by Vivek Shraya illustrated by Juliana Neufeld ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2020
A lyrical meditation on growing up queer, brown, and Hindu.
Linked, illustrated vignettes, reissued in a 10th anniversary edition with a new cover and foreword by Cherie Dimaline, inspired by Shraya’s childhood spent learning to love her queer, brown, complex self.
This work of creative nonfiction begins with Shraya’s mother’s prayers for two sons. This binary, gender-based bargaining with Hindu gods is a stark contrast to the author’s fluid gender identity: although Shraya now identifies as transgender, she wrote this book before coming out and has kept the pronouns and male identifiers from the original. The book moves between India and Canada, and Shraya’s treatment of India is refreshingly nuanced and affectionate. In Canada, Shraya’s 5-year-old self is spanked for trying on lipstick without permission, but in India, his aunts eagerly wrap him in saris and bangles and praise his prettiness. Several stories capture Shraya’s changing relationship with his Hindu faith, from the disappointment of failing to convince the Hindu sage Sai Baba to take him on as a student to the ecstatic discovery of the half-man half-woman deity Ardhanaraeeshwara (“I am not invisible anymore”). Each vignette beautifully captures the tension Shraya’s younger self felt navigating the intersections of gender, race, and faith. The author’s stunningly honest voice is suffused with tenderness not only for her past self, but also for other young people currently coming to terms with multiple identities in families and societies that may not be accepting of their full selves.
A lyrical meditation on growing up queer, brown, and Hindu. (Short stories. 12-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-55152-813-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
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PERSPECTIVES
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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SEEN & HEARD
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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