The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick is a book that surprised me in so many ways. If I am completely honest, I chose to read the book based on the cover. I had not read the blurb nor did I have any knowledge of Mia Kerick’s previous writing. I did not know it was an LGBTQIA+ story. Not that that would have mattered. In fact, it probably would have made me want to read it more.

What I loved about the story is that it was sensitive. Not only to Joey who is going through the agonising process of becoming the correct gender, but to Eric who is dealing with abandonment. Also to the school bully who is dealing with learned behaviour from his misogynistic father.


It is just a lovely yet heart-breaking story told with the utmost sensitivity and beauty that could have been lacking in somebody else’s hands. Mia Kerick has really worked magic in writing this story.

The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick is available now.

For more information regarding Mia Kerick (@MiaKerick) please visit www.MiaKerickYA.com.

For more information regarding Harmony Ink Press (@HarmonyInkPress) please visit www.harmonyinkpress.com.

This is a very well thought out story that keeps you engaged.
A great Teen read exploring friendships and outside pressure.

There was so much going on for the main characters in this, and I was torn between admiration for the courage they ultimately showed and horror at the kind of behaviour they were subject to. Tough read, but definitely worth sticking with.
Eric is our narrator. He’s thirteen, trying to hide the fact that his mother has, essentially, abandoned him and fretting over his inability to do what he knows to be the thing he wants and be friends with Joey. Joey was Eric’s best friend when they were younger. Full of exuberance and the one to tell amazing stories, Eric always remembers how Joey was different. It was only when they moved to middle school that this difference started to become an issue.
Joey has, from early on, known the gender he was assigned at birth doesn’t match how he feels. Running round the streets in his mum’s dress and growing his hair are the outward signs of his feelings. Nobody bats an eyelid until they start to grow up and face the prejudices that seem to be more apparent as the differences in gender become more noticeable.
Paired up for a school project, Eric starts to unpick his feelings for Joey. He wants to be a good friend, but his own personal issues mean he’s determined to do anything to avoid becoming a target for bullies.
The narrative takes us through some appalling scenes, including an attempted suicide and awful bullying/prejudice. They remind me just how terrifying it is to be different and how isolating it can be to be someone who doesn’t conform to others’ expectations.
This was not quite the read I thought I’d get, and I’m so pleased to have been able to read it. Thank you to NetGalley, and I’m definitely going to try some other books by this author.

Mia Kerick handles a sensitive topic with aplomb in The Princess of Baker Street. Eric Sinclair's life is a mess. His mother is gone more than she's home. He's living alone on bagels and frozen pizza. All he wants to do is get through the year without anyone finding out about his home life. And if his struggle wasn't enough, Eric has a front row seat to the bullying of a classmate - his former best friend Joey, a person struggling with their own gender identity. Eric doesn't know what to do. Regardless of how he feels about Joey, he is certain that if he supports Joey, his own life will unravel to the point of no return. It will take something drastic to change the dynamic between the characters and will this change be for the better?

I'll be honest - this was a hard book to read. Eric and Joey are both in crisis mode and I spent half of the novel wanting to hug them and half the novel wanting to beat some sense into everyone else. We are living in a world of change - and this book is certainly a reflection of that. It's also a reminder to put a little more kindness into the world.

Awesome book. Love the story line and the setting this was my first time reading anything by this author

The Princess of Baker Street plays on your heart so much. Joey, who was born a boy, but knew she was really a lady, is facing relentless bullies at school. Eric is facing a very hard home life, barely keeping himself a float. When he witnesses Joey getting treating in such nasty ways due to intolerance, and prejudice, he has a hard time interfering because of his own struggles. With Joey's close brush with death, he has a decision to make about where he stands. 

This was so hard to read for me. I gave it a four because it was so well written, and I love the voices of these characters. Bullying just sickens me to my core, and this is just heavy with heart wrenching experiences. It was so well written. I recommend this book, if those issues don't way you down so heavily.

This book was really difficult to get into because it's told from the POV of Eric, an 8th grader who isn't the "sharpest tool in the shed," as his mom tells him. As such, it reads the way an 8th grader might speak, so the grammar is not great which at times made this book paaaaaainfullllll. Maybe if I was still in 8th grade (and not 33 years old...) I'd have found it less painful. I'm really glad I stuck with it though, because this book has several great messages and a really great story, and I found myself rooting for both Eric and Joey so hard.

