Tag Archives: coming out

Review: Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

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Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Ode to My First Car
Robin Gow
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 20, 2023

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About Ode to My First Car

By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions , this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals Lars, her beloved car, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house. There she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up gay in the 1950s and ’60s.

As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves–one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.

My Review

Last year I read A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, which is also a novel in verse by Robin Gow. I really enjoyed the epistolary format in which the story is written. ODE TO MY FIRST CAR also has an epistolary feel to it since every poem is addressed to Claire’s first car, which she wrecks just before the story begins.

It felt really easy to understand Claire’s feelings and needs. Even though I didn’t always agree with her, I still totally understood where she was coming from and what led her to conclude certain things. I also really liked her brother and the relationship that develops between them.

Her relationship with Lena was really great, too. I feel like I have seen a lot more stories featuring mentorship lately, whether that comes in the form of a teen having a mentoring relationship with an adult, or a teen having a mentor relationship with an older teen. It’s a cool element to see in books, and those are often some of my favorite relationships. I liked that Lena isn’t a grouchy old lady (though I love the stories about those, too!). She’s a little bit closed up, and obviously has some wounds in her past, but I loved the gentleness in her approach to Claire and in the way Claire kept showing up for her, even though Lena didn’t want to intrude into her life.

All in all, I think I might like this one even better than A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, but I think they’re both really well done.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Claire is bisexual, but her family doesn’t know. Her best friend Sophie is transgender. Other characters are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Two girls talk about wanting to have sex and challenge each other to have sex that summer. In one scene, two girls make out in the car, and Claire reports they also have sex (off-scene).

Spiritual Content
Claire is supposed to go to Mass with her family but hasn’t been going. After her car is wrecked, she has to ride with them to church, but she doesn’t enjoy it or feel connected to it in any spiritual way.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a car accident. References to homophobic or biphobic comments. One peripheral relationship has a lot of flags for toxic/abusive behavior. Claire doesn’t witness any of that happening, but she hears about it and is worried/unsure of what to do.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ODE TO MY FIRST CAR in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald

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Time Out
Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald
Simon & Schuster
Published May 30, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Time Out

Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights in this keenly felt coming-of-age story about a teen hometown hero who must find out who he is outside of basketball when his coming out as gay costs him his popularity and place on the team.

In his small Georgia town, Barclay Elliot is basically a legend. Here basketball is all that matters, and no one has a bigger spotlight than Barclay. Until he decides to use the biggest pep rally in the town’s history to come out to his school. And things change. Quickly.

Barclay is faced with hostility he never expected. Suddenly he is at odds with his own team, and he doesn’t even have his grandfather to turn to the way he used to. But who is Barclay if he doesn’t have basketball?

His best friend, Amy, thinks she knows. She drags him to her voting rights group, believing Barclay can find a bigger purpose. And he does, but he also finds Christopher. Aggravating, fearless, undeniably handsome Christopher. He and Barclay have never been each other’s biggest fans, but as Barclay starts to explore parts of himself he’s been hiding away, they find they might have much more in common than they originally thought.

As sparks turn into something more, though, Barclay has to decide if he’s ready to confront the privilege and popularity that have shielded him his entire life. Can he take a real shot at the love he was fighting for in the first place?

My Review

This is the kind of story that takes a minute to digest. From the cover copy, I knew that Barclay was going to come out at a very public pep rally and that it was going to go badly. And so, in the scenes leading up to that moment, I couldn’t help wanting to shield him somehow from the hurt that was obviously coming. But I could also really see why he wanted to do this and why he felt like it would be okay and would be safe.

And then it wasn’t. This left him not only dealing with people’s reactions to his identity but also a lot of judgment about how he came out. He was called selfish, attention-seeking, all kinds of things, and those judgments blindsided him as much as the withdrawal of support, and the surge of homophobia among the people he thought would have his back.

I felt like that emotional arc– Barclay unpacking his own motives and learning when to stand up for himself and call people out versus calling people in and helping them see him better– was the strongest part of the story.

Another thing the story addressed really well is the way that, initially, Barclay felt like he had to choose between being out and playing basketball. As he explored his boundaries and what he wanted, he began to think about what place basketball would have in his life. I liked that exploration as well.

I also thought the story was well-balanced in terms of the characters. There are some big personalities on the page, from his best friend Amy to the possible love interest and even his grandfather, Scratch, who passed away before the story began. Yet the story really remains Barclay’s. I liked that, too.

