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A review by lyndajdickson
The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick
5.0
Eric and Joey have been friends all their lives, but things change when they start middle school. Joey defies gender norms and has always been a bit of a princess. Eric decides it’s time to ditch him for a more popular crew, the jocks, which includes Travis, also once Joey’s childhood friend but now his biggest bully. Eric has problems of his own, but Joey takes most of the attention off him and he can hide in plain sight. Eric’s home situation goes from bad to worse, while his relationship with Joey progresses to a whole new level, making it harder and harder for him to remain inconspicuous. Eric must decide which is more important, self-preservation or loyalty. Will he make the right choice?
The story is told from Eric’s point-of-view with flashbacks to his childhood with the other Baker Street kids. His grammatically incorrect narration and conversational tone provide him with an authentic his voice. It’s sad to see how Eric’s mother is physically absent, yet always present in Eric’s mind. He never openly resents her and places so much credence in her quirky sayings, drawing on her words of wisdom whenever he’s in trouble. The author presents Joey as a believable character, giving us a clear and accessible description of both the physical and emotional sides of being a transgender youth. This is a heartbreaking story of two damaged souls who don’t yet realize they are the only ones keeping each other alive. Thankfully, the book ends on an uplifting note. The only problems I had were with characters being called alternately by their first or last names (which can become confusing) and the similarity between Eric’s and Joey’s last names (Sinclair and Kincaid).
Warnings: LGBTQ themes, bullying, attempted suicide, child abuse.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post:
https://www.booksdirectonline.com/2019/01/the-princess-of-baker-street-by-mia-kerick.html
The story is told from Eric’s point-of-view with flashbacks to his childhood with the other Baker Street kids. His grammatically incorrect narration and conversational tone provide him with an authentic his voice. It’s sad to see how Eric’s mother is physically absent, yet always present in Eric’s mind. He never openly resents her and places so much credence in her quirky sayings, drawing on her words of wisdom whenever he’s in trouble. The author presents Joey as a believable character, giving us a clear and accessible description of both the physical and emotional sides of being a transgender youth. This is a heartbreaking story of two damaged souls who don’t yet realize they are the only ones keeping each other alive. Thankfully, the book ends on an uplifting note. The only problems I had were with characters being called alternately by their first or last names (which can become confusing) and the similarity between Eric’s and Joey’s last names (Sinclair and Kincaid).
Warnings: LGBTQ themes, bullying, attempted suicide, child abuse.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post:
https://www.booksdirectonline.com/2019/01/the-princess-of-baker-street-by-mia-kerick.html