January - YA Reads

Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson: Given the cover of this book, I thought this was going to be a graphic novel - but alas, don't just a book by it's cover. This is the memoir of a young man, coping with his identity and trying to belong. The author is up front from the beginning that parts of the book could be triggering for many people - and that he intends to be as honest as he can be about his depression, self-harm, and process of coming out - to himself and to his friends and family. I found this to be an interesting approach - this recognition that in reading a book to learn about the life of another person, the reader themselves could be harmed by seeing too much of themselves in the character, or perhaps in learning that so much pain an struggle exists in this world. This book is written for YA, and accordingly I found it to be an easy relatively quick read - I myself just taking breaks when it did become too intense or sad for me. As a parent of young children, what I find so hard is knowing that children all struggle with different things, but also that they hide so much - and that part of that is the nature of growing up and learning to understand and cope with life. But, also wondering what more I can be doing as a parent, not to prevent my children from experiencing failure and pain, but from feeling like they are failures or that they will not be accepted or supported by me. I felt the saddest in this book when reading about how the author's step-father (who he kept saying he considered a father, but I wasn't sure if the step-father actually viewed him as a son) made comments or otherwise contributed to shaming the author's sexuality. When places that are supposed to be safe for children are not, I think that's the hardest to bear. What is also tough about this book is that while I think it would be comforting for many other young people to read and perhaps say "It's nice to know I'm not alone," there is no magic solution for how to survive it all in a better way.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina:  I just loved this book.  Merci Suarez is a pretty typical sixth grader, navigating issues with friendships and family and the changes that come with growing up.  But she's also learning that sometimes things are a bit complicated when you're living in that middle space - old enough to take responsibility, but not always old enough to understand or even to be privy to all the information.  At home, her grandfather seems to be going to the doctor more often and forgetting things a little more easily, but no one seems to want to acknowledge it.  At her private school, she is one of the few students on scholarship, and she finds herself wanting to fit in, but also feeling pride in the things that set her apart.  I loved Merci's strong independent spirit - her love of her grandfather and friends - and her desire to do the right thing, even if she doesn't always know what that might be.   

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater: This YA non-fiction book is an account of an incident that happened on the 57 bus line in Oakland in 2013.  Sasha, a white agender teenager from a middle-class neighborhood was riding the bus home from their private school.  Alongside her was Richard, an African American teen from a less affluent area of Oakland coming home from his public school.  During the ride, Richard set fire to Sasha's skirt leaving them severely burned.  As a result, Richard was charged with a hate crime and faced life imprisonment.  The 57 Bus explores the backgrounds of both of these teenagers.  This book takes the time to paint a fuller picture of Richard, his background, and how he came to commit this crime in a way that calls for empathy and an understanding no crime, and no person, is a complete reflection of the worst thing they've ever done.  I applaud the book on this level - and yet, I question whether Richard would have been afforded this had the victim not been someone undervalued by society.  Is it because Sasha appeared to dress different than their gender should have allowed them to dress - is it because we want to find a way to blame Sasha for themselves for the crime, that we are interested in learning more about Sasha?  Had Richard set fire to a beautiful young white cisgender female cheerleader, might the outcome of this incident been just a little different?  I wonder these things, and because of that, I found this book in a way distasteful.  But, at the same time, I admit that because I have so much to learn about gender issues - about language and differences and everything that comes with recognizing what it means to be agender or transgender, I appreciated the education that this book provided.  While I don't necessarily want to re-read this book, I do think that it would be a good one to choose for a book club.