What an odd, dreamy, little book. Almost poetry in cadence and imagery, but focused in its message -- be yourself, don't worry about what other people think. Also, perhaps buying shoes a half size too small is not the best choice. I particularly loved both sets of supportive parents, though they are very different. ( )

diverse children's middlegrade fiction (5th graders, new kid in school who challenges gender roles)
The story was so short, I'm not sure it made much more than a fleeting impression on my distracted brain, but I liked thoughtful Evelyn and confident Queen (whose given name is Peter, but who asks everyone to call him Queen partly as a test to see how accepting they are), and I think this microcosm of a story works.
In the short span of the book, Queen manages to give Evelyn some of his thick skin/insult force field, though you hope that the two of them can stay safe throughout their school careers when surrounded by homophobes and xenophobes and potentially physical/mental bullies.

This is a good one for a thoughtful kids' book group: the discussion would be helpful to kids who are forming their own ideas of gender and identity and also gives a positive example of how to interact with other kids during those awkward and too-often unfriendly middle years. ( )

A delightful short novella about the budding friendship between a young girl and a boy who likes to march to the beat of his own drum. While Queen doesn't come out as gay in this book, there is definitely a queer sensibility about him. The writing is superb and the characterization spot on - my only quibble was that the ending was abrupt and left me wanting more from these two characters. ( )

A nice book to read with your kids. I find kids of grade 4-5 will find it really interesting. I read with my daughter and enjoyed. It was also a quick read. We finished in three sittings.

A bit after-school-special for my taste with a typical straight-laced young woman and a typical manic-pixie-dream-boy young man who wears funky clothes and takes weird food for lunch. An entry for younger readers into queer fiction. ( )