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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Comprei este livro pela capa. A referência evidente ao David Bowie e as cores foram razões mais que suficientes para me convencer. Eventualmente li a sinopse antes de fazer a encomenda, claro, mas quando livro chegou era da sua capa e da sonoridade que transparecia que eu me lembrava – sim, as capas vedem livros.
Descobrir que esta narrativa de passava nos anos 70 e que tratava a temática LGBTQ2+ naquela época foi, para mim, um enorme extra e não foi preciso avançar muito nesta história para perceber que era verdadeiramente boa, a sério. Do melhor que já li desde género porque, confesso, todo o ambiente da narrativa me conquista.
Jonathan acredita que está doente por se sentir atraído por rapazes e porque, em 1973, a homossexualidade era efetivamente considerada uma doença mental em US ele encontra-se a fazer tratamentos – isto é facto, acreditam? Nos Estados Unidos havia tratamentos de choque (e/ou prisão) para quem assumisse gostar de uma pessoa do mesmo género.
Enfim, com esta premissa eu não podia resistir, certo?
Gostei de tudo neste enredo! Gostei do protagonista que tem 16 anos e se comporta exatamente como um adolescente, fazendo asneiras mas tentando ser melhor e com muitos traumas a transparecer no seu imaginário criativo. Da mesma forma, gostei dos intervenientes secundários, da sua melhor amiga Starla que poderia ter um livro só seu e de Web que, definitivamente, poderia contar apenas a sua história. Felizmente, James Brandon trabalhou muito bem os sub-plots deste enredo e no seu todo ficou perfeito.
As temáticas não se ficam pelas questões de género, pelo que fala igualmente de disfunção familiar, alcoolismo, direitos cívicos – da mulher, LGBTQ2 –, e ainda dos nativos americanos, que por esta altura (e ainda hoje, convenhamos) travavam as suas lutas. Definitivamente um livro riquíssimo nas abordagens e que espelha muito bem um lado americano que muitas vezes nos esquecemos e que é muito distante do famoso sonho.
Tudo isto, claro está, vem embrulhado em referências da cultura pop da época, em particular musicais e para os fãs deste tipo de pormenores (como eu!) este livro é um prato cheio.
Sinceramente? Não sei como é que não se falou mais, não se divulgou mais este livro. Se eu fosse editora tinha ido à guerra para publicar este em Portugal.
“Ziggy, Stardust & Me” tem a dose certa de tristeza, humor e melancolia, transporta o leitor no tempo e foge ao comum que tem sido publicado de YA. Adorei!
Descobrir que esta narrativa de passava nos anos 70 e que tratava a temática LGBTQ2+ naquela época foi, para mim, um enorme extra e não foi preciso avançar muito nesta história para perceber que era verdadeiramente boa, a sério. Do melhor que já li desde género porque, confesso, todo o ambiente da narrativa me conquista.
Jonathan acredita que está doente por se sentir atraído por rapazes e porque, em 1973, a homossexualidade era efetivamente considerada uma doença mental em US ele encontra-se a fazer tratamentos – isto é facto, acreditam? Nos Estados Unidos havia tratamentos de choque (e/ou prisão) para quem assumisse gostar de uma pessoa do mesmo género.
Enfim, com esta premissa eu não podia resistir, certo?
Gostei de tudo neste enredo! Gostei do protagonista que tem 16 anos e se comporta exatamente como um adolescente, fazendo asneiras mas tentando ser melhor e com muitos traumas a transparecer no seu imaginário criativo. Da mesma forma, gostei dos intervenientes secundários, da sua melhor amiga Starla que poderia ter um livro só seu e de Web que, definitivamente, poderia contar apenas a sua história. Felizmente, James Brandon trabalhou muito bem os sub-plots deste enredo e no seu todo ficou perfeito.
As temáticas não se ficam pelas questões de género, pelo que fala igualmente de disfunção familiar, alcoolismo, direitos cívicos – da mulher, LGBTQ2 –, e ainda dos nativos americanos, que por esta altura (e ainda hoje, convenhamos) travavam as suas lutas. Definitivamente um livro riquíssimo nas abordagens e que espelha muito bem um lado americano que muitas vezes nos esquecemos e que é muito distante do famoso sonho.
Tudo isto, claro está, vem embrulhado em referências da cultura pop da época, em particular musicais e para os fãs deste tipo de pormenores (como eu!) este livro é um prato cheio.
Sinceramente? Não sei como é que não se falou mais, não se divulgou mais este livro. Se eu fosse editora tinha ido à guerra para publicar este em Portugal.
“Ziggy, Stardust & Me” tem a dose certa de tristeza, humor e melancolia, transporta o leitor no tempo e foge ao comum que tem sido publicado de YA. Adorei!
“The things that scare you the most are the things that bring you closer to who you’re meant to be.”
This was a rollercoaster but in a beautiful, Heart-wrenching way ... everything....I read it in one sitting and wish I could read it for the First time. Highly reccomend this book!
Boy meets boy in St. Louis, 1973.
Except they’re both gay. One is Native American & the other, white.
The best YA’s are the ones that let us learn while feeling the character’s feelings. This one taught me about love when it was forbidden, and aversion therapy. Horrible stuff that still kinda survives as conversion therapy now.
