Other Boys

by Damian Alexander

Paperback, 2021

Status

Available

Publication

First Second (2021), 208 pages

Library's review

"Damian has come up with a foolproof way to go unnoticed at his new school.

He was bullied at his previous school. As seventh grade starts, he decides that if he doesn’t speak at his new school, no one will notice him or have anything to bully him about. At home with his loving grandmother and his
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older brother, he speaks; at school, he’s silent even when kids are nice to him. The account of Damian’s seventh grade year is interspersed with flashbacks. He had friends, mostly girls until fourth grade, when his girl friends learned they shouldn’t sit with a boy. He had a few friends that were boys after that, mostly via video games, but he was always hesitant to open up because he felt so different inside and because of his mother’s murder when he was an infant, which has always set him apart. His no-talking plan backfires. He’s placed in remedial classes and forced to see a therapist at school. Opening up is not easy, especially when he begins to think that he might actually like some boys. Newcomer Alexander delves into his past to craft a sweet, touching, and at-times scary memoir of grief and loss and coming out (mostly to himself). He situates his younger self in bright cartoon panels, a White boy in fairly diverse classrooms. LGBTQ+ tweens will see their struggles and rejoice in his progression toward self-acceptance.

An excellent, important debut. (author's note, resources) (Graphic memoir. 10-16)" www.kirkusreviews.com, A Kirkus Starred Reviewed
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Language

Original language

English

ISBN

1250222818 / 9781250222817

Barcode

1549
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