All in all, I think TIME OUT would have slipped under my radar if the publisher hadn’t sent me a copy. I’m really glad I read it. Coming out and facing homophobia aren’t exactly new stories, but I think this version brings some necessary pieces to the conversation, and it’s a well-balanced novel packed with interesting characters. I think fans of Bill Konigsberg (author of OPENLY STRAIGHT and THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS) will enjoy this one.

Content Notes for Time Out

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Barclay and another character are gay. One of Barclay’s friends is Japanese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Vague/brief references to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
After coming out, Barclay faces an onslaught of homophobic comments. The F-slur is insinuated multiple times but only printed once. Barclay charges at a boy after he continually makes homophobic comments and threats to him and about him online. A boy punches another boy. A car slams into the back of a boy’s bicycle, injuring him. For a moment, it’s unclear whether the driver intends to hurt the bicyclist further.

Drug Content
Barclay goes to a college party with his older brother and drinks a lot of beer before making a fool of himself. He briefly references taking a friend’s CBD gummies between classes when he’s feeling stressed out.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of TIME OUT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Last Seen Leaving
Caleb Roehrig
Feiwel & Friends
October 4, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Book Depository

About LAST SEEN LEAVING

Flynn’s girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can’t answer, and her friends are telling stories that don’t add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January’s boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

My Review

LAST SEEN LEAVING is the first of three murder mystery/suspense type books that I’ve read lately, which is a little odd for me only in that I read them almost in a row. Most years I maybe read one or two, tops. I actually really enjoyed all three books, though.

Earlier this year I read WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig, and loved it. I love the unusual choice of character names he uses in both books. I thought WHITE RABBIT was a more polished book, which makes sense since it’s Roehrig’s second novel. In both books the main character totally drew me in so I felt connected to his emotional journey.

In LAST SEEN LEAVING, part of Flynn’s journey is recognizing something he’s not ready to admit to himself. While it may clear him of involvement in January’s disappearance, admitting it undoubtedly changes his life.

But Flynn’s not the only one who has secrets. As he looks more deeply into January’s disappearance, he discovers she may have played a role with him and perhaps he was too busy protecting his secret to notice hers.

I liked that element to the book. Again, it made Flynn reevaluate whether keeping his secret was the right choice. Was it causing him to hurt other people in ways he hadn’t considered?

Another thing that comes up in the book is unreported sexual assault. While nothing happens on scene in the story, some of the characters have really strong, evocative responses when (briefly) describing their experiences. Sensitive readers should be aware. Check my content notes section for more information.

Overall, I liked LAST SEEN LEAVING a lot, and I’m very much looking forward to reading DEATH PREFERS BLONDES because it totally looks as though it will have the same serious murder mystery packed with quirky, fabulous characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
The main character is gay. One of his friends is also gay and from a conservative Muslim family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
So there’s a LOT of really strong profanity in this book. More than 70 instances of f*** and many instances of other words.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A boy and girl kiss. She pressures him for sex. He refuses. Two boys kiss. Rumors spread about a girl making a sexual advance at an older man. A man faces accusations about sexually abusing teenage girls.

Some of the accusations come from victims who only relate brief stories of their experiences, but they’re pretty shocking. It’s not the detail but the way you can tell the girls are still in the midst of dealing with the trauma. This might be triggering for some readers.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
In a pretty intense scene, two characters battle for a gun.

In one scene, Flynn witnesses a man fatally shoot himself.

Drug Content 
Flynn comments in one scene that he hopes to be able to sneak beer at a family celebration. He references a tradition where kids all go for a hay ride and then sit around a bonfire where they drink alcohol and eat s’mores.

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Review: Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby

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Hurricane Season
Nicole Melleby
Algonquin Young Readers
Available May 7, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About HURRICANE SEASON

Fig, a sixth grader, wants more than anything to see the world as her father does. The once-renowned pianist, who hasn’t composed a song in years and has unpredictable good and bad days, is something of a mystery to Fig. Though she’s a science and math nerd, she tries taking an art class just to be closer to him, to experience life the way an artist does. But then Fig’s dad shows up at school, disoriented and desperately searching for Fig. Not only has the class not brought Fig closer to understanding him, it has brought social services to their door.

Diving into books about Van Gogh to understand the madness of artists, calling on her best friend for advice, and turning to a new neighbor for support, Fig continues to try everything she can think of to understand her father, to save him from himself, and to find space in her life to discover who she is even as the walls are falling down around her.

Nicole Melleby’s Hurricane Season is a stunning novel about a girl struggling to be a kid as pressing adult concerns weigh on her. It’s also about taking risks and facing danger, about love and art, and about coming of age and coming out. And more than anything else, it is a story of the healing power of love—and the limits of that power.

