Rick by Alex Gino
Release: April 21st 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Amazon
Synopsis:
From the award-winning author of George, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend.
Rick’s never questioned much. He’s gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff’s acted like a bully and a jerk. He’s let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn’t given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.
But now Rick’s gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school’s Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that … understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.
As they did in their groundbreaking novel George, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world … and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.
Rick Review:
This book was adorable and I liked it for many reasons. Firstly, I just loved Rick’s relationship with his grandfather. A lot of kids feel like their grandparents would not understand or relate with what they are going through. I was not fortunate to have a close bond with my grandparents either. However, I love how this story makes that bond feel so special.
Secondly, I also loved how the author gives a description about each letter of the LGBTQIA+, without making it sound like a lecture. Each person in the Rainbow Spectrum club is unique in their own way and it was interesting to see how they fell into the category. I liked how they introduced themselves and the terms they wanted referred as. Usually in middle grade books, the topic focuses on the character identifying himself as one of the 4 LGBT terms. However, Rick could not identify himself in any of the four, which was interesting. On a separate note, I also liked Rick’s talent of coins and thought it was unique.
My only criticism towards this book would be on the age of the characters. Maybe its just me, but the kids were too young to identify their sexuality at the age of 12. Maybe it’s the way kids are these days, but it would have made more sense if the kids were teenagers in the story.
But apart from that, I enjoyed reading this story. I liked Alex Gino’s style of writing and think they have an amazing talent for writing such stories. Overall, “Rick” is short, sweet and endearing.
