Laura Hughes

You Need to Chill! is a delightful children's book that carries a very important message for kids. A message that is so important for adults and children, alike; a message of inclusivity; of trans tolerance and acceptance; a message that we should not hate or disparage those who are different than themselves perhaps, or things they do not understand or have not learned about.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely charming and tell a story in their own right. The story is told in a show more clever rhyming fashion, simple, easy to read, and completely appropriate for children.

In a world where our future existence depends on a paradigm shift to tolerance and inclusion, this book stands out as a bright beacon for young readers. show less

This book is amazing. The rhymes are a little harsh at times, but the message is entirely what this book is about. We start with a child going to school and all of her classmates are asking what happened to her brother Bill? Where did Bill go? The classmates have some wild Bill scenarios that include spaceships, baseball, etc. Going into this book blind, I was very happy to find out it wasn’t something sad. Instead. we find out that Bill is now Lily, and anybody who has a problem with it show more just needs to chill. I loved it. This is so well done, so right to the point. Tt makes what can at times be a tough subject fun. It also states all the ways that Lily is still the exact same person. Lily is Lily with a new name. I loved absolutely everything about this, and it should be a staple in every public and school library! show less

I initially liked this book quite a lot! The increasingly ridiculous scenarios guessed by the children wondering what happened to the main character's older sibling were funny, and I could see kids being very amused by them, and I like the message that there's no reason to become upset or agitated over Lili's transition.

On the other hand, I was a little bothered by the "is now my sister" phrasing, which sounds a little too much like Lili's transition was a switch than flipped instead of an show more embracing of what was always there. It would have been an easy fix to just add a stanza that said as much, or even just a reworking of the couplet to something like "The truth is that they're still here: they're just my sister, Lili!" Without something like that, though I felt uncomfortable, since the current phrasing is just too close to the common microaggression, "Yeah, Bill used to be a boy." show less

Camp Spartacus is a great little story about a group of high school kids in summer camp. Not very interesting, you say? Laura Hughes, in this tale of standing up for yourself and believing in your team, shows that even the simplest of stories can have a ton of charm.

Ruggiero is a member of Purple Squad, one of seven high school kids who learn to work as a team. He knows only one of them, because they go to the same school, where he is out. Interestingly, he has not come out in camp, and to show more him, it was all about focusing on other stuff, rather than thinking about his sexuality. But then rumors start about one of the Purple Squad guys being gay, and Ruggiero has to face coming out all over again.

Luckily, it goes much better than he expected. He also discovers that one of the other team members is gay, and the secret understanding between them is beautiful to watch. It may or may not be the beginning of more, the focus is totally on this sense of "I am not alone", an amazing discovery for everyone who is "different" when they find like-minded or equally oriented people.

If you like stories about the kind of coming out that leads to better self-knowledge and a beginning sense of hope, if you enjoy reading about young men coming of age, and if you're looking for a read full of hope that will surely make you smile, then you will probably like this short story.


NOTE: This book was provided by Torquere Press for the purpose of a review. show less