Publishers Weekly
02/01/2021
This dual-perspective ode to the joys and complications of first love follows Essie Rosenberg, a white girl from St. Louis, who is upset that she must spend the first semester of seventh grade in North Carolina, where her father is a visiting professor. Counting down the days until she can return home, Essie’s outlook begins to shift when she meets—and immediately begins crushing on—classmate Ollie, who is white and nonbinary. Essie’s feelings seem requited, but the duo only have until the end of the school year to navigate their budding relationship. Polonsky (Gracefully Grayson) sensitively handles Ollie’s gender identity while fully fleshing out their character. The first half of the novel describes the semester from Essie’s point of view, while the second part shares Ollie’s perspective, revealing that Ollie is struggling to forge an identity outside of their work as an LGBTQ advocate and is not as confident and collected as Essie believes. Repeated scenes and conversations from various points of view sometimes prove tedious, but the novel makes a compelling argument, reinforced by an extended optical illusion metaphor, for looking at the world from another’s lens. Ages 8–12. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Agency. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
A BookRiot Best Book for Pride Month!
Recommended Reading for NEA's Read Across America 2022-23
"Hopeful and real, this story is electric. There’s a lot to love here; recommended as a first purchase everywhere." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Polonsky (Gracefully Grayson, 2014) has written a hopeful and insightful text for young readers to explore gender and sexual identity through an enticing story of friendship, family, and first love." —Booklist
"Polonsky (Gracefully Grayson) sensitively handles Ollie’s gender identity while fully fleshing out their character. The novel makes a compelling argument, reinforced by an extended optical illusion metaphor, for looking at the world from another’s lens." —Publishers Weekly
"Bigotry against Ollie is briefly addressed in one scene but is done so tactfully; it is clear that a great deal of empathy has gone into this narrative. The romance and chemistry between Essie and Ollie are also enjoyable. A charming, feel-good LGBTQ+ story." —Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal
★ 11/01/2020
Gr 5–7—Polonsky (Gracefully Grayson) gives life to first love in this novel. When Essie moves from Missouri to North Carolina with her father, she's not particularly thrilled. Things between her parents are strange, and her mom is almost completely out of touch. But when Essie meets Ollie, sparks fly and she finds herself settling right into her new life. As the romance between Essie and Ollie blossoms, so do the conversations about gender. Ollie is nonbinary, and as they've embraced their gender identity, they feel like it's become their defining characteristic. Essie and Ollie struggle with labels, and Essie especially craves the organization and structure labels can provide. Ollie wants to just exist, recognizing the help and barriers labels have given their life so far. Essie and Ollie are both middle class and white. Essie describes many characters of color, and specifically addresses the diversity of her old and new homes. Ollie's parents are extremely supportive, as are other adult figures in Ollie's life, who are themselves pansexual and nonbinary. While this is very much a book about gender and sexuality, it is a love story that readers will adore. Those who haven't flipped ahead will get a fun surprise at the halfway mark, when things switch from Essie's to Ollie's point of view. VERDICT Hopeful and real, this story is electric. There's a lot to love here; recommended as a first purchase everywhere.—Taylor Worley, Springfield P.L., OR
Kirkus Reviews
2021-02-17
Esther, who goes by Essie, moves to a new state and falls in love.
Essie relocates to North Carolina with her dad for a semester as part of his job as a professor. She says a temporary goodbye to her old friends but soon meets nonbinary Ollie and develops a crush on them. Essie helps Ollie out with the school’s LGBTQ+ club while starting to question her own orientation because of her feelings for Ollie. The narrative is split into two halves, the first narrated by Essie and the second by Ollie, which cover the same time span, helpfully marked by a day count. Gender identity forms a large part of the narrative, but Ollie’s nonbinary gender is portrayed as a natural part of them rather than a big issue or wow moment. Ollie’s relationship with their mother is adorable and heartwarming, with their mother using the rather sweet and gender-neutral “kiddo” to refer to them. Bigotry against Ollie is briefly addressed in one scene but is done so tactfully; it is clear that a great deal of empathy has gone into this narrative. The romance and chemistry between Essie and Ollie are also enjoyable. Essie and Ollie are both White while two of their mutual friends are Black and Latinx.
A charming, feel-good LGBTQ+ story. (Fiction. 10-14)
