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emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
A very short middle grade book which still manages to deliver a very successful ghost story and a sweet trans coming out narrative. The book opens at the beginning of the summer, when 11 year old Bug's beloved queer uncle has just died. Bug's house was already haunted before this death, but it's even more so after his passing. Bug struggles to process grief as well as pressures from friends to prepare for the transition to middle school- an opportunity some kids take to reinvent themselves. But Bug is haunted by both uncertainty about the future and literal ghosts.
“A lot of books have a moral, some lesson about how you have to stay true to who you are. How it doesn’t matter if you’re different, you don’t have to act like everyone else, and that the most important thing is to be yourself. But those books never tell you how to figure out what your self is. They assume you know already, and are pretending to be someone else for a while to fit in.”
I stumbled upon this at my library and ... wow. I don’t have many words for this little book yet, but Bug’s journey was so relatable and was a story I haven’t seen displayed in literature much at all. The above quote sums up the book really well, and while I think everyone would enjoy it, this book will most certainly resonate with those who aren’t quite sure who they’re supposed to be—or how they’re supposed to figure it out.
Oh, and there are ghosts.
I stumbled upon this at my library and ... wow. I don’t have many words for this little book yet, but Bug’s journey was so relatable and was a story I haven’t seen displayed in literature much at all. The above quote sums up the book really well, and while I think everyone would enjoy it, this book will most certainly resonate with those who aren’t quite sure who they’re supposed to be—or how they’re supposed to figure it out.
Oh, and there are ghosts.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Such a good middle grade read for any kiddo questioning their gender identity.