A trans teen stars in the show of his life.
August runs from his religious family home in Pennsylvania into the loving arms of his lesbian aunt and the high-pressure environment of the School for Performing Arts in New York City. Determined to succeed as a trans actor who can play any role, he lands the part of Rizzo, who is a girl, in the school production of Grease and parties with his famous and wealthy new classmates (including a trans girl whose characterization is not well fleshed-out and who seems to exist mostly to process his trans angst). The stakes are extremely high: August wants to play Rizzo not just because he believes that he should be allowed to play any gender regardless of his identity, but because his parents will send him to conversion therapy if they think he’s transitioned. In a third act that feels tacked-on, August, who is cued as White, considers an acting opportunity that closely mirrors his real life. The novel raises many valuable questions around authenticity and representation in theater and in life but never quite arrives at satisfying answers. Maddeningly repetitive prose (especially in dialogue tags, where characters sing and joke ad nauseam), unnaturally rendered exposition, and an overburdened plot mar the reading experience, which would otherwise be a fresh take on familiar themes.
An off-off-off–Broadway play of a book. (content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-303856-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
21
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
14
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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