The Princess of Baker Street should be required reading for middle schoolers. I want to sit every middle school kid down and have them read this and Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl, and then cry and hope that someday kids will be able to go through their preteens and early teens and not tear each other apart for being different. (Hey, I bet you can guess whether I was bullied really badly in middle school...) I love the message of hope in the second half of this book, and that everything isn't magically fixed but that it does get better for everyone, and that as these kids grow up they're able to become stronger and more sure in themselves and their identities, and to band together and stick up for each other and be their real and true selves.

This book was so good! It's sad but happy and deals with a lot of tough topics which makes it so worth the read for any teen!

Thank you to Netgalley who approved my request and provided me with this ebook copy of The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick, it’s clearly not what I’d expected. In no way does the process of how I received this book, influence my opinion.

The Princess of Baker Street follows the story of thirteen-year-old Eric Sinclair as he tells us about his childhood best friend, Joey. At birth, Joey was identified as a male, but he’s always felt like a girl. The games they used to play, how he dressed up and acted portrayed Joey into the thirteen-year-old Joey Kinkaid today. Although, not everyone is fond about it. Middle school can be a challenging year as Eric distances himself from Joey but aches to help. Eric’s own problems at home affect him soon enough where he has to choose what’s right.

When I first read the blurb of this book and heard of the title, I thought it’d be a fun little book about growing up, which it is but Kerick has taken it to another level with much deeper meaning. The story is told in Eric Sinclair’s perspective with countless of flashbacks of him and Joey as kids. When things were, and nobody cared that Joey acted like a girl. They thought it’d past, but it’s who Joey is. Other characters in the book besides Joey’s mother and Emily haven’t come to terms with who Joey is. Therefore Joey’s been bullied, almost every chapter.

Eric cares more about his status and who will be there for him instead of standing up for Joey. If he stood up to the bullies, then he'd realize and see that Joey would be there for him. They'd be there for each other. It irked me that even after they became study buddies and Joey didn’t see him as Travis or Lily, Eric still didn’t stand up for Joey. Something deep inside had to push him to the limit, which I will not spoil because it has its reasons. That’s the only issue I had with the novel.

The number of times Eric stood and watched while Joey was tormented, only for being who he wanted to be. Eric’s also been going through things. His mother abandons him at home, and as it draws to winter, there’s no power, only cold water and barely money for Eric to survive alone. Eric’s mother is off staying with her boyfriend and taking care of his kids than her own. That’s messed up. I had to remember a few times that they’re just thirteen and going through so much.

In a way, I understood why it took so long for Eric to act. He’s in that phase where his reputation is at hand, especially since he’s actually a good character, overall. The little things he’s part of and does proves that he just isn’t a two-dimensional person to tell Joey’s story.

Joey had to be the sweetest character I’ve ever read. While she was bullied, she didn’t resort to their level and acted rationally. Through the entire novel, readers are shown to Joey’s real side. There hasn’t been a time where Joey changed to fit in. Apart from wearing boy clothes to please her dad, she slowly gave up. Eric wondered a few times why Joey didn’t save herself the embarrassment and just change clothes. Joey was just being Joey. The fact that Joey’s smart and mature shows that she’s had quite a think about everything and it’s mostly shown towards the end.

There were many topics brought up, apart from figuring out your true sexuality—independence was shown. Eric had to compromise when his mother hadn’t given him money, or there wasn’t enough food. Joey was out on her own apart from her mother’s support, she had nobody to fight the tough time with. Friendship is slowly established once Eric and Joey are study buddies, but they have boundaries. Countless times, Eric goes over to Joey’s house but checks if anyone is around that he knows. He refuses to broaden their friendship. Relationships have to be another one. Even though it isn’t the central theme, it is shown a few times during and a couple times in the end. With regards to Eric and Joey, Eric finds himself caring more about Joey than himself. Even though he’s embarrassed…should I say? He’ll still be there for Joey afterward. Eric and Travis’ friendship subsides as the story flows which makes way for Emily. I think Kerick made a good move with that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and its surprises. The ending satisfied me, where I’ve added the book to my ’to buy’ list for the future. With a success rate of four stars, I hope I’ve persuaded you into picking up this LGBTQIA, Coming of Age novel!

