Instead, it is simply a compassionate but slight portrait of a likable young person whose unique, impassioned spirit is...
Trevor, after which LGBT helpline the Trevor Project is named, began its life as a theater piece, was sold as a short film in 1997, and here is adapted to a contemporary setting in novella form.
Thirteen-year-old Trevor narrates in a voice that is initially exuberant. He wants more attention from his parents and seeks it by theatrically pretending to be dead. He loves Lady Gaga and is surprised when his best friend Zac derisively suggests he shelve his Gaga Halloween costume in favor of something “less gay.” Zac ultimately shuns Trevor and so does the new friend Trevor finds after Zac. Finally, after a bullying incident at school, Trevor attempts suicide (leaving a suicide note that requests that "Born This Way" be played at his funeral). Trevor's voice is engaging, but the novella is short enough that both the change in his character and the resolution happen jarringly quickly. The slightness of the novella is reinforced by pencil drawings that add warmth but give the impression of having been quickly sketched. Teen fiction about gay boys in middle-class, suburban homes struggling with their sexuality is common enough now that this volume is no longer groundbreaking.
Instead, it is simply a compassionate but slight portrait of a likable young person whose unique, impassioned spirit is dampened by bullying and homophobia. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60980-420-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Seven Stories
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A stellar cyberpunk series opener packed with simmering romance and cinematic thrills.
A down-and-out teen, days from eviction, competes in the championships of the world’s most popular virtual reality game.
Emika Chen, 18, has been on her own for six years, living in poverty with a juvenile record, supporting herself by bounty hunting. She survives on ramen, with $13 and a debt of $3,450 to her name, and few joys: memories of her dead father, her crush on the world-famous 21-year-old inventor Hideo Tanaka, and her passion for Hideo’s game, Warcross. Universally adored, Warcross is an immersive battle game with CGI–ready virtual combats. When Emi exploits a Warcross bug in a last-ditch attempt to make some cash, she glitches into the game. Suddenly, she’s a media darling, and Hideo Tanaka himself summons her to Japan for a top-secret job. Whisked away on a private jet, Emi is flabbergasted by the perks of her new position—one of which is membership on one of the world’s top pro teams. Emi (an American with an implied Chinese heritage) grows fond of her multiethnic team (with a wheelchair-using captain), but could one of them be a saboteur? Brief shoutouts to Lu’s Legend series will intrigue ardent fans, though they don’t seem to imply a connection between the worlds.
A stellar cyberpunk series opener packed with simmering romance and cinematic thrills. (Science fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54796-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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