Tag Archives: loss

Review: Gone Wolf by Amber McBride

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Gone Wolf by Amber McBride cover shows a girl with curly hair and dark skin. A pair of light-skinned hands cover her eyes. The eyes of a wolf appear over her collar bones.

Gone Wolf
Amber McBride
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gone Wolf

Award-winning author Amber McBride lays bare the fears of being young and Black in America, in this middle-grade novel that has been compared to the work of Jordan Peele and praised as ” brilliantly inventive storytelling” by Publishers Weekly.

In the future, a Black girl known only as Inmate Eleven is kept confined — to be used as a biological match for the president’s son, should he fall ill. She is called a Blue — the color of sadness. She lives in a small-small room with her dog, who is going wolf more often – he’s pacing and imagining he’s free. Inmate Eleven wants to go wolf too―she wants to know why she feels so Blue and what is beyond her small-small room.

In the present, Imogen lives outside of Washington DC. The pandemic has distanced her from everyone but her mother and her therapist. Imogen has intense phobias and nightmares of confinement. Her two older brothers used to help her, but now she’s on her own, until a college student helps her see the difference between being Blue and sad, and Black and empowered.

In this symphony of a novel, award-winning author Amber McBride lays bare the fears of being young and Black in America, and empowers readers to remember their voices and stories are important, especially when they feel the need to go wolf.

My Review

The first book I read by Amber McBride was ME: MOTH, which is a novel in verse. I loved the twisty storytelling. It’s one of those books where you reach a point where everything changes, and you look back at everything you’ve read with a new perspective. I loved that about the book.

GONE WOLF is prose rather than poetry. It also has some twisty storytelling, and I felt like there was the same kind of turning-point moment where I looked back at everything through a different lens. (This is hinted at in the cover copy, so I don’t think I’m spoiling anything.)

The book definitely delves into some tough topics in a pretty unflinching way. The juxtaposition of the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, and a futuristic setting was really thought-provoking. It was interesting to see familiar pieces of history alongside dystopian elements. Somehow, it made them resonate more sharply, maybe because it had that awful ring of the worst kinds of history repeating themselves.

I found it easy to get lost in the story and in trying to figure out how the two narratives connected. Future Imogen’s horror at her discoveries about the world she lives in and the ways she tries to break out of that world hit hard. I rooted for her from the beginning to end.

On the whole, I found this to be a truly captivating story. It’s got a young narrator– I think Imogen is twelve– but I would not call this middle grade. I think it’s actually a coming-of-age story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Imogen is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some brief strong violence, including violence against an animal.

Imogen witnesses a woman being beaten. She sees someone execute a dog. Imogen and a friend offer ice to people who’ve been attacked as part of a Civil Rights protest.

Drug Content
None.

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

The Minus One Club by Kekla Magoon

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The Minus One Club
Kekla Magoon
MacMillan
Published January 17, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Minus One Club

From the Coretta Scott King and Printz Honor-winning author of HOW IT WENT DOWN, LIGHT IT UP, and REVOLUTION IN OUR TIME comes a moving contemporary YA novel about the bonds between a group of teens whose lives have been upended by tragedy.

Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders knows grief and its all-encompassing shadows. After losing his beloved older sister in a tragic car accident, nothing quite punctures through the feelings of loss. Everywhere Kermit goes, he is reminded of her.

But then Kermit finds a mysterious invitation in his locker, signed anonymously with “-1.” He has no idea what he’s in for, but he shows up to find out. Dubbed the “Minus-One Club,” a group of his schoolmates has banded together as a form of moral support. The members have just one thing in common—they have all suffered the tragic loss of someone they loved.

The usual dividing lines between high school classes and cliques don’t apply inside the Minus-One Club, and Kermit’s secret crush, the handsome and happy-go-lucky Matt (and only out gay student at school), is also a part of the group. Slowly, Matt’s positive headstrong approach to life helps relieve Kermit of his constant despair.

But as Kermit grows closer to Matt, the light of his new life begins to show the cracks beneath the surface. When Matt puts himself in danger by avoiding his feelings, Kermit must find the strength to not only lift himself back up but to help the rest of the group from falling apart.

“This evocative exploration of grief, sexual identity, and personal spirituality will be a boon to any teen grappling with these issues.” –Horn Book

My Review

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by Kekla Magoon (I reviewed REIGN OF OUTLAWS in 2017), so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I love stories about grief and self-discovery, especially characters wrestling with their faith, and this one ticks all those boxes for sure.