This novel is filled with difficult situations. There are challenges for middle school student Joey, who identifies as a girl, even though he was born a boy. Joey's friend Eric has a rotten homelife, and is left by himself for days on end. Together, the friends support each other and learn a lot about themselves along the way. Those looking for books about teens struggling with gender identity may want to consider adding this book to their middle school library collection, although the profanity interspersed throughout may be off-putting to some.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book.
I didn’t really know what to expect when I started it but I found the more I read the more I liked it.
I will say this was a really emotional read I had tears in my eyes a few times.
This book hot a nerve with me because of the bullying and not being able to be yourself.
Joey is an amazing character and his journey was a very raw and emotional one.
I would recommend this book to anyone and gave it 4 stars.

I was genuinely shocked at how dark Mia Kerick's <i>The Princess of Baker Street</i> was. For some reason, with such a light and happy title, I had genuinely expected there to be a lot less as far as the miserable situations went. And yet the story focuses largely around two characters, young Eric whose mother has run out on him and left the boy to fend for himself as far as food, cleaning, and electricity are concerned and Joey, who is certain that she is a girl who's been born into a boy's body, the wrong body, and is bullied quite often at school as a result. And the truth is, barring brief moments, there isn't a lot of happy in this book. I personally don't know how to feel about that. Despite this fact, however, I did really enjoy the read. I found it was thoroughly engaging despite being quite dejecting.

When the group of kids living on Baker Street were young, Joey was their ringleader. With the best stories and the greatest imagination, Joey was always able to come up with the best games to play. And in every single one of them, Joey was always the Princess and Eric her prince. Especially when playing <i>The Little Mermaid</i>. But as the kids grow older and the clear differences in Joey's disposition from other boys, they grow apart and soon friendship turns to bullying. Eric, afraid of being singled out, shies away from helping the kid who had once been his greatest friend.

<i>The Princess of Baker Street</i> is, at its heart, a story about two children in incredibly difficult and emotionally draining situations and how they navigate the world after. Narrated by Eric himself, the novel tells his story of neglect and abandonment via his flighty and young mother who leaves him alone in the house with a small amount of money to feed himself. She's so flighty and neglectful, in fact, that Eric's clothes don't get washed and the electricity goes out multiple times during her absence. The novel also follows Eric's understanding of and relationship with Joey, an incredibly smart student whose assigned male gender at birth does not match the gender she truly is and unfortunately the world around her has made her suffer for it.

Themes of bullying, neglect, and secret friendships fill the book, leaving the reader feeling really sad for the main characters. Though wonderfully written and quite engaging, the book is a difficult read and not one that I would suggest for most. Despite a happy end, I found the bulk of the novel to be quite sad and while you can empathize with the characters, you can't help wishing for a different life experience for the both of them. I definitely appreciated the book and the perspective it offered. The characters truly felt like real people and that was the most impressive thing this book had going for it. But it is an incredibly sad story at times so I don't think <i>The Princess of Baker Street</i> would be a great book for everyone. I can definitely see it existing as a trigger for some and that's important to acknowledge.

Trigger Warning for: attempted suicide, depression, bullying, and neglect.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The Princess of Baker Street is a must read for all and any person. I was struck by how cruel kids were to Joey. I haven’t read any of the other books that Mia Kerick has written, but might have to after reading this! Besides Joey I also felt for Eric and how difficult his own home life was. I hope any younger person facing similar issues reads this book.

The Princess of Baker Street is marketed as YA, but for the first half of the book, the characters are in middle school. Kids normally want to read up, not down. However, I did read the whole book because I was interested in the plot.

Eric and Joey used to play together, when Joey would wear his mother's sundress and declare himself the Princess of Baker Street. But as they get older, Eric realizes that if he wants to fit in, he can't be friends with Joey. Until, that is, Joey is assigned to be his study buddy in eighth grade World Geography, and on one of the evenings they are studying at Joey's house, Joey confesses to Eric that he feels like a girl.

As the book progresses, Joey becomes Shaylee, and plans to transition. Eric discovers he has feelings for Shaylee that began when she was still trying to be Joey.

The book is a poignant look at gender fluidity, and Kerick handles it beautifully. I was disappointed with the ending, however - I would have liked to read more about Shaylee and Eric as Shaylee continues toward fulfilling her true gender identity.

