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wrentheblurry's review against another edition
4.0
GENRE: Fiction, realistic fiction, homosexual issues.
SUMMARY: Fourteen-year-old Staggerlee has experienced difficulty fitting in at school; her classmates hold it against her that her father is black and her mother is white, and they feel that Staggerlee is a snob. Amidst this, Staggerlee is struggling to come to terms with the kiss she shared with Hazel, who was her one and only friend until Staggerlee's classmates turned Hazel against her. Life improves after Staggerlee's cousin Trout comes to visit for a summer. With Trout Staggerlee can be completely herself, and with her Staggerlee shares her secret about Hazel. Trout has a confession as well, which brings both of the girls closer, though things change after Trout goes back home.
EVALUATION: I liked this book a lot, from the way Staggerlee's relationship with her father and other family members is depicted, to the gentle way the author handles Staggerlee's confusion over her sexuality.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Tweens are at an age when sexuality is becoming more and more important, and being able to find books that help them feel they are normal for perhaps experiencing emotions that are different than their peers. This book can provide that reassurance to tween girls, in a well-written way that also deals with racism issues.
READER'S ANNOTATION: Staggerlee deals with her bi-racialness, and comes to term with her sexuality during the summer her cousin Trout visits.
ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL:
• So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez.
• Stop Pretending: What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones.
• Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez.
SUMMARY: Fourteen-year-old Staggerlee has experienced difficulty fitting in at school; her classmates hold it against her that her father is black and her mother is white, and they feel that Staggerlee is a snob. Amidst this, Staggerlee is struggling to come to terms with the kiss she shared with Hazel, who was her one and only friend until Staggerlee's classmates turned Hazel against her. Life improves after Staggerlee's cousin Trout comes to visit for a summer. With Trout Staggerlee can be completely herself, and with her Staggerlee shares her secret about Hazel. Trout has a confession as well, which brings both of the girls closer, though things change after Trout goes back home.
EVALUATION: I liked this book a lot, from the way Staggerlee's relationship with her father and other family members is depicted, to the gentle way the author handles Staggerlee's confusion over her sexuality.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Tweens are at an age when sexuality is becoming more and more important, and being able to find books that help them feel they are normal for perhaps experiencing emotions that are different than their peers. This book can provide that reassurance to tween girls, in a well-written way that also deals with racism issues.
READER'S ANNOTATION: Staggerlee deals with her bi-racialness, and comes to term with her sexuality during the summer her cousin Trout visits.
ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL:
• So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez.
• Stop Pretending: What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones.
• Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez.
heatherg213's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the slim nature of this book, it carries a surprising amount of weight. Staggerlee is an interesting character-the grandchild of famous grandparents, unable to take advantage of the freedom from oppression that they fought for. She struggles to understand what it means to be bi-racial in a mostly black community, where the other kids assume she thinks she is better than they are. The fact that she has a secret about her feelings towards other girls contributes to her isolation. When Trout comes into the picture, she has finally found someone "like her". But when Trout leaves, and the intensity of their frienship starts to lessen, Staggerlee is left wondering if and when she will truly be able to just be herself. This book would be great for teaching about multi-racial identity or sexual orientation specifically, or tryiing to find your place in the world in general.
v32's review against another edition
reflective
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
5.0
laura_m_j's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful novella about a 14 year old multi racial girl coming of age in a small southern town.
sausome's review against another edition
3.0
A quick read, but quite interesting. The racial issues along with the questioning of sexuality as 14-year-olds makes for a fairly intelligent story. I'm glad I read it!
p.5 "Again & again she had searched through the photo albums. Again & again she saw the pictures of Evangeline Ian -- pretty, smiling baby. As she grew older, that smiling baby girl became her own tiny burden. She was the good child -- the happy one. The one that never needed, never asked for anything, never caused any trouble."
p.6 "But Mama was more than 'white.' She was Mama, quiet & easygoing. She kept to herself. When she smiled, her whole face brightened, & tiny dimples showed at the edge of her lips. Why as white the word that hung on people's lips? At school, when the kids talked about her mama, they whispered the word or said, 'Your mama's white !' and it sounded loud & ugly, like something was wrong with Mama. And if something was wrong with Mama, then that meant that something was wrong with all of them.
