Lily and Dunkin--"Words have the power to change the world. Use them carefully."

Title: Lily and Dunkin

Author: Donna Gephart


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is a trans girl.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Lily knows she is a girl and wishes her father would stop calling her Tim and the bullies at school would leave her alone. Will she able to finally start hormone blockers? Dunkin is new in town and desperate to fit in, so why should it matter if he skips his bipolar medications occasionally if he becomes a better basketball player? Lily and Dunkin become friends despite the obstacles life throws at them.


What I think (contains spoilers): I checked out this book from the library and even before I finished reading it, I wanted to buy it for myself and said:

The Porcupine of Truth--Part 2: "I know it's a disease, and I know people used to die of it and that now there's medicine for it"

Title: The Porcupine of Truth

Author: Bill Konigsberg


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Carson is not looking forward to spending the summer with his dying, estranged father in Billings, Montana, who is still angry about the disappearance of his father (Carson's grandfather) over thirty years ago. Carson's summer becomes more interesting when he meets Aisha, a beautiful teenage lesbian who was kicked out of her father's home.  Carson and Aisha vow to find out what happened to Carson's grandfather--why did he leave?  Could he still be alive somewhere?

As I said in Part 1, the last 80 pages of this book affected me so profoundly, I originally planned to write the entire post about them.  Instead, I split the post into 2 parts.

So without further ado, here's part 2!

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park--"& brothers, JFK, sign language, divas, & extreme fabulousness!"

Title: My Most Excellent Year:  A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park

Author:  Steve Kluger

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): TC, Augie, and Alè tell stories of their freshman year in high school.  When TC was six, his mother died, and TC and Augie became close friends and "brothers."  Alè is new in school, the daughter of the US ambassador to Mexico, and secretly taking singing and dancing lessons. TC develops an instant crush on her. Meanwhile, Augie comes into his own as a fabulous, singer-dancer-actor, taking the school by storm in Kiss Me Kate.

What I think:  Wow, I am not sure I can adequately describe how much I loved this book.  I think I will just list some of the awesome parts of the book below:

George--"READ IT TODAY"

Title: George

Author: Alex Gino


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): People may think she's a boy, but George knows in her heart that she's a girl.  George's mother claims that she might feel differently in a few years; George's friend thinks she's kidding at first; George's teacher won't let her try out for Charlotte in Charlotte's Web.  But George knows who she really is, and she just needs a chance to prove it to everyone.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  I was going write a long review and complain about the stupid schools  in Oregon that think George is inappropriate, "morally toxic," or will "confuse kids," but I can't. I'm tired of those people.

Gracefully Grayson--"Got me especially emotional"

Title: Gracefully Grayson

Author:  Ami Polonsky


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Grayson has lived with his* aunt and uncle since the death of his* parents when he* was in preschool, and Grayson has a secret that Aunt Sally and Uncle Evan do not know: Grayson is actually a girl on the inside, even though she has a boy body. When Grayson auditions for and wins the part of the leading female in the school play, life becomes more complicated.


What I think (in 250 words or a lot more--sorry, I did not even try to limit myself):  ALSO LOTS OF SPOILERS.  

An easy, fast read that I finished in one sitting.  The first-person point-of-view made the pronoun issues that bothered me in The Art of Being Normal not bothersome.  I love the fact that Grayson is only in 6th grade and not in high school. I love all the supportive people in Grayson's life--the teacher, the drama club mom, the cast members who "adopt" Grayson as a friend.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe--"I Love them SO MUCH"

Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer):  This is such a character-driven book, it's difficult to explain what it is about.  It's about Dante and Aristotle and their wonderful friendship.  It's about being Mexican-American and relating to your extended family, siblings, and parents.  It's about love, prison, art, PTSD, literature, homophobia, poetry, and feeling confused. It's about the power of close friendships and coming-of-age.  It's about finding yourself and discovering the secrets of the universe.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  My favorite romance novel review site has a category called Desert Isle Keeper (DIK), reserved for books that the reviewers think are so good, that they would save them from a shipwreck to read forever while stranded on a desert isle. 

My equivalent review to DIK is Warm Cuddly Teddy Bear (WCTB)--the books that you keep forever just to reread over and over again, the ones that you are so familiar with that you can literally open to any page and just start reading without any confusion, your favorites that you pick up and read when you are stressed and need to relax. The warm, cuddly teddy bears of books.