Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino. Unabridged e-audio, ~3 hours, 38 minutes. Narrated by the author. Scholastic Audio/ Scholastic Inc., April, 2022. 

Happy Monday! Happy Fourth of July? The weather here is dry and clear. The town is quiet. Most of the stores in my tiny downtown are closed. No parades, no fireworks. Nice and quiet. Time to garden, read and contemplate. 

Middle Grade Monday features Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino. This is their fourth novel, and I've read every one since their debut, George/ Melissa. Sam and T.J. are best friends and seventh graders who live on Staten Island. (For any reader not from the northeast, Staten Island is a borough of New York City. It connects to Brooklyn via the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and to Manhattan via ferry service. It's actually closer to New Jersey!) 

Both Sam and T.J. identify as non-binary and have supportive families as well as a loving found family. Their stodgy, traditional social studies teacher assigns a research project where partners chose a figure in history that had a Staten Island connection. The partnership with the highest grade would have their project submitted to a monument contest. Sam is not enthusiastic about the project until they learn of Alice Austen, a lesbian photographer from the 1800s, who actually has a ferry boat named after her. Sam did not know about Alice Austen's identity and was stoked to learn that Alice Austen actually lived for a while in their apartment!

There's a lot packed into this short, middle-grade novel. Sam and T.J. are comfortable in their skin and articulate about body positivity and gender. The issue is not about their coming out, but of LGBTQIA+ history and how the lens of history seems focused on cis, white men  tending to leave out the contributions of women, people of color and the LGBTQIA+ community. There's still playfulness in the story via the best friendship and various inter-generational ties. 

The book was narrated by the author, who imbued her characters with spunk and confidence and sounded appropriately youthful. 

There are a fair number of fans of the author's books at my school and I know they will be happy to meet Sam and T.J.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~7 hours. Read by Chad Burros. HarperAudio/ Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, May, 2021. 9780063088762. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Well, we made it! Happy last day of school! This has been quite the school year and I'm happy that it's over. Personally, I have a challenging summer ahead. I'm glad that I no longer have to juggle school along with the sudden changes that have befallen my family. I can devote all my attention and energy to it over the summer. 

Teen Tuesday features Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. This is the concluding volume to the trilogy that began with Dumplin' and continued with Puddin'. Clover City, Texas is too small to contain high school senior Waylon "Pumpkin" Brewer. He's tall, redheaded, fat and flamboyant. He has been out for a while, but that doesn't mean his life is easy. He can't wait until graduation and the time when he and his twin sister and best friend, Clementine, will move to Austen to attend community college. Then, he's convinced that he can be his true self. He has even planned his wardrobe.

On one fateful night, Waylon is dumped by his closeted hook-up and he discovers that Clementine not only applied to, but was accepted to the University of Georgia. Heartbroken, Waylon dons a wig, puts makeup on and videotapes himself singing as "Pumpkin (his grammy's nickname for him)," thinking he might audition for his favorite show, Fiercest of Them All. After the video is accidentally leaked, Waylon finds himself nominated for Prom Queen and Clem's girlfriend Hannah is nominated for Prom King. Instead of being humiliated, Hannah encourages Waylon to go through with it with her.

Waylon's voice in this first-person narrative is at turns hilarious and heartbreaking, but always utterly honest and charming. Characters from the earlier novels make appearances and become involved in Waylon's journey in large and small ways. Even though this novel can stand alone, reading all three will be a treat. New-to-me narrator, Chad Burros, turned in a delightful performance, imbuing Waylon with energy, determination and longing. I just loved this. 

Middle Grade Monday: The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin

Image: Hachette Audio

The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin. Unabridged downloadable audiobook. ~6 hours. Read by Cassandra Morris, Zach Villa, Cameron Bowen & Adam McArthur. Hachette Audio, April, 2019. 9781549148828. (Review of audiobook downloaded from public library.)

When Caitlyn has to move with her mother to Vermont, she's not at all happy. She spent all of her sixth grade year learning the "rules" and clawing her way up the social ladder. Now, she learns that her new school is so small that it's housed in a haunted mansion where students take turns taking care of the goats. What are the rules here? Who is this Paulie Fink of legend and where has he gone? Caitlyn's classmates decide that someone needs to take on Paulie's mantle and Caitlyn, as an objective outsider is the perfect judge for their contest. Humorous and engaging, this story is told from multiple points of view.