Member Review

It took me a while to adjust to the setting and settle into the story. However about a third in I really started to want to keep on reading.

I thought the tense atmosphere created by the author to show how it feels walking on eggshells around a verbally aggressive father and husband to be spot on. I was on edge whenever he was in the story wondering what might send him off the handle next. This was very realistic and portrayed brilliantly.

I also thought that Jess's unease at being forced into a girl shaped mould she didn't fit into was dealt with well in terms of it being 1973 and inequality between men and women being so stark. At points I was so sure that Jess was going to make that leap and tell her parents she identified as a boy, as opposed to a tomboy. But she never quite reached that point. But maybe that was the point? Maybe as she is ten she is still wrestling with her feelings, especially given the time the book is set and there being much less understanding then. Maybe Jess' story is still to be told as she matures and goes through her teenage years? I felt this could have been explored more as Jess is on the cusp of being a preteen and all that that entails. Is she transgender or not? We are left to question this in the story, perhaps as Jess would be. I thought 'Micky' as a mask to hide behind for Jess was interesting and thought she might seek to present this version of herself as who she wanted to be rather than a shield to hide her true self behind.

For some middle grade readers, the pace of the story may not keep them engaged and the 1973 setting may not land as well as it does for someone reading it with adult nostalgia/experience of the time.

However, despite the misgivings above I did enjoy this book a lot and would be interested in reading what happens next with Jess as this is a story that would benefit being told.