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bookishmillennial's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC of this beautiful book. Narrator Mila Myles did a fantastic job!
This short contemporary fictional novel-in-verse is about Cerulean, a queer, nonbinary, Black teenager in the Bronx. This shows you how exhausted Cerulean is of microaggressions, bullying, feeling wildly unseen/unheard/invalidated; and also dealing with overtly transphobic, homophobic, and racist bullshit they have put up with.
Though Cerulean is surrounded by an incredibly supportive and accepting inner circle made up of both biological and found/chosen family, patriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy are clearly still part of the dominant narratives, especially at school. A family tragedy forces Cerulean to contend with changing their post-high-school plan, and we oscillate between the options with them.
Whatever your opinions are on Cerulean's choice, there is so much power in the fact that it is indeed *Cerulean's* choice in a world that tries so determinedly to take folks like Cerulean's choices away, and I can't ignore that.
I would absolutely read more from Candice Iloh in the future <3
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC of this beautiful book. Narrator Mila Myles did a fantastic job!
This short contemporary fictional novel-in-verse is about Cerulean, a queer, nonbinary, Black teenager in the Bronx. This shows you how exhausted Cerulean is of microaggressions, bullying, feeling wildly unseen/unheard/invalidated; and also dealing with overtly transphobic, homophobic, and racist bullshit they have put up with.
Though Cerulean is surrounded by an incredibly supportive and accepting inner circle made up of both biological and found/chosen family, patriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy are clearly still part of the dominant narratives, especially at school. A family tragedy forces Cerulean to contend with changing their post-high-school plan, and we oscillate between the options with them.
Whatever your opinions are on Cerulean's choice, there is so much power in the fact that it is indeed *Cerulean's* choice in a world that tries so determinedly to take folks like Cerulean's choices away, and I can't ignore that.
I would absolutely read more from Candice Iloh in the future <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, Racism, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia
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