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2023 Reads: The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

Genre: Fiction: Contemporary  Age Level: Young Adult  Format: Novel

Summary: Sky Baker is going all out for prom, and has a list of promposal ideas on his wall in his room. He plans to ask out his crush, Ali- because even though he's tried to keep himself invisible, he's determined for his senior year to end with a bang.

But then someone leeks a picture of his wall, and sends out a e-blast that's equal parts homophobic and racist. And now it's up to Sky, Ali, and the rest of their friends to figure out who did it before the countdown till prom ends.

Thoughts: I was surprised by how much I loved this one! Outing narratives are pretty hit or miss for me(though Sky isn't outed, the premise is similar), and the book summary didn’t pull me in. But after a bit of a rough start(I just wasn’t interested at first), I was able to get really into it, and I think this is probably one of my favorite reads of the year. Sky is such a sweet teenager and I loved his heart. His struggle with the question of if his dead dad would have supported him being gay hit me really close- I adored how that plot line was concluded.

All the characters felt full of heart, and I loved the eventual romance Sky had. I also love how he didn’t get with his crush at the beginning, but instead fostered a close friendship with him! I appreciate the handling of racism as well, and the solidarity shown between different minorities. I think it’s just a really cute read! The plot threads were wrapped up nicely too. Sky my beloved <3

2023 Reads: Ellen Outside The Lines by A.J. Sass!

Genre: Fiction: Contemporary Age level: Middle grade Format: Novel

Summary: Follows thirteen-year-old Ellen, who's determined to use a school trip to Barcelona as a means to repair her and her best friend's now-distant friendship. As the story continues and things veer off her planned path, Ellen has a very unique coming-of-age as an autistic teenager during a time where everything is changing. 

Thoughts: This is honestly such a sweet book!! Ellen is probably the best autistic rep I've read in a middle grade book so far; she's a very well-rounded, believable character, and her struggles were portrayed in a very heartfelt way. She's also very explicitly Jewish!! Like it's actually a pretty important part of her character imo, which is super neat. There are plenty of queer characters(including Ellen herself) and I really enjoyed how the conflict between her and her best friend was handled. I think the whole cast was just very solid.

I could honestly go on about this book forever haha- but I 100% recommend it, even if you don't usually read middle grade. Every time I read a good middle grade I'm filled with hope for the future. The only other thing I've read from Sass was his short story in "This is Our Rainbow", but I have their recent release book they co-wrote with Nicole Melleby on my shelf right now, and I feel semi-confident recommending his other work too.

2023 Reads: A Boy and His Bot by Daniel H. Wilson

Genre: Fiction: Scifi Age level: Middle grade Format: Novel

Summary: When on a school field trip to explore mounds created by his ancestors, our main character Code is found by a robot bee that leads him into a tree, and when he comes back out he's no longer on Earth- he's in Mekos, a world of mechanical creations. And he's the only one who can keep it alive.

Thoughts: I bought this book years ago at a thrift store, and it's been gathering dust on my bookshelf ever since. But I finally read it and honestly? It was really cute! This book has a very creative plot and it was a lot more interesting than I expected. Code feels like the perfect character for kids to live through for an adventure, and I liked the world building as he came into contact with more and more creatures, especially the ones that became his friends. It's just surface-level enough that kids won't get overwhelmed, but I think someone like me who's older can also enjoy it.

I also looked into the author, and books like this are his THING. Nearly all of his books are about robots, and it looks like most of them are for older audiences- I'll probably check them out! This was overall just a very quick and fun read.

2023 Reads: The Obesity Myth by Paul Campos

2023 Reads: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Genre: Fiction: Fantasy  Age Level: Young Adult  Format: Graphic novel

Summary: Tiến connects with his parents through fairytales, which help him connect to them through their language barrier as Vietnamese American immigrants. But now that he’s coming to terms with his sexuality, it’s harder than ever for him to share his feelings- how can he bridge the disconnect when he doesn’t know how?

Thoughts: SO cute! Most of the plot took place within fairytales, and I think they were written / drawn so so beautifully. I think their order fit thematically really well too!!(the first was an American one that Tiến knew, the second one was a Vietnamese one his mom knew, and the third one was a mesh of both) I 100% recommend this, especially to any Vietnamese people looking for a cute queer story. ESPECIALLY for the art. Holy SHIT the lineart is so good.

2023 Reads: Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Genre: Fiction: Fantasy  Age Level: Young Adult  Format: Novel

Summary: A prince slays a dragon and rescues a damsel, then takes her as his bride and becomes king. And so does his son, and the next, and the next; this is how it’s always been. So it’s no surprise the same fate should become of Ama, who’s recently been rescued by Prince Emory.

But Ama has no memory of her life before being rescued. And as her life in the castle becomes more and more harrowing, and her wedding date approaches, she starts to wonder what she’s not being told- and eventually discovers where the real horror lies.

Thoughts: I LOVED this one- I think the writing style was pleasant, Ama’s character was fantastic, and the worldbuilding was really, really compelling. But this is 100% one of those books that people either love or hate with little in-between, and that’s mostly because it IS a very dark story!

There are a lot of triggering themes brought up throughout the book- the plot relies on them- and some people just don’t enjoy reading that. And that’s okay! For me, I found this book cathartic and interesting- I liked reading about the horrible things going on because it was never “and then this happens” for no reason. It was all part of something bigger and honestly, I just found it enjoyable. For anyone who enjoys reading dark books, this one’s for you! Just beware of the trigger warnings and you’ll be golden.

The plot was wonderful and I thought the twist was well done- not to give away too much, but I could tell what the twist would be pretty early on. What kept me hooked was figuring out HOW the twist made sense! This was hard for me to put down haha.

