Member Review
Review by
Tara H, Media/Journalist
The best thing about this book is that it accurately illustrates the challenges a young gay boy would be likely to face but reveals how he grew into a man who was able to find his place in the world and follow his dreams. The fact that his dreams involved a symbol of love and acceptance makes it even better. I appreciate the factual and straightforward approach of the narrative as well, but there were a couple things I struggled with. The text mentions some names (Sylvester and Mama Jose and her Imperial Court) and a "symbol of evil" without explaining in the actual narrative what these are. They are explained or alluded to in the back matter, so it's a good opportunity for parents to read the back matter aloud and discuss it with their child, connecting it to the text. However, it still bothered me as I read that these weren't adequately explained in the text itself. We learn in the text what his father thought of the protagonist's interests, but we hear nothing of the mother and grandmother. It might be an interesting discussion for parents to broach -- what if some family members accept you and some don't -- but it would have been nice to know what other family members thought at all here. There were a couple incidents that require kids to make an inference about what happens, and I don't think the text provides enough information for kids to make those inferences. The illustrations help, but it will still likely require prompting from the parents (or the child may ask), and I generally prefer books to be just as accessible to a child without explanation as to anyone else. All in all, however, given the dearth of books about LGBTQ history and the importance of the rainbow flag symbol, this is still a book I'd recommend.
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