  | Different kinds of fruit Author: Lukoff, Kyle | |
| Price: $22.58 | ||
Summary:
When Annabelle learns that her father shares something big--and surprising--in common with her new nonbinary friend, she begins to see herself, and her family, in a whole new light.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 5.50 Points: 12.0 Quiz: 521748 |
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 05/01/2022 Gr 5 Up—Newbery Medal–winning author Lukoff brings a middle grade novel to warm the hearts of every rainbow family and ally. Annabelle enters sixth grade ready to make her final year at her small private school a great one—and the year starts auspiciously with a young teacher and a new friend, Bailey, who is nonbinary. All this good feeling begins to dwindle when Annabelle's father is inexplicably rude to Bailey, and the school principal allows an entitled mom to disrupt the class' plans to learn social studies by doing self-directed projects. Lukoff masterfully portrays the personalities, both child and adult, that Annabelle comes to know, believes she knows, and those whom Annabelle questions can ever know her. When she must handle the revelation that her own parents are queer and her transgender father gave birth to her, events could have become too big for the story. Yet Lukoff keeps them emotionally and narratively real, inviting empathy. VERDICT This one belongs in every library serving grade-school kids, and warrants booktalking and display to draw attention to the reality of the rainbow spectrum.—Francisca Goldsmith - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/01/2022 *Starred Review* This coming-of-age story is told from the perspective of a sixth-grader named Annabelle, who attends a small-town school that runs a different program from the traditional public school. When a new student joins her class, which is composed of the same kids she’s known for years, it’s a big deal. The bigger deal? Her new friend Bailey is nonbinary, and just like that, her world expands tenfold. Through her friendship with Bailey, Annabelle learns to navigate all the new things she’s learning about queer communities while also finding names for her own identity and totally crushing on her new friend. Meanwhile, Annabelle learns that her own dad is trans, and his attitudes about gender cause friction with Bailey’s more fluid understanding. Lukoff offers a story with vivid, well-rounded characters that never talks down to kids; Annabelle’s teacher attempts to instruct the class in some different perspectives on history, but pushback from the administration (and one very vocal member of Annabelle’s class) will likely resonate with plenty of middle-schoolers and encourage them to consider who has power in their own classrooms. Themes of inclusion and privilege in today’s society are seamlessly integrated into the familiar plot of a kid’s first crush, and the focus on the great ways that communities can come together to keep everyone within them safe is a gratifying through line. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