2023 Reads: The Golden Hour by Niki Smith

Genre: Fiction: Contemporary 

Age Level: Middle grade 

Format: Graphic novel

Summary: Manuel Soto uses photography to ground himself when the world feels far away- something he’s had to learn to cope with after witnessing a traumatic event involving gun violence and getting diagnosed with PTSD. In a story of healing and letting people in, Manuel navigates new friendships through an assigned group project, and ultimately relearns how to feel safe after the possibility was ripped away.

Thoughts: Children experiencing gun violence is a trauma that’s been popping up more and more in books by American authors, for reasons I think are pretty obvious, but I think this is probably one of the best(if not THE best) handling of it I’ve seen so far. Manuel’s trauma was portrayed so vividly while also not feeling like it was trying to make a point, if that makes sense. His healing journey is super realistic, and I loved how he was written as someone who also has PTSD. I think all the characters were written really well actually; all of the side characters felt fully realized, and I enjoyed the ways they interacted with each other!

And the art is SO beautiful, like holy shit!! Niki Smith is AMAZING with backgrounds and never missed. ALSO COWS!!! ALSO it meant SO much to me as a fat transmasc that the boy Miguel had a crush on was fat, I think that was super sweet :) I saw some critique over the way their relationship was shown, some people saying it wasn’t explicit enough “almost like anyone who didn’t want to see it could pretend it wasn’t there”(fucking weird thing to say about a book written by a queer person btw. hot take), but I completely disagree. I don’t think they need to be loud about their crush for it to be obvious, and I think it was realistic to have neither have them be super explicit about it since they’re kids. So yeah read the book!! It’s very sweet :)

Rating: 5/5 

Trigger warnings: Gun violence(not directed towards a child, but a child does witness it), PTSD flashbacks, panic attacks, derealization + dissociation episodes, and a child having a near-death experience. 

2023 Reads: The Third Person by Emma Grove

Genre: Non-fiction: Memoir  Age Level: Adult  Format: Graphic novel

Summary: In 2004, Emma Grove enters a therapist’s office, seeking approval for hormone replacement therapy. But before her there was Katrina. And Ed. Emma remembers nothing about coming in as them, and her therapist is getting frustrated with what he perceives as her “games”.

In this 900-page graphic novel memoir, Emma Grove takes a look back through her memories as she pieces together her life as a trans woman with D.I.D.

Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The pace is slow, but I feel like even in the bits where not much was happening, I wanted to keep reading, if anything to put together the timeline of events Emma experiences memories of at different times. I honestly think it’s an amazing memoir, and I’m very happy I got to read about her experience! I don’t have D.I.D., but I think it’s wonderful that this book got published when there’s so much stigma around it. Emma’s writing / pacing / art, in general, is amazing, and I got super emotional at some parts. It’s just a genuinely good book!

It’s definitely the longest book I’ve read, standing at over 900 pages, but I was able to get through it after a couple of days, so I encourage anyone who may be intimidated by the page count to try it anyway.

2023 Reads: Alone by Megan E. Freeman

Genre: Fiction: Survival  Age Level: Middle grade  Format: Poetry novel

Summary: It’s the perfect scheme- until it isn’t. When Maddie, 12, conducts a plan to have a sleepover with her two best friends without her parents knowing, she ends up finding herself alone in her newly-emptied town. She’s completely alone in a town left to decompose. And there’s nothing left to do but survive.

Thoughts: I don’t usually read poetry novels, but I really enjoyed this one! I think the author was good at painting a picture of what was happening with limited words, which is obviously important with this format. I also think it ended in a good place, and didn’t leave me wanting more information- I love Maddie as a character! I can’t say much else without spoiling but yeah. Good book!! ALSO, periods are brought up and handled and I really appreciated that in a survival story :)

2023 Reads: The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

Genre: Fiction: Contemporary Age level: Middle grade Format: Novel

Summary: Rowan, a young trans boy who knows who he is but doesn't know who to tell, writes letters to help him feel less lonely. The book follows each letter he writes before sending them off via balloon in the hopes that someone will hear him.

Thoughts: This is one of those books that sticks to you like glue. I think this is probably one of my favorite middle grade books I've ever read- it's touchingly heartfelt, and captures the voice of a scared trans kid so well that it made me cry lmao!! As a transmasc, I'm always looking for more transmasc rep, and this one especially touched me. I really do recommend it!

I do, however, wonder if this is the type of book that would connect with the middle grade audience. I very much enjoyed it, but it was one of those things where I couldn't really imagine my younger siblings reading. I guess this isn't the biggest problem in the world, but it does make me wonder who the audience is. I'd be willing to go out on a branch and say it's more for trans young adults and older? But I don't know! I'd be eager to hear anyone's thoughts on this :0

But it is lovely! 100% this will be going on my favorites list at the end of the year.

2023 Reads: The Talk by Darrin Bell

Genre: Non-fiction: Memoir  Age Level: All ages  Format: Graphic novel

Summary: When Darrin Bell was six years old, his mother sat him down and explained why, because he was Black, she couldn’t buy him a realistic water gun. With expressive art and a thought-provoking writing style, Bell reflects on how The Talk shaped the way he interacts and sees the world, now painfully aware of the differences in how he’s treated vs everyone else. Especially now that his own son is six.

Thoughts: This is an incredible book and I REALLY do think everyone should read it. I don’t usually enjoy memoirs, but I feel like Bell has a gift for storytelling, and was especially good at bringing in thought-provoking angles to conversations that many people wouldn’t usually realize. It was written to be able to be read by all audiences, and I sincerely hope that Bell’s story can help parents also looking to have The Talk with their own kids. I’m white, so I can’t share a super unique perspective on how this book impacted me. But I think it’s going to hit a lot of people hard in the best way possible.