“'We are who we are, and we'll be who we'll be. A book can make us *feel* that, but it can't *invent* that. It's already inside us,'“ (Levithan 122).
Among so much else in this book, Donovan's open conversation with his mother brings about this quote. While I was reading, I thought about its truth in my own life. But even more important is the truth this will bring to students: unlearning prejudices or becoming more of themselves without fear.
Yellow - Sunshine 💛 #PrideRec2025 @PuddleJumper
These books have summer vibes, the characters having their adventures out in the sun ☀️
so good! a 5/5 for me. Slice of life focused ons magical zoo keeper just trying to get a critically endangered phoenix to breed.
Note: This has a heavy romance marketing. While romance is a subplot and adds to the story, it is not mostly about romance.
#fantasy #magizoology #phoenix #debut #lgbtqia+
panI wanted to like this one so much. The premise was good but it fell so flat for me. I thought the characters were very one tone, I wish they would have had more personality. I also discovered so many plot holes that it was hard to ignore. It also was very much a YA book, not an adult book. I also got bored at many points of the book, there was good graphics of insects, though. 2/5
pickAfter reading the first three chapters, I audibly gasped at the ingenuity of a story within a story within a story. SO. GOOD! I was laughing and crying alongside the characters, and Levithan's focus on censorship speaks to the issues we face as we become educators. This book would be a wonderful read in the classroom alongside Banned Books Week to bring awareness to our students about how censorship affects their education.
pickThis has been my fave book so far in class! There were so many banger quotes that were impactful and were very thought provoking! Never underestimate a 5th grader because they just might teach you something about yourself that you didn‘t even realize… I loved how the author did a “storyception” where we got to read a story within a story it was really cool and I liked how it gave the reader an inside look into the story that was being challenged.
A reoccurring conflict I kept picking up on in this story was how Gideon‘s mom never asked him about the book or even let him know that she disproved of it. This caused Gideon so much anxiety from being left in the dark that when he figured out why she might‘ve been upset about the book it left him so confused because there wasn‘t anything blatantly wrong to him. I think the author was trying to show that communication is key.
This quote was so impactful because of how true it is. Not only could you say this about sexuality but you can also say the same about race, class, and other societal issues. I think it‘s important to learn and understand something or someone before you it write off as being bad. Because it‘s a lot easier to be afraid or dislike someone when you hardly know anything about them.
“Are they gay? Does it matter?”
These two questions summarize not only the plot, but the ideals of this book. I applaud Levithan‘s answer to these questions through the teacher, Mr. Howe, explaining the importance of these conversations. To eliminate representation about a group of people from literature does not eliminate the existence of those people, it just gives the impression that they have a reason to feel ashamed of their wonderful selves.
In a society that is seeing more and more books banned at all levels of grade schools, this is a very important topic to understand. I thought this story did a wonderful job of not only explaining what book bans are and why they happen, but why we must stay informed of the content people intend to censor. If we merely accept things as being inappropriate without understanding why, we risk eliminating crucial voices in the lives of our students.