Good high middle-grade read.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Harmony Ink Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Real rating: 4,5 stars

I was bullied throughout all my school years - high school was a nightmare, but memories from middle school stuck out to me the most because that was just plain hell.

So imagine being a boy to everyone else when you don't see yourself that way at all - because you feel like a girl.
Because you are a girl and your inner self doesn't match with the outer one and everybody gives you hell about it.

It wasn't a problem when Joey Kinkaid wore his mom's clothes to play outside with the gang on Baker Street. Everyone was happy to follow their princess on her adventure - nobody was happier to do it or more captivated by it than Eric Sinclair.

Then middle school came and with it came things like popularity, bullying and appeareance.
Now the way Joey feels it's perceived in a bad way and Eric is not really his friend anymore. Eric feels guilty about it and he struggles a lot with this amount of guilt, but he doesn't want a spotlight shining on him - not now, not ever. It's still bad enough he struggles at school and his mom forgets about him more often than not - he doesn't want to lose his friends and to be associated with Joey.

Still, he can't help the fond memories of their childhood from hunting him from time to time, so when they get paired up on a school project he thinks a secret friendship is better than nothing.
But things get worse when Joey decides to finally live like SHE feels, so Eric has to make a decision: he can watch everything unfold from afar or he can take a side.


I really liked this book.
At first, I wasn't expecting the middle school years to begin with but I think it's been a great choice.
Those years are the most difficult when it comes to know who you really are and who you want to be - it's especially hard when you feel alone with nobody in your corner to watch your back.
And kids can be very cruel with their peers.

Eric isn't a bad kid - he's afraid, exactly like we were ourselves: pressure from our peers can be stressful at best. If you're somehow "different"... do your math.
Eric also has to deal with a single and too young mother that pulls a Houdini on him any chance she gets, so Eric has to look after himself and nobody can know about it or he will be sent in foster care.
He still cares a great deal about Joey and I liked how he went from using the male pronoun to using the female one when he began to better understand how Joey felt.

And Joey - I definitely wanted to hug her.
So strong, so brave, so determined to be who she is after trying so hard to be who she can't be and hurting herself in the process.

I think it's a great coming-of-age story and I liked how the author let us peek into everyone's house to show us how no family is perfect - because everyone struggles to fit in in some way or another.
It's a book that needs to be read: it's about self-image, respect, gender identity, friendship, love in all its forms, a life lived at the most - because everyone has the right to feel good in their skin without someone to make them feel bad about it.

It's so much realistic I swear I could see Joey and Eric from the corner of my eye and I felt like I was reliving my middle school years, so I definitely recommend it.

Adorable ~ Truthful ~ Necessary

tl;dr: ABAB girl and her friend deal with transition and high school

I can't recommend this sweet book enough. The short novel is a wonderful book about friendship and family, in the end. The two main characters are lifelong friends. One person has always been effeminate but then transitions. Her friend Eric is there to help through the difficulties a gender transition can cause. This is a bit of a romance and a bit of a book about gender transition, but it really is a lot about the elasticity of love. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a sweet YA romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick. I have read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Eric Sinclair and Joey Kinkaid have always been friends, that is until they start middle-school and Eric decides that in order for him to surive middle-school, he can't interact wit Joey anymore. Joey, who identifies as female, gets bullied intensely at school without anybody standing up for him/her. When Eric and Joey get buddied up in Geography class, they begin to rekindle their friendship but it has to remain a secret. Eric has a lot of problems of his own, that is why he doesn't want anyone to know that he actually really likes Joey and enjoys spending time with her. But his guilt is literally making him sick. Can they ever go back to being Prince Eric and Princess Joey of Baker Street?

Wow. This was a hard one. A powerful story about teenagers discovering themselves, bullying, guilt, survival and acceptance. I have to admit that some of the bullying parts were hard to read through. It really is so awful. Very important to acknowledge and understand, but hard to get through.

The Princess of Baker Street is told from Eric's POV. I enjoyed how, whenever Joey got bullied, Eric remembers a fond memory of them from back in the day. This way you understand how easy everything was back then. And it also makes you mad at Eric for not standing by Joey in this time. Even though Eric has a lot of problems of his own, you really can't help but try to encourage him to stick up for Joey.

