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ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill was a pretty interesting read. Not only did I learn a ton about Abraham Lincoln throughout this book but I also saw a town filled a crap ton of homophobic people. I'm sure there are a ton of places like this in today's world too which honestly blows my mind.
In it, you will meet Wyatt. He is a 15 year old boy who isn't comfortable to be himself in his own town. So what does he do? Well, he pretends to date a girl named Mackenzie. Okay, he does actually date the girl but it was just awkward and wrong. They were actually best friends too but that's not why it was awkward.. it was because he liked guys and it was gross to kiss girls. So yeah, that kind of awkward.
Throughout the story, I learned that people in this town suck donkey balls. They were so cruel for no reason. Like can you all please get a day job or something and leave other people alone? Why does it matter who or what they love? Well, it shouldn't and everyone should mind their own damn business.
Love is love bitches, respect that shit.
Other than that, this book had it's cute moments and it definitely flew by for me.
Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill was a pretty interesting read. Not only did I learn a ton about Abraham Lincoln throughout this book but I also saw a town filled a crap ton of homophobic people. I'm sure there are a ton of places like this in today's world too which honestly blows my mind.
In it, you will meet Wyatt. He is a 15 year old boy who isn't comfortable to be himself in his own town. So what does he do? Well, he pretends to date a girl named Mackenzie. Okay, he does actually date the girl but it was just awkward and wrong. They were actually best friends too but that's not why it was awkward.. it was because he liked guys and it was gross to kiss girls. So yeah, that kind of awkward.
Throughout the story, I learned that people in this town suck donkey balls. They were so cruel for no reason. Like can you all please get a day job or something and leave other people alone? Why does it matter who or what they love? Well, it shouldn't and everyone should mind their own damn business.
Love is love bitches, respect that shit.
Other than that, this book had it's cute moments and it definitely flew by for me.
alandd's review against another edition
4.0
Incredible, adictive and empowering. This book speaks about how capable youth is of changing the tides and how important it is to be our own true selves. I just disliked how the author tried to redeem a hateful character all of a sudden. That put aside, these characters are way too human and the plot way too surreal. The result? An amazing YA novel about history, freedom and love.
c_mariewrites's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Homophobia
sarahjhin's review against another edition
5.0
Got to meet and work with the author at the IBPA pub U this year and heard his talk about the research for this book. Growing up in “The Land of Lincoln” I immediately went I need to read that. A fantastic literary roller coaster of emotions.
claire60's review
3.0
My first audio book review for Net galley, tricky start as it took a while for me to get into this book. There is so much homophobia at the start as we discover the world of Wyatt and the boy who bullies him at High School, which is somehow much harder to listen too than it is to read. I also was at times a little frustrated by Wyatt's struggle to find anyone to talk to, especially when his female best friend began to date his bully. After a rocky start the book picks up and Wyatt's efforts to highlight that President Lincoln was once in love with a man became interesting as a detective story, alongside showing the hideousness of institutional homophobia and the religious majority especially in small town America. The insistence that Lincoln was gay rather than wondering if he might have been bi which was mentioned once was waring and I saw the happy ending coming. I enjoyed the points about the importance of representation and the difference it could have made to LGBT people and especially young people to know that figures from history were LGBT too. The narration is excellent and helped me to keep going when the story waned, the intonation and emotion came across well and the racing was good.
With thanks to NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
With thanks to NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
jjarthur's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
yapha's review against another edition
5.0
This powerful novel combines raw emotion with detailed historical evidence. Readers will be drawn into Wyatt's story as he struggles with being true to himself, and come out the other side questioning who writes the history we learn. Speaking truth to power, indeed. Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill belongs in every library that serves teens. Highly recommended for grades 7 & up.
readinggrrl's review
5.0
I loved this book. What a great melding of history and fiction. The quotes and letters that Wyatt uses as reference to why he believes Lincoln was in love with another man are true and can be found in many books about Lincolns life. I had never heard these rumors but when I actually went to the internet and found that there are quite a bit of writing on this I was stunned.
Set in a small town that is devoted to Lincoln, Wyatt is given the assignment of a book report on Lincoln. He is supposed to write this as a blog. When the librarian gives him a reference book of letters between Lincoln and another man, he finds himself and his feelings on the pages. Wyatt is gay but is scared to come out in such a small town so he thinks by outing Lincoln he will gage the temperature of the town. This backfires big and what his posts set off could send the whole town spiraling downward, not to mention taking his families "Lincoln slept here bed and breakfast" out of business.
This is great coming of age novel with a unique history lesson. It is about tolerance, and love, and ultimately about being authentic and courageous. Wyatt is all of those things even though he doesn't see it right away. The narration was great, I actually couldn't stop listening to it I was so pulled into the story.
Set in a small town that is devoted to Lincoln, Wyatt is given the assignment of a book report on Lincoln. He is supposed to write this as a blog. When the librarian gives him a reference book of letters between Lincoln and another man, he finds himself and his feelings on the pages. Wyatt is gay but is scared to come out in such a small town so he thinks by outing Lincoln he will gage the temperature of the town. This backfires big and what his posts set off could send the whole town spiraling downward, not to mention taking his families "Lincoln slept here bed and breakfast" out of business.
