Welcome to Litsy!

After 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.

This 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 and 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.

At first, I struggled to keep up with the different story lines, specifically the purpose of Gideon and Roberto‘s story. I initially thought it was just an example of kids knowing who they are, proving the importance of diverse identities in books. That would‘ve been enough, but I loved the reveal that the two boys we watched fall in love were Mr. Howe and the author. This proved the importance of the book, and tied the three stories together.

My favorite so far. I cried. It was an adorable and heartwarming story of love, justice, community, and acceptance, but it also brings the harshness of banning/contention over books in classrooms to light very mangagably and realistically. The multiple perspectives would be a GREAT mentor for how to interweave stories like this too, combining writing moves with meaningful and relevant themes that students can participate in THEMSELVES. 5/5! ⭐️

This was a fantastic book to introduce and exemplify book banning in classrooms! By including the text in question, Levithan's readers can come to their OWN conclusions but also have exposure to the represented community with Gideon/Roberto and see the reality of people combating inclusion with Donovan. This encourages seeing multiple perspectives and considering all ideas (including their own INFORMED ones) to make decisions about books.

This book, especially Donovan's story, was incredibly personal to me because I've been through something similar. I could relate to how humiliated or disappointed he was feeling in conflict with his family but also in how empowered he felt when he found that others were on his side when it came to reading queer literature. Ignorance isn‘t “protecting” children, it is impacting their future interactions with real people in a real community.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I'm not sure I would teach it because I think I would personally get bored reading it multiple times over but I would definitely recommend it to students or teach it through small group settings where kids could pick from various books and read them in a book club. The ending was satisfying and had a feel-good aspect to it that gives kids closure when building reading stamina.

The first part of this book threw me off for a little bit. The character povs swapped out but once I realized what was going on I was all for it. first half of the book did a good job staying interesting and explaining book banning on an age appropriate level. I enjoyed Donovan the most because he shows the coming of age process kids have with their parents regarding differing opinions. Would be a great resource to discuss beliefs in writing.

Out of everything I've read so far for the YAL class, I believe this book was my favorite. The interconnected storylines proved to be an engaging read, and I found the characters extremely lovable. I shed a few tears by the time the resolution was reached. This narrative addresses book censorship in a way that is both interesting and relevant to young readers, serving as a great starting point for discussing the topic and its impact on society.

In this book three seemingly separate storylines come together to help start a discussion about book censorship and how early young people can handle LGTBQ+ content.

It is very slow at work right now so I‘m going to start this and see how far I get before anyone else enters the building.

Middle grade novel with 2 story lines: one where two boys develop feelings for each other and begin a relationship, and the other where a 5th grader's mom challenges a book the class is reading because the main characters might be gay. And a 3rd storyline where we get excerpts from the book that's being challenged.

“…there‘s something important about going back to books you‘ve already read. You will always find new thing inside or have new reaction to characters you thought you already knew well. You learn more about the story and you also learn more about yourself as a reader, and where you are in life.”

This was hard to read at first in the midst of fielding challenges at my own library. Ultimately, it was joyful and satisfying. I really ought to read more Levithan; I always love what he does with narrators and points-of-view.

(Middle Grade) If you want to see me get on my soapbox just bring up book banning. Gah! Not all books are for all readers so if something offends you leave it for someone else. So simple. Loved Ban This Book (Alan Gratz) and this one gave me similar vibes but a different perspective.