The characterization in this book felt totally spot on to me. Each character had a distinct voice, and specific connections and relationships with Kermit. I especially loved his relationship with his sister, who we meet in memories, dreams, and through her voice in Kermit’s head.

I also loved Matt, though he scared me with his drinking and some other things. He’s absolutely charming. It was easy to believe everything he said and just immediately adore him.

THE MINUS ONE CLUB is a complex story about grief, which is exactly what I expected from the title and book summary. The club didn’t feature in the book as much as I thought it might. The story really centers on Kermit and Matt and their relationship and how each of them are processing their grief.

All in all, I truly enjoyed reading this book. I couldn’t put it down. The chapters are really short, and the story seems to move quickly, so I read this one in a single sitting. It only took a couple of hours, too. I definitely recommend the book to readers who like stories about processing grief or about identity and first love.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Kermit and his sister are biracial. Kermit and another character are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly infrequently. Kermit and Matt play a game where everything they say has double meanings.

Several scenes contain homophobic statements, especially from Kermit’s Baptist church and even from his parents.

Romance/Sexual Content
At a party, boys encourage Kermit’s best friend to get his girlfriend drunk so that she will be more willing to have sex. He finds this appalling.

Kissing between two boys. References to sexual touching.

Kermit remembers his dad talking to him about sex and how to use a condom, even though he expects Kermit to practice abstinence. His dad says some misogynistic and toxic ideas about sex, which Kermit’s sister calls out as such.

Brief description of sexual harassment.

Spiritual Content
Kermit used to be deeply committed to his faith. After his sister’s death, and as he comes to terms with his identity, his faith falters. Another boy encourages him to visit a different church where his identity would be accepted.

Violent Content
Brief description of sexual harassment in a locker room at school. Kermit also witnesses what he thinks could be bullying.

One character talks about committing suicide.

Drug Content
Kermit doesn’t drink alcohol, partly because of his faith and partly because his sister was killed by a drunk driver. His friends do drink, though. One friend uses alcohol to cope with grief. One abuses prescription medicine in one scene.

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 THE MINUS ONE CLUB in exchange for my honest review.

Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

They Both Die at the End
Adam Sivera
Quill Tree Books
Published September 5, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About They Both Die at the End

Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day.

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

My Review of They Both Die at the End

Okay, so I read this book mostly as a result of my daughter complaining that she wanted to read a book where people fall in love and then they both die at the end. So I was like, I think I know the right book for this! Ha.

I love that Mateo and Rufus have such different voices. And I love the rituals between Rufus and his friends, the Plutos. I love the way he challenges Mateo to come out of the safe careful cave he has lived in, and how Mateo challenges Rufus to stop hiding from his emotions.

In the story, you get a call the day you die, letting you know it’s coming. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, and you have no idea how or when during that day it’s going to happen. It’s an interesting paradox because knowing you’re going to die changes what you do that day, but you were already going to die before you decided to make those changes.

And it’s not only Rufus and Mateo getting those calls, it’s everyone. So all around them are people who’ve gotten the call or who are living in fear of it or living wilder because they haven’t gotten it. There are whole businesses that exist for people who are living their last day, which is kind of weird to think about, but would definitely happen if we knew what day everyone was going to die.

I love the two-people-thrown-into-a-situation-together-ness of this book, and I love how knowing each other changes both Rufus and Mateo. I like that they don’t meet each other looking for love, but find it unexpectedly.

It’s very weird to read a book knowing someone will die at the end. It’s kind of like accepting that something is going to hurt you but doing it anyway, knowing that along the way, that same thing is going to make you laugh, make you think about things in a way you hadn’t thought before. I guess all that to say that I was afraid this book was going to be too sad for me, and it’s definitely sad. But it’s also so full of hope and value and love. And I’m so glad I got to read it for those things, too.

If you liked AWAY WE GO by Emil Ostrovski, definitely check out THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END.

Content Notes for They Both Die at the End

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One character is bisexual and another is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used mainly by Rufus.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. At one point they fall asleep together.

Spiritual Content
Rufus and Mateo discuss what they think happens after death, whether there’s an afterlife. Neither believe very deeply in any sort of religion. One character believes in reincarnation.

Violent Content
At the beginning of the story, Rufus is beating up another boy. Later, a character brings a bomb to a gym and sets it off, killing himself and others nearby. A girl stands on top of a building, contemplating killing herself. A car accident kills another person. Someone points a gun at a member of a crowd. A fire kills someone.

Drug Content
None.

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