A young boy grapples with his self-image and budding homosexuality.
In his debut novella, the Toronto-based Shraya explores growing up gay and religious through the character of a nameless Indo-Canadian boy who from childhood on is somewhat female-identified. The protagonist is born with “a full head of jet-black hair,” coming to sport “one long, thin ponytail” as he waits until age 2 for his first haircut, receiving compliments all the while for being a “cute baby girl.” Thus begins the boy’s fluid—at times troubling—experience with gender, which Shraya cleverly encapsulates in the boy’s experience of developing body hair alongside others in his life. His younger brother buzzes some of his off; his father demonstrates how to shave his mustache; Vicky Macker, the cool girl, wants to dye his hair red, like hers; and his mother, with whom he most closely identifies, zealously plucks her eyebrows. Throughout this brief bildungsroman, the boy negotiates his way through Canadian and Indian cultures, learning differing roles played by the sexes and often feeling comforted and occasionally frightened by the strength of his Hindu faith. Neufeld’s mixed-media illustrations pair well with the scenes they depict, capturing the essence of being young with their multilayered texture and comic book–like immediacy.
Running the emotional spectrum from shame to pleasure and acceptance, Shraya offers a refreshing window into the intimate struggles of youth. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55152-543-3
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION
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This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life.
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Darius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him.
When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. When he arrives in Iran, learning to play the Persian card game Rook, socializing, and celebrating Nowruz with a family he had never properly met before is all overwhelming and leaves Darius wondering if he’ll ever truly belong anywhere. But all that changes when Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá’í boy, in Yazd. Sohrab teaches Darius what friendship is really about: loyalty, honesty, and someone who has your back in a football (soccer) match. For the first time in a long time, Darius learns to love himself no matter what external forces attempt to squash his confidence. Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics.
This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life. (Fiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-55296-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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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 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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