A worthy read for teens, tweens, and their parents.
This coming-out guide for the next generation hits all the right notes.
McKenna, a queer, white, trans YouTube personality, presents a new generation of tween and teen readers with an updated coming-out guide that’s fun, fresh, and incredibly useful. Celebrity-authored books can be hit or miss, but this one will be a hit thanks to the warmth and personality that infuse it. Along the way, readers will learn about McKenna’s story of coming out as queer, then as trans. But although sections of the book discuss his life, the focus remains on providing solid real-world advice. McKenna tackles a laundry list of common (and less common) aspects of coming out, from the role and changing nature of self-labeling to finding or making safe spaces to therapy to maintaining a healthy mental state throughout the process. It’s on this point that the book truly shines; McKenna consistently and effectively reminds readers to value their mental health. Links in the text and in the backmatter will supply readers with plenty of places to turn for help. Superfans will be ecstatic because the book is peppered with photo-shoot images of McKenna, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. The pictures tell the best story of all: that of a young man who’s comfortable in his own skin.
A worthy read for teens, tweens, and their parents. (activity guide, resource list, glossary, fan art) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3994-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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