A review by earldizon
Rolling the R's by R. Zamora Linmark

2.0

I was fascinated by this book since it was rereleased a few years ago to commemorate 20 years and I hadn't ever heard about it before. These are vignettes of mostly fifth graders living in Hawaii in the 70s. As Filipinos and other ethnicities, they realize they can't play by the rules (even though that's what's expected of them) when they aren't even allowed to play the game. Add to that, the male main characters aren't afraid to be who they are when it comes to their gender identities even when they get ridiculed and bullied. It's unflinching and painfully honest at times but also shocking and over the top. With all the sex that was happening, I kept thinking the characters were in high school at least. I guess it's edgy. I'm sure it definitely was when it came out in the mid 90's.