  | Year my life went down the toilet Author: Arlow, Jake Maia | |
| Price: $22.58 | ||
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Al, short for Alison, navigates an overprotective mother, growing apart from her best friend, and her first girl crush, all while her recent Crohn's diagnosis puts a knot in her stomach.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (06/01/23)
School Library Journal (09/01/23)
Booklist (07/23/23)
The Hornbook (00/07/23)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 09/01/2023 Gr 5 Up—Stonewall Honoree Arlow (Almost Flying) takes readers on a fun, messy ride with their latest. This heartfelt exploration of queerness and chronic disease features seventh grader Al (she/her, at least for now), recently diagnosed with Crohn's, who can barely make it through the day without dying of embarrassment. To complicate matters, her best friend Leo has decided to dedicate all his time to theater just as Al and Leo's moms start dating each other! Luckily, Al finds friendship in a middle school IBD support group (which doubles as an LGBTQIA+ support group) where she meets Mina, who is "cute and knows everything about giant tube worms and makes [their] armpits sweat and who [they] think [they] might have a crush on." Through it all, Al must puzzle out how to embrace all parts of herself—even the uncomfortable bits—and of people they love. Arlow crafts a rapidly paced tween drama featuring a layered cast. Al and her mother are Jewish; Leo's mother is Jewish and his father is Latinx. The majority of named characters are queer. Al's inner dialogue is particularly evocative and readers' secondhand embarrassment is powerful. Through a hurricane of family, friendships, crushes, and chronic illness, Al shines. VERDICT Funny, emotional, and full of poop; a first purchase!—Taylor Worley - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 07/23/2023 Seventh grade is not off to a great start for Al. She has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, her best friend Leo is deserting her to try out for the drama club’s annual play, and her mom is getting weirdly friendly with Leo’s mom. To make matters worse, when Al starts to attend a support group for other kids with Crohn’s (nicknamed “The Bathroom Club”), she ends up developing a crush on a girl named Mina and isn't sure who to talk to about it. As she gets closer with the support group and more invested in spending time with Mina, Al’s thoughts remain inwardly focused, and she starts to neglect her family and her best friend. This is a heartfelt story that will have readers empathizing with Al and even learning a bit from her experiences. Arlow's (Almost Flying, 2021) heartfelt and humorous latest offers readers a story of friendship, self-discovery, gender, sexuality, complicated family dynamics, and, you guessed it, poop. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