Jonathan had an awakening when he saw Ziggy Stardust; he was his Jesus, his Messiah. Covered in glitter, he felt capable of reaching for the stars. Except he had to complete his treatments to “be fixed.” This, because he had been kissed by his now-bully, Scott and blamed of the worst crime of all: feeling love & attraction for another man.
It all changes when he meets Web, a Native American running from his past; his dad was killed in front of him by a cop and he later attacked this cop so he ran from his rez; his home. Their encounter as 17-year-olds changes both of their lives.
Reading this book, as written by a man, was a breath of fresh air. He captured Jonathan’s erratic behavior and over-enthusiastic imagination, especially as someone undergoing a form of electroshock therapy, and the social commentary around Native Americans and Wounded Knee was well done as well. Granted, he focused on the Gay aspect of the two main characters, as this was the prime theme.
Having said all that, I share a love of Ziggy with Jonathan, and here are some quotes I loved:
Except they’re both gay. One is Native American & the other, white.
The best YA’s are the ones that let us learn while feeling the character’s feelings. This one taught me about love when it was forbidden, and aversion therapy. Horrible stuff that still kinda survives as conversion therapy now.
Jonathan had an awakening when he saw Ziggy Stardust; he was his Jesus, his Messiah. Covered in glitter, he felt capable of reaching for the stars. Except he had to complete his treatments to “be fixed.” This, because he had been kissed by his now-bully, Scott and blamed of the worst crime of all: feeling love & attraction for another man.
It all changes when he meets Web, a Native American running from his past; his dad was killed in front of him by a cop and he later attacked this cop so he ran from his rez; his home. Their encounter as 17-year-olds changes both of their lives.
Reading this book, as written by a man, was a breath of fresh air. He captured Jonathan’s erratic behavior and over-enthusiastic imagination, especially as someone undergoing a form of electroshock therapy, and the social commentary around Native Americans and Wounded Knee was well done as well. Granted, he focused on the Gay aspect of the two main characters, as this was the prime theme.
Having said all that, I share a love of Ziggy with Jonathan, and here are some quotes I loved:
✨”The things that scare you the most are the things that bring you closer to who you’re meant to be.”✨
✨”…we’re all made of star stuff. Everything is made of it. When stars die they fall into our atmosphere and turn into these chemical compounds that become things. Sometimes they become people.” ✨
✨”something’s happening. My heart starts fluttering; my stomach starts tingling. Before I can figure out why, he leans in, and kisses me. Oh.” ✨
✨”Our lips collide. Like two crashing meteors who’ve been waiting our whole lives for the impact. And he smells so sweet, like bou sweat and soapy springs.”✨
✨”We’ve been running our country whole lives, Jonathan (…) At some point you have to stop and say, ‘Enough. This is me.’ And fight for it as hard as you can.”✨
✨”We sway and disappear in each other’s arms, and ‘So Far Away’ starts crooning through the speakers, and for one moment in time, two lonely astronauts floating in space finally find each other.”✨
✨”But one thing I know: I’m not crazy for feeling this way. They’re crazy for trying to stop me. And if it’s the last time I ever get to feel joy again, I won’t let them have it.”✨
It was hard for me to get in the mindset for this one amidst my modern romances. It’s more of a perks of being a wallflower vibe, and is at once heartwarming and deeply sad. Jonathan is a queer kid in 1973 (who is obsessed with Ziggy Stardust) He falls for Webb, who is Oglala Lakota and has relocated to St. Louis from the Pine Ridge reservation. I would recommend it for a high school bookshelf. My middle schoolers would have a hard time parsing out the history, and effects of homophobia and racism. For readers who are up for it, all of these elements are well-crafted and there is a very sweet young couple at the heart.
I read a lot of books I love. But occasionally I read a book that I not only love, but I wish I’d written. Ziggy, Stardust, & Me fell into that category and even as I wistfully wish I’d authored it I shut down that thought because there’s no way I could’ve captured this moonlit magic in the way James Brandon does. I wish I’d written it in that I wish someday to be as wonderful of writer and to tell stories just like this one.
Set in 1973, this is a story about Jonathan Collins, an imaginative and isolated teen who views Ziggy Stardust as his Jesus, picks up his mess of a father from the bar every night, and tells himself that the electroshock conversion therapy he endures is the only way to be “fixed”. Then Web, a Lakota boy, comes into his life and “sees” Jonathan as he is for the first time.
This is a book about becoming yourself and a stunning exploration of queer identity back when homosexuality was still labeled as a mental illness. The prose was gorgeous — sharp and magical — and the tension thick. Set in the backdrop of David Bowie, Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the occupation of Wounded Knee, it gave me a window into queer history I didn’t know yet I felt in my bones. I loved this book.
So should you. Go read it please.
Set in 1973, this is a story about Jonathan Collins, an imaginative and isolated teen who views Ziggy Stardust as his Jesus, picks up his mess of a father from the bar every night, and tells himself that the electroshock conversion therapy he endures is the only way to be “fixed”. Then Web, a Lakota boy, comes into his life and “sees” Jonathan as he is for the first time.
This is a book about becoming yourself and a stunning exploration of queer identity back when homosexuality was still labeled as a mental illness. The prose was gorgeous — sharp and magical — and the tension thick. Set in the backdrop of David Bowie, Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the occupation of Wounded Knee, it gave me a window into queer history I didn’t know yet I felt in my bones. I loved this book.
So should you. Go read it please.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced