out. It's a good twist and I enjoyed tracking it playing out.

Positives: The friendship between Claudia and Monday is beautiful. The comment that Claudia had been saving Monday all along by being her friend and showing her a glimpse of a healthy family life was on point. I cannot say enough about this aspect when all too often we're fed a narrative that girls can never really be friends. Claudia never, ever forgot about Monday or stopped loving or missing her.

This is an OwnVoices book, which is incredible, and something that people should seek out. Anyone can tell a story about anyone, and the results can be terrific, but people with less amplification, less representation, of their own lives and stories should absolutely get several seats at the table for the good of art and for the good of humankind. And, frankly, for the good of readers who are rewarded with complex and truthful stories.

The truth at the center of this novel is an important one. Who is looking out for the poor child, the minority child, the child from a broken home? Who cares when one of these children disappears? Who listens when another marginalized child comes to the system that is supposed to be the safety net and reports someone she cares about is in danger?

Claudia, the POV character, has parents that will not let her fall through the cracks. They will do what it takes, even when extra obstacles are stacked in Claudia's way, to make sure she will succeed. Every child deserves that, but even with loving parents, not every child receives that.

Negative: My only criticism is that the twist – as much as I felt it clever and even understandable from a character standpoint – created some implausibility and pacing issues. I think every novel with a suspense or mystery element gets to play the timing card, where the main character is about to find out something important, but is interrupted. In service of the twist, this book greatly exceeded that quota, creating frustration, making scenes come across as filler, and just generally creating narrative issues, all in service of running out the clock before the reveal can happen.

I would eagerly read another book by this author.

One of the strongest, I'm assuming inadvertent, messages is about the racism you don't see in yourself. Most people know that Atticus turns out to be racist in this sequel (even though it was written first) to To Kill a Mockingbird, but Jean Louise, even as she is appalled by her father had her own bigotries.

Jean Louise has to grapple with her father falling from his pedestal. The struggle for civil rights finds Atticus scared, opposed to the idea of black people gaining too much power. Jean Louise is angry and disappointed, but she also thinks black people are sorta childlike and base, and she doesn't seem to disagree with her father saying that if “they” organize and vote, it'll be a mess because they're not ready for the responsibilities. She just seems to think they might be able to evolve and grow. And she only seems to dislike the NAACP only slightly less than her dad.

This book was written a long time ago, when Jean Louise would be seen as a lot more progressive, but still one of the take aways is that Atticus is meant to be seen as bigoted, but Jean Louise's (now outdated) views are portrayed as simply factual.

Still, I really found a lot of this timely. We still have people who are scared of progress, scared of different racial groups gaining too much power. And we are also currently grappling with seeing heroes topple as every day seems to yield one or two new stories about successful people (directors, actors, producers, agents), people we'd admired, turning out to be flawed. Ironically, when this book was published a couple years ago, so many fans of TKaM had to go through a lot of the emotions Jean Louise went through – she was disappointed in her father, while a lot of people were disappointed in the same person as this great, noble character in literature/cinema.

The portion where Jean Louise finds a racist brochure and then eavesdrops on the racist meeting Atticus and her boyfriend were attending almost read like a horror novel or movie along the lines of Get Out, Rosemary's Baby, or Stepford Wives. There is something so perverse and horrifying about thinking you know someone and finding out there is something malignant under the surface.

I know this was basically a first draft, but this didn't bother me too much other than some of the speeches/conversations toward the end felt too unnatural, like no one would use those words outside of a novel, and if the characters were standing on a soapbox.

These sorts of stories are important right now to help people understand the issue better so that the kids are less likely to suffer, not just in their own households but in the greater community. That said. for a child that we're told is so vocal about who he is, the book had very little of his actual voice. I think the adult Whittingtons are very strong and loving in standing up for their children, but I felt mom had so much of a voice, and the rest of the family so little, and at moments the tone seemed somewhat self-c0ngratulatory.

I don't have children, which I joke makes me an expert on how other people should raise theirs. This really is a joke. I realize I'm not in the trenches. But I must confess the Whittingtons were from a more conservative background than it's easy for me to understand. Ryland liked a pair of Star Wars underwear, and the family – extended family included – took this crazy hard. I mean, when they understood Ry was trans they were all in, which confuses me if Darth Vader briefs sent everyone into a panic, but much of the book is about the parents not just insisting Ry wear girls' clothes, but the most stereotypical, complete with bows in his hair, version of it. That might have even been a tough one for a child who identified as a girl.

But in the end, they're strong and loving parents who made the decision to be vocal advocates for their son and others like him, which I admire so much.

My only question is how this kid didn't figure out the identity of his secret admirer.

Edit: 7/6/17. My one line review fascinates me given how much I loved this book, and how it only grows in my appreciation over time.