This is great coming of age novel with a unique history lesson. It is about tolerance, and love, and ultimately about being authentic and courageous. Wyatt is all of those things even though he doesn't see it right away. The narration was great, I actually couldn't stop listening to it I was so pulled into the story.
ccleeds7's review
4.0
I ended up enjoying Queer as a Five Dollar Bill by Lee Wind much more than I expected to. The premise itself was super interesting, but the initial chapters were a bit slow and I couldn’t decide if I was really into the book or not. The writing style was decent but not awesome. However, I’m really glad that I stuck with it as the plot quickly started to unfold.
In Queer as a Five Dollar Bill, Wyatt lives in Lincolnville, Oregon, in the Lincoln Slept Here Bed & Breakfast that his parents own. The town, thanks to its name, is pretty much dedicated to Lincoln history, and idolizes President Lincoln. In his high school history class, Wyatt and his classmates are assigned a project in which they have to read a book about Lincoln and write blog posts about it. In his research, Wyatt discovers that Abraham Lincoln was in a gay relationship at one point and wrote his blog post about that, hoping that it could become a bridge to his own coming out in his conservative town. However, quite the opposite happens, and when his blog posts gain national attention, Wyatt is forced to deal with the consequences.
Like I said, there is nothing remarkable about Lee Wind’s writing style, but it had a lot of redeemable factors that made me ultimately really enjoy the book. I loved Wyatt’s character – he was really easy to identify with, I didn’t find him annoying, and I found his process of coming out relatable and credible given his circumstances. I also loved the use of history in the book, with direct quotes from primary sources – Lee Wind included actual letters, as well as sources marked in the back of the book, from Lincoln’s letters to back up the thesis that Lincoln was, in fact, queer. After the first few chapters, the plot picked up and I literally could not put the book down because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next and how Wyatt was going to deal with it. The pace was really well written.
Above all, I loved the theme of unity, where people of different beliefs and backgrounds are willing to put down their weapons and stand together for a common belief and a greater good. I think this is a book that is really relevant in today’s political and social climate, and it has a great message of how to deal with it. In a few words, don’t judge others – we are all different, in many different ways, and we just can’t let those differences come between us.
*I received this ebook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.*
In Queer as a Five Dollar Bill, Wyatt lives in Lincolnville, Oregon, in the Lincoln Slept Here Bed & Breakfast that his parents own. The town, thanks to its name, is pretty much dedicated to Lincoln history, and idolizes President Lincoln. In his high school history class, Wyatt and his classmates are assigned a project in which they have to read a book about Lincoln and write blog posts about it. In his research, Wyatt discovers that Abraham Lincoln was in a gay relationship at one point and wrote his blog post about that, hoping that it could become a bridge to his own coming out in his conservative town. However, quite the opposite happens, and when his blog posts gain national attention, Wyatt is forced to deal with the consequences.
Like I said, there is nothing remarkable about Lee Wind’s writing style, but it had a lot of redeemable factors that made me ultimately really enjoy the book. I loved Wyatt’s character – he was really easy to identify with, I didn’t find him annoying, and I found his process of coming out relatable and credible given his circumstances. I also loved the use of history in the book, with direct quotes from primary sources – Lee Wind included actual letters, as well as sources marked in the back of the book, from Lincoln’s letters to back up the thesis that Lincoln was, in fact, queer. After the first few chapters, the plot picked up and I literally could not put the book down because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next and how Wyatt was going to deal with it. The pace was really well written.
Above all, I loved the theme of unity, where people of different beliefs and backgrounds are willing to put down their weapons and stand together for a common belief and a greater good. I think this is a book that is really relevant in today’s political and social climate, and it has a great message of how to deal with it. In a few words, don’t judge others – we are all different, in many different ways, and we just can’t let those differences come between us.
*I received this ebook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.*
squidias's review against another edition
4.0
I made an annotation while reading this book, fairly early on, that says "That's a big 'small town closeted gay kid' mood" and that's pretty much how I felt about the whole novel.
Wyatt, our main character, is believable, relatable, and breathtakingly teenage. His voice was fascinating (and mildly embarrassing and frustrating at times when he reminded me a bit too much of my high school self) and his story was compelling, once it got started. I loved Wyatt, obviously, and I loved his friends, Mackenzie especially. There were moments when I laughed aloud, parts where I had to just stop to put my head in my hands, and bits that made me press a single hand firmly to my chest, overwhelmed with happiness. I think that if I had read this when I was in middle or high school, it would've made a serious difference in my life. That's definitely colored my feelings towards this book, but I really do think this novel tells an important story and gives some very good commentary on history, truth, and morality.
It did take me slogging through the first six chapters to actually get interested, and parts of the end fell flat for me -- thus the four stars -- but generally this was a fun read that I'd recommend to other LGBT+ people in my life.
Wyatt, our main character, is believable, relatable, and breathtakingly teenage. His voice was fascinating (and mildly embarrassing and frustrating at times when he reminded me a bit too much of my high school self) and his story was compelling, once it got started. I loved Wyatt, obviously, and I loved his friends, Mackenzie especially. There were moments when I laughed aloud, parts where I had to just stop to put my head in my hands, and bits that made me press a single hand firmly to my chest, overwhelmed with happiness. I think that if I had read this when I was in middle or high school, it would've made a serious difference in my life. That's definitely colored my feelings towards this book, but I really do think this novel tells an important story and gives some very good commentary on history, truth, and morality.
It did take me slogging through the first six chapters to actually get interested, and parts of the end fell flat for me -- thus the four stars -- but generally this was a fun read that I'd recommend to other LGBT+ people in my life.