By Nico
Jamie Rambeau doesn't want to protest anything - they just want to keep being their happy nonbinary self with their best friends, Ash and Daisy. But then Jamie learns that the local middle schools are divided - one for boys, one for girls. For Daisy and Ash, that means their friend group is getting split up...but what does it mean for Jamie, who's not a boy or a girl?
All Jamie wants is to find a school that will accept them for who they are - preferably without separating them from their lifelong best friends. But when the adults in Jamie's life won't do what they need for them to get some basic acceptance, it may be time for them to take their cause to the streets...or even the rooftops.
I've been itching to read Jamie ever since it was released (I've loved Lapinski's Strangeworlds Travel Agency series, and a book marketed as 'middle grade nonbinary joy' couldn't sound more like something I'd want to read), and I'm so happy I've finally gotten around to it! This is a book we need now more than ever - one that thoughtfully teaches middle schoolers just how ordinary it is to be nonbinary, that shows people willing to stand up for who they are even on a local scale, and perhaps most importantly, one that is filled with joy.
I love the characters in this book so much! Jamie and their friends, the heads of the two schools, Jamie's family...every character is rendered with thoughtful multidimensionality, allowing me to understand even the people I didn't agree with. Jamie drives this story forward with determination and passion, and I loved every minute of following them through it. As a nonbinary teen myself, Lapinski expertly captures the feeling of being forced to choose something that doesn't represent you, and I think it'll ring true to nonbinary and genderqueer people of all ages, all while maintaining a dose of joy that keeps the story uplifting.
Lapinski definitely wrote this book with a desire to spread awareness, but they integrate this so seamlessly into the story that it feels genuine rather than awkward. The interspersed 'Jamie Rambeau's Guide to Words' entries - including both queer/nonbinary terms and just other words that are particularly important to Jamie - makes this book accessible to readers who might not know what being nonbinary is, but without alienating queer and nonbinary readers by making them feel like they're not actually the target audience of a book that finally centers their identities.
I recommend Jamie so highly to readers ages ten and up who love contemporary stories and are maybe questioning their gender themselves - five extremely well-deserved stars!
ages 10+ / book group pick / family / fiction / friends / LGBTQ+ / middle grade / realistic fiction / standalone
Jamie Rambeau doesn't want to protest anything - they just want to keep being their happy nonbinary self with their best friends, Ash and Daisy. But then Jamie learns that the local middle schools are divided - one for boys, one for girls. For Daisy and Ash, that means their friend group is getting split up...but what does it mean for Jamie, who's not a boy or a girl?
All Jamie wants is to find a school that will accept them for who they are - preferably without separating them from their lifelong best friends. But when the adults in Jamie's life won't do what they need for them to get some basic acceptance, it may be time for them to take their cause to the streets...or even the rooftops.
I've been itching to read Jamie ever since it was released (I've loved Lapinski's Strangeworlds Travel Agency series, and a book marketed as 'middle grade nonbinary joy' couldn't sound more like something I'd want to read), and I'm so happy I've finally gotten around to it! This is a book we need now more than ever - one that thoughtfully teaches middle schoolers just how ordinary it is to be nonbinary, that shows people willing to stand up for who they are even on a local scale, and perhaps most importantly, one that is filled with joy.
I love the characters in this book so much! Jamie and their friends, the heads of the two schools, Jamie's family...every character is rendered with thoughtful multidimensionality, allowing me to understand even the people I didn't agree with. Jamie drives this story forward with determination and passion, and I loved every minute of following them through it. As a nonbinary teen myself, Lapinski expertly captures the feeling of being forced to choose something that doesn't represent you, and I think it'll ring true to nonbinary and genderqueer people of all ages, all while maintaining a dose of joy that keeps the story uplifting.
Lapinski definitely wrote this book with a desire to spread awareness, but they integrate this so seamlessly into the story that it feels genuine rather than awkward. The interspersed 'Jamie Rambeau's Guide to Words' entries - including both queer/nonbinary terms and just other words that are particularly important to Jamie - makes this book accessible to readers who might not know what being nonbinary is, but without alienating queer and nonbinary readers by making them feel like they're not actually the target audience of a book that finally centers their identities.
I recommend Jamie so highly to readers ages ten and up who love contemporary stories and are maybe questioning their gender themselves - five extremely well-deserved stars!
ages 10+ / book group pick / family / fiction / friends / LGBTQ+ / middle grade / realistic fiction / standalone
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