Jamie
Ratings2
Average rating5
One of the Guardian's best children's and YA books of 2023 'FABULOUS, HOPEFUL, IMPORTANT' - Emma Carroll 'A sensitive, moving 9+ story about fighting for acceptance and change' - Guardian 'An inspirational story of a young person finding the strength and resilience to be exactly who they are' - The Scotsman A beautiful and uplifting story from L.D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, about how to make your own place when the world doesn't think you fit anywhere. For fans of Me, My Dad and The End of The Rainbow. Jamie Rambeau is a happy 11-year-old non-binary kid who likes nothing better than hanging out with their two best friends Daisy and Ash. But when the trio find out that in Year Seven they will be separated into one school for boys and another for girls, their friendship suddenly seems at risk. And when Jamie realises no one has thought about where they are going to go, they decide to take matters into their own hands, and sort it all out once and for all. As the friends' efforts to raise awareness eventually become a rooftop protest against the binary rules for the local schools, Jamie realises that if they don't figure out a way forwards, they might be at risk of losing both their friends forever...
Tags
Genres
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
This is a middle grade book that's for everybody. Non-binary kids, queer kids, kids who don't feel like they fit in. And all other young people too, so they can learn, understand, and empathise.
And it's for adults, too. The struggle Jamie has to be understood and taken seriously as who they are by the adults in their life is a real-life struggle faced by many young queer people (and adults). “You can't just make up a gender” and other similar comments Jamie gets given are exactly the sort of hurtful things people say when they don't understand gender identity. Reading a book written from the POV of a non-binary character is a fantastic way to learn through empathy.
This book reads a little younger than Lapinski's “Strangeworld Travel Agency” trilogy, but it's just as compelling, and so incredibly important.