Ten years (or more) ago this might have been an important book; but even with its positive close, today it is an...
Texas high school senior and quarterback David has a secret no one can discover.
Forced by his English teacher to keep a journal in which he writes for 10 minutes, three times a week, David chronicles his innermost secret: his attraction to men. Over the course of a semester, he falls for Jon, the new kid from Chicago, who’s a great singer and star of the swim team. He also writes of his relationship with Monica, his cheerleader girlfriend, who has a cool gay uncle who was also a football star. But most painful are his crumbling relationships with his beer-loving, homophobic father and his clingy (though straight) best friend, Tyler, who was up for QB until he was injured. Can David navigate this minefield and hang on to his scholarship offer from USC? Straining the conceit of the journal from the outset, this ill-conceived title “in the tradition of Go Ask Alice” equates being gay with being an alcoholic, a drug addict and an anorexic in its packaging alone. When gay teens need an example of pride, an “Anonymous” byline is a giant leap backward; and with a penultimate paragraph concluding “I feel like I don’t have anything to hide,” that “Anonymous” is ironic to a fault.
Ten years (or more) ago this might have been an important book; but even with its positive close, today it is an embarrassment. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: June 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8986-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Several yards short of a touchdown.
A transgender boy starting over at a new school falls hard for a popular cheerleader with a reputation to protect in this debut.
On the first day of senior year, transgender boy Pony locks eyes with cisgender cheerleader Georgia. They both have pasts they want to leave behind. No one at Hillcrest High knows that Pony is transgender, and he intends to keep it that way. Georgia’s last boyfriend shook her trust in boys, and now she’s determined to forget him. As mutual attraction draws them together, Pony and Georgia must decide what they are willing to risk for a relationship. Pony’s best friend, Max, who is also transgender, disapproves of Pony’s choice to live stealth; this disagreement leads to serious conflict in their relationship. Meanwhile, Georgia and Pony behave as if Pony’s trans identity was a secret he was lying to her about rather than private information for him to share of his own volition. The characters only arrive at a hopeful resolution after Pony pays high physical and emotional prices. McSmith places repeated emphasis on the born-in-the-wrong-body narrative when the characters discuss trans identities. Whiteness is situated as the norm, and all main characters are white.
Several yards short of a touchdown. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294317-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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