Jake Maia Arlow

All Al wants is to be a brain without a body.

Then she wouldn’t have to deal with her freshly diagnosed Crohn’s disease or her secret attraction to girls. Not to mention her very best friend and next-door neighbor Leo’s suddenly ditching her for the drama club. And the little matter of her own mom’s starting to date Leo’s mom. When all hope seems lost, into Al’s life comes The Bathroom Club, a truly nurturing inflammatory bowel disease support group made up of kids who are also show more queer. With new friends, a new crush, and Leo drifting further away from her, keeping her symptoms and struggles bottled up is becoming an insurmountable challenge for Al. Arlow dives into Al’s physical concerns, painting a picture both of the nitty-gritty of illness and the overwhelming embarrassments and anxieties of her particular experience of middle school. Al feels all things deeply and gets in her own way, traversing the highest highs and lowest lows on her journey to developing pride in all that she is. Her sweet romance with fellow club member Mina and deep friendship with Leo are strengths, and the highlight of Al’s story is the camaraderie among a group of chronically ill queer kids providing each other with dignity and nonjudgmental support. The supporting cast is racially diverse; Al, Leo (whose dad is Filipino), Mina, and some other characters are Jewish.

Offers humorous honesty and heartfelt relationships. (Fiction. 8-12)

-Kirkus Review show less

This YA lesbian romance, about picking yourself up after a breakup and forming healthy relationships—not just romantic ones, but with your friends, family, and yourself—is sweet as heck and with just the right wintry, holiday feelings. It's got strong Gilmore Girls vibes from multiple angles, like if the Gilmore Girls were Jewish and not so focused on financial class. And also Rory was a lesbian (Paris was always her best best option, let's be honest)

3.5 rounded up bc the science nerd in me was screaming in delight the entire time. PSA if you’re looking for a cheesy feel good holiday book this is not that but it is set in Winter. I really enjoyed the vibe of this book overall though. Its very queer and the societal commentary was fun and v on the nose. Plus positive use of the word lesbian and both MCs identifying as such was really a treat. It did feel very young for college aged characters, more YA than NA which is why I didn’t show more rate it higher. But the characters were fun, the story had a lot going on but not in an overwhelming way and I loved the themes of finding yourself while in a relationship, healing from trauma and letting people in. Overall would recommend :) please check trigger warnings though!!! show less

13 year-old Dalia's world is turned upside down when her father tells her, out of the blue, that he's got a girlfriend and then in short measure adds that they're getting married. And that his fiancee has a college-aged daughter. It seems like hate at first sight for Dalia and Alexa (the college daughter), but when Alexa wants to go on a week-long trip to ride rollercoasters in several states, Dalia, who wants to do that very thing, decides to go along. And she brings her new friend, Rani, show more too.

Dalia goes through a *lot* of emotions on the trip while she figures out her feelings for Alexa and for Rani. And sometimes it feels like too much fret and angst, although the story is a good one. Maybe it's a case of me not being a middle grader; they may relate much better to such hormonal turmoil. Overall, though, I enjoyed it very much. show less