My Review

One of my favorite things about HURRICANE SEASON is the evolution of Fig’s relationship with her dad. At the beginning she really idolizes him and feels super defensive of him, even when he’s doing things that make her life a lot harder. She blames their problems on her teacher who called social services. Or on hurricane season for drawing her dad to the shoreline during its dangerous storms.

As Fig’s dad’s behavior deteriorates and starts to affect her relationships at school, she grows to resent him and his mental health problems. She feels guilty and frustrated at herself, and eventually frustrated with her dad when he’s not able to do things with her that she needs, like going to an art exhibit that’s important to her, or going to her art show at school.

Even as their relationship frays, Fig and her dad continue to share rituals that bond them. I loved their exchange: “I love you.” “Double it.” “Love you, love you.”

And in the midst of it all, a miracle happens. A new person joins their family, and as so often happens when a situation is out of control, it’s that person who helps everyone realize how untenable things have become. I liked this catalyst character in the story, too, though at times he seemed almost too perfect.

I loved the way HURRICANE SEASON used details about Van Gogh’s life and his work to frame what was happening with Fig’s dad and even Fig herself.

Also worthy of note: this is a medication-positive story. Fig’s dad eventually begins taking medication to regulate his mental health, and while the solution isn’t perfect– the story shows some difficulty getting dosage and prescriptions right for him– it’s clear that it makes a positive difference in all of their lives.

Readers who enjoyed THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS by Ann Braden or NEST by Esther Ehrlich need to put HURRICANE SEASON on their reading lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
All the major characters are white. Fig’s dad is from London. Fig likes girls. A man begins a romantic relationship with another man.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used once.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two men kiss. A girl has a crush on another girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content 
None.

Note: I received a free copy of HURRICANE SEASON by Nicole Melleby in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

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White Rabbit
Caleb Roehrig
Feiwel & Friends
Published on April 24, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About White Rabbit

Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to “talk.” Things couldn’t get much worse, right?

But then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. And then he and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife, beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox Whitney.

April swears she didn’t kill Fox—but Rufus knows her too well to believe she’s telling him the whole truth. April has something he needs, though, and her price is his help. Now, with no one to trust but the boy he wants to hate yet can’t stop loving, Rufus has one night to prove his sister’s innocence…or die trying.

My Review

It’s been a while since I read a book purely for the fun of it, but I think I needed this book. It was so much fun to read. I got carried away by mystery elements and the complex relationships between characters.

As the story progressed and Rufus drew closer and closer to the murderer, things got more and more dangerous. I was totally biting my nails and practically jumping at every noise while I read. Add to that the fact that Rufus has this really fabulous voice, which again made it great fun to read. I loved the side comments and the way the dialogue gave these light moments away from the tension without disrupting the storytelling.

I loved that Rufus (okay, first, I loved that he’s called Rufus. There aren’t enough Rufus characters in literature. Love it!) battles this deep anger, part of which seems perhaps hereditary and part of which might be environmental. But he doesn’t just make excuses about Hulking out. He recognizes how damaging it can be and really wrestles with his angry impulses. That made him so easy to understand and so admirable to me.

Also, I loved his relationship with his mom. It felt very real, and I felt like there was this great balance in the story where she was there, and obviously a big force in Rufus’s life, but the relationship with her didn’t dominate the story. I also loved the moment where one character has to confront a family member about a secret he’s been keeping. He’s worried the family member will reject him over it to the point that he’s expecting to lose the relationship. And instead, the family member talks about how they love him no matter what. We need those kinds of stories and moments, and the reminders that there are good parents out there, and that sometimes we expect to be rejected but are instead surprised by love and acceptance.

Anyway, I read this book in less than a day, I think. I had so much fun reading it, and I absolutely want to read Roehrig’s other book, LAST SEEN LEAVING.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Rufus and Sebastian are both gay. Sebastian is black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Regular use of extreme profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex. Some details leading up to the event. Some sexual comments.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Rufus has some pretty serious anger management issues which he speaks pretty candidly about. He’s trying his best to manage via medication and other healthy strategies, but he’s still bearing some consequences from fights in his past. In several scenes he’s very tempted to fight again. At one point a man threatens him and handles him pretty roughly. A couple characters are downright physically threatening. Someone fires a gun at another person in two scenes. A character threatens others with a gun in another scene. More than one character gets drugged.

Drug Content
Teen alcohol use is pretty normalized. Some references to smoking pot. References to a dangerous psychedelic drug that causes some violent outbursts.