I read this in one sitting. I needed to find out more and desperately needed to know what would happen next and most importantly how it would end. The ending was immensely satisfying and ended with hope. Mia Kerick has written a beautifully painful and realistic story and I recommend it to all.

The kids of Baker Street grew up playing together to the fanciful games thought up by Joey Kinkaid. Joey was called the Princess of Baker Street since his games often included Joey in a princess dress being rescued by his best friend, Eric Sinclair. Now, the kids of Baker Street are in Eighth grade and things have changed, the four friends have found themselves in separate cliques. Eric has opted for the route of survival, especially since is mom isn't often around. Eric hangs around with his friends on the soccer team. Joey doesn't exactly fit in anywhere, he would much rather wear his mother's dresses to school than the button up shirts and slacks that his father insists on. When Eric and Joey are paired as study buddies, their friendship rekindles. However, when Joey begins to show up to school in girl's clothing, Eric's allegiance is divided between his friends and his need to fly under the radar.

Timely and relevant, The Princess of Baker Street reaches into the awkward, transitional years of middle school for a group of students, including the Joey who is realizing that he has always been a girl. Told through Eric's point of view, the voices are sincere and realistic for eighth graders. Everyone seems very self-concerned and are worried about where they will fit in. Eric's journey is just as important as Joey's. I felt for Joey as he dealt with an absent mother and the decision to be Joey's friend even if it would cost his popularity. Eric's struggle with his feelings for Joey as he slowly comprehends that not only is Joey a girl, but that he has always seen Joey as a girl as well- a girl that he likes. With these understandings comes big changes and responsibilities. Not all of the changes are handled very well by everyone and reinforces that none of these issues should be handled by the kids by themselves. Insightful and pertinent, The Princess of Baker Street is an important and heartfelt read that can be enjoyed by middle grade through adult readers.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I’ve never actually read a book about a transgender youth but all I can say about this one is wow. Just: wow. This is a powerfully written story about relationships, loyalties, values, pain and redemption. I hate what Joey / Shaylee has to go through. The thought of emotional pain so bad that suicide seems the only real option is horrific. I love though how well adjusted she cane out if it, and the consistency of her mother’s love even in the face of her intolerant father. I also love his Eric really never had an issue dealing with the fundamentals of who she was, either as Joey or later as Shaylee. Even Eric’s tormented rejected of the then Joey in middle school was not a rejection of gender choice but rather a reflection of Eric’s own turmoil resulting from his own abandonment and fears. Eric’s maturity in coming to grips with his own shortcomings and how he then interacts with Shaylee is powerful stuff and, by the end of this novel, the overarching message is one of hope. As I said: wow. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.

Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick is a touching story about two young teens journeys to find themselves, and to find acceptance. Back in elementary school, Eric and Joey used to be friends. Children grow up though, and what a child accepts, teenagers don't. The Baker Street kids, who all used to be Joey's friends, have turned on her and taken to bullying their former friend. All because Joey, male on the outside, identifies as female. She dresses and acts accordingly.

Eric's just trying to fly under the radar. He remembers Joey fondly enough, but he can't afford to be seen interacting with his former friend. Then the two get paired together class, and began studying together after school, to help Eric learn. Eric even spends Thanksgiving holiday with Joey and her family, because his mother has gone away. As they get reacquainted, things began to change between them. Is the rekindled friendship strong enough to pull the teens through the coming trying months.

This story was so sad! Poor Joey gets bullied just for being who s/he is. This resonated for me so much. That was me growing up. I was bullied for being different. I was an extreme introvert- quiet, shy, very intelligent- and I displayed therian traits on occasion. I'd learned to suppress those early on, but they still slipped out.

Eric, with his absent parents, resonated with me too. My parents were around, but they didn't know what to do with an introvert therianthrope either. They ridiculed and mocked me, hoping to ‘make me stronger’, and to 'act normal’. It only served to crush my sense of self-worth and make me wish to end things. Even to this day I struggle to heal my fractured self-worth, but it's like carefully glueing tiny fragments back together, hoping the sherds don't fall off again.

Even though bad things happened to both Eric and Joey, things resolved for the best for each of them. A lovely example of my favourite quote-

Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth.
~Key to Twilight

***Many thanks to the author and XPresso Tours for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Want to help take a stand against bullying? Check out the Pop Culture Hero Coalition. http://www.popculturehero.org