Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

My June Pride reviews have spilled over into July! Here's another good MG book I read, about a lot more than just being non-binary, but that's part of the character. I think I like it best when the LGBTQ+ issues are balanced with other issues any kid might relate to. P.S. I'm out hiking, but I will return visits and comments!    Title: Just Shy of Ordinary Author: A. J. Sass. Read by P. J. Morgan Publication info: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2024. 7 hours. (Original hardback by Little, Brown, 2024, 384 pages). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads): Thirteen-year-old Shai is an expert problem-solver. There’s never been something they couldn’t research and figure out on their own. But there’s one thing Shai hasn’t been able to logic their way through: picking at the hair on their arms.       Ever since their mom lost her job, the two had to move in with family friends, and the world went into pandemic lockdown, Shai’s been unable to control...

    Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads): Two kids join forces to save a dog . . . but wind up saving each other. Ash is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. For someone who cycles through genders, it’s a daily struggle to feel in control of how people perceive you. Some days Ash is undoubtedly girl, but other times, 100 percent guy. Daniel lacks control too—of his emotions. He’s been told he’s overly sensitive more times than he can count. He can’t help the way he is, and he sure wishes someone would accept him for it. So when Daniel’s big heart leads him to rescue a dog that’s about to be euthanized, he’s relieved to find Ash willing to help. The two bond over their four-legged secret. When they start catching feelings for each other, however, things go from cute to complicated. Daniel thinks Ash is all girl . . . what happens when he finds out there’s more to Ash’s story? With so much on the line—truth, identity, acceptance, and the life of an adorable pup named Ch...

I'm posting today with t he fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.  Since this is Pride month, I'm focusing my MMGM book reviews on middle-grade books about sexual orientation and gender identity.  A note for those wondering if books like this are appropriate for middle-grade kids: 9-13 is exactly the age when kids are entering puberty and starting to think about love, sex, and increasingly, gender identity. That makes it exactly the age when they need books that openly address the things that happen in middle school besides using a locker and changing classrooms six times a day. If 10-year-olds are old enough to be thinking about kissing their girl/boy friends (and they are thinking about it, so... yeah), then they are old enough to read about it.  Today I'm featuring two books by Kyle Lukoff that address similar issues in very...