Some evenings they would sit out on the porch laughing & carrying on ... Those evenings, they were not black or white or interracial. They were just a family on a porch, laughing & making music ... And when people asked her what it felt like to be both black and white, she didn't have an answer for them."
p.54 "It was the kind of beautiful you couldn't put a finger on. Separately, all the parts of Tyler's face didn't add up to anything. But together they were beautiful."
p.5 "Again & again she had searched through the photo albums. Again & again she saw the pictures of Evangeline Ian -- pretty, smiling baby. As she grew older, that smiling baby girl became her own tiny burden. She was the good child -- the happy one. The one that never needed, never asked for anything, never caused any trouble."
p.6 "But Mama was more than 'white.' She was Mama, quiet & easygoing. She kept to herself. When she smiled, her whole face brightened, & tiny dimples showed at the edge of her lips. Why as white the word that hung on people's lips? At school, when the kids talked about her mama, they whispered the word or said, 'Your mama's white !' and it sounded loud & ugly, like something was wrong with Mama. And if something was wrong with Mama, then that meant that something was wrong with all of them.
Some evenings they would sit out on the porch laughing & carrying on ... Those evenings, they were not black or white or interracial. They were just a family on a porch, laughing & making music ... And when people asked her what it felt like to be both black and white, she didn't have an answer for them."
p.54 "It was the kind of beautiful you couldn't put a finger on. Separately, all the parts of Tyler's face didn't add up to anything. But together they were beautiful."
tqliyah's review against another edition
2.0
rating this 3(.5) stars because they’re aspects about this i do love but also some that are very questionable/off-putting to me. i’ve taken said questionable aspects with a grain of salt because of the time it’s set in and was written in but it won’t stop me from expressing them. i loved how the book focuses on not only her interracialness and how it affects many parts of her identity and also the queerness she experiences. the writing in this book was beyond beautiful and though short, i felt like the author did a good job in getting the plot and message across.
with that being said, i hate the whole thing of her falling in love with cousin and that being the way she comes to terms with her sexuality.... especially seeing as by the end, it goes nowhere. i would have loved to see the hazel thing be her way of figuring herself out (even if it did result in her leaving). the switch-up between trout at the end confused me and felt very unfamiliar to me.
with that being said, i hate the whole thing of her falling in love with cousin and that being the way she comes to terms with her sexuality.... especially seeing as by the end, it goes nowhere. i would have loved to see the hazel thing be her way of figuring herself out (even if it did result in her leaving). the switch-up between trout at the end confused me and felt very unfamiliar to me.
soupwitch86's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book in two days and if I didn't have things to do, would probably have finished it sooner. It was SO GOOD. I am trying to find more books with LGBTQ+ POC characters, where trauma is not a major plot point and this hit all the spots. AND it's YA!
The awkwardness of Staggerlee and how Trout helped her with her confidence and seeing things in herself she couldn't previously see, ugh, my heart. It was beautiful. I need more books about women's friendships being front and center. This was such a breath of fresh air, even if it was heart-breaking.
SPOILER
It broke my heart that Trout started dating a boy and went back to being Tyler, because the boy liked it better. She gave up the fight. Which is understandable given her circumstances, but still broke my heart. But the ending was left open so that I was left to imagine that later, through her friendship with Staggerlee, she would be able to be her true self.
This should be required reading in school. I wish I had had this as a kid.
The awkwardness of Staggerlee and how Trout helped her with her confidence and seeing things in herself she couldn't previously see, ugh, my heart. It was beautiful. I need more books about women's friendships being front and center. This was such a breath of fresh air, even if it was heart-breaking.
SPOILER
It broke my heart that Trout started dating a boy and went back to being Tyler, because the boy liked it better. She gave up the fight. Which is understandable given her circumstances, but still broke my heart. But the ending was left open so that I was left to imagine that later, through her friendship with Staggerlee, she would be able to be her true self.
This should be required reading in school. I wish I had had this as a kid.
kawanaglenn's review against another edition
5.0
When I finished this book, I thought: “where is the rest? I feel so confused.”
That was until I realized that that was the point. I was supposed to feel confused like trout and stag. After all, they are teenagers trying to figure out their sexuality with no guidance whatsoever. I questioned a lot of things while reading this book. I realized that I don't know much about the people who are also a part of me. And it reminded me of how I felt when I was figuring out my sexuality for the very first time. I rarely write reviews, but this book really did something to me. I think I'll think about it for a really long time.
That was until I realized that that was the point. I was supposed to feel confused like trout and stag. After all, they are teenagers trying to figure out their sexuality with no guidance whatsoever. I questioned a lot of things while reading this book. I realized that I don't know much about the people who are also a part of me. And it reminded me of how I felt when I was figuring out my sexuality for the very first time. I rarely write reviews, but this book really did something to me. I think I'll think about it for a really long time.