Tag Archives: Nonbinary

Elem./MG – Green

Posted on by
Reply

Gino, Alex. Green. Scholastic, 2023. 978-1-33877-614-0. $17.99. 224 p. Grades 3-6.

Green Gibson, a non binary student at Jung Middle School, is excited about the upcoming musical The Wizard of Oz.  The students in Spectrum, the LGBTQIA+ club, have even convinced the director to cast the roles without regard to gender to give more students a chance. Green is thrilled to be part of the stage crew, especially when they find out their crush Ronnie is also on the crew. Green and Ronnie have a blast when they hang out together in Spectrum and at play rehearsals, but Green thinks Ronnie identifies as straight, and Green is not exactly sure how to broach that subject. While Green is trying to figure out Ronnie, their body is going through its own changes, and Green isn’t sure how they feel about them. These are changes that typically happen to females, but Green doesn’t identify as either gender, so it sometimes feels like their body is betraying them. Green has to figure out where they stand with Ronnie while also embracing the complexity of puberty and the challenges that brings to a nonbinary tween.

THOUGHTS: Fans of Gino’s Melissa and Rick will enjoy revisiting the same characters found in those two books. Green’s internal dialogue can sometimes feel a little forced, but it is still a feel-good story. Gino handles the topic of gender identity with gentle care and without any graphic details.

Realistic Fiction

YA – The Wicked Bargain

Posted on by
Reply

Novoa, Gabe Cole. The Wicked Bargain. Random House, 2023. 978-0-593-37801-4.  361pg. $18.99. Grades 9-12.

The Wicked Bargain follows main character Mar who is a pirate on their father’s ship where they are celebrating their 18th birthday. However, el Diablo comes to collect a debt from Mar’s father… that is their father’s soul and the lives of all the crew leaving Mar as the only survivor. Mar has no choice but to avenge their fathers death, and they team up with another pirate named Bas in order to do that. However, finding el Diablo and getting their father’s soul won’t be so easy. Mar has magic that they have been suppressing and hiding almost their entire life, as well as their identity that they were born female but identify as nonbinary. Will Mar be able to manage their magic to save their father? And what do they do about their growing feelings for Bas?

THOUGHTS: This book surprised me in a great way! The plot seemed slightly uninteresting; however, once I got into the story, the writing was excellent and the plot moved along just fast enough to keep me interested. I loved all of the characters, but the dynamic between Mar and Bas was definitely my favorite. Great book for fans of young adult fantasy!

Fantasy

MG – Ellen Outside the Lines

Posted on by
Reply

Sass, A. J. Ellen Outside the Lines. Little, Brown and Company, 2022. 978-0-759-55627-0. 331 p. $16.99. Grades 4-8.

A school trip to Barcelona is a big undertaking for someone like Ellen, who likes to be surrounded by schedules, routines, and familiar friends and family. However, with her best friend Laurel and her father, called Abba, on the trip with her, Ellen is determined to make the two-week experience work by using the rigid but safe framework of her life to cope with any challenges she might face. When her class arrives in Spain, however, she realizes her familiar routines will be disrupted with new friends, new experiences, and new obstacles, and she must work to expand her ideas about life, friendship, and family in order to grow and become a better, more complex version of herself. 

THOUGHTS: The new friends Ellen makes throughout this book really allow her to explore many preconceived notions she has always held about the world around her. Ellen’s Jewish faith also plays a big part in the story, highlighting the way her parents support her as she navigates questions about what her faith means to her, how important her culture is to her everyday life, and how she handles the faiths and cultures of those around her. Barcelona is an interesting backdrop to this story and helps to illustrate the importance of new experiences in life.

Realistic Fiction          Erin Faulkner, Cumberland Valley SD