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A review by kmowww
The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean
5.0
I love this book. It’s one of those books you can’t put down, and when you do finish it, you sit there wishing for more and wanting to know what happens with the characters and what they’re up to now. The first couple of pages completely pulled me into the story and I ended up reading it in one sitting.
I’m a sucker for a book told in letter or journal form, and so of course I’m a fan of the format of The Ship We Built. The author’s twist on the letter format was creative and (literally) uplifting. When I was in elementary school and starting out reading middle grade books, I was always drawn to books in this format—I think it helped me get to know the characters on such a deep, intimate level.
Rowan is such a real and wonderful character—I was so struck by his process throughout the book of learning to believe himself—believe what he knew to be his gender, his name, and the realities of the hard things he was experiencing. The character Sophie has great wisdom not only in how to show up for transgender children and/or children who are experiencing abuse—but in how to show up for people of all ages who are trans and/or have experienced abuse.
While I was reading The Ship We Built, I kept thinking that it reminded me of a middle-grade Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s hard to describe, but this is how I can put it best: both books left me with a kind of feeling that helped me feel less alone in the things that make me feel lonely. I think this is a great book for people of all ages—but especially for kids that are experiencing abuse or have friends that are, and for kids that are trans or have friends that are.
Lexie Bean wrote with such talent and empathy—this is a book that is unique not just for its content (there are not enough published books for kids by transgender authors) but also for the skill, research (I was catapulted into 90’s nostalgia), and life experience put into writing it.
I’m so grateful to have read this book. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Lexie Bean for sending me a copy of the galley!
I’m a sucker for a book told in letter or journal form, and so of course I’m a fan of the format of The Ship We Built. The author’s twist on the letter format was creative and (literally) uplifting. When I was in elementary school and starting out reading middle grade books, I was always drawn to books in this format—I think it helped me get to know the characters on such a deep, intimate level.
Rowan is such a real and wonderful character—I was so struck by his process throughout the book of learning to believe himself—believe what he knew to be his gender, his name, and the realities of the hard things he was experiencing. The character Sophie has great wisdom not only in how to show up for transgender children and/or children who are experiencing abuse—but in how to show up for people of all ages who are trans and/or have experienced abuse.
While I was reading The Ship We Built, I kept thinking that it reminded me of a middle-grade Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s hard to describe, but this is how I can put it best: both books left me with a kind of feeling that helped me feel less alone in the things that make me feel lonely. I think this is a great book for people of all ages—but especially for kids that are experiencing abuse or have friends that are, and for kids that are trans or have friends that are.
Lexie Bean wrote with such talent and empathy—this is a book that is unique not just for its content (there are not enough published books for kids by transgender authors) but also for the skill, research (I was catapulted into 90’s nostalgia), and life experience put into writing it.
I’m so grateful to have read this book. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Lexie Bean for sending me a copy of the galley!