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A review by toryhallelujah
The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean
4.0
[ARC] Okay. So. I read this in February and didn't mark it as "read" because I couldn't decide how to review/rate it, so it just languished as "currently reading" for months, and I finally picked it up again the other day to re-read it and see if I could make up my mind.
There's so much beautiful here. There's so much deep, poetic, insightful, sit-back-and-take-notice here. But, my biggest concern is, I almost feel like it should've been marketed as an adult title, a la "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." Narrated by a kid, but designed for adults. BUT, it's not that this is thematically inappropriate (TW: although incest/sexual abuse makes an appearance) -- it's more along the lines of, I don't know if middle-grade readers will appreciate the beauty of its language and content. And this is yearning that deserves to be appreciated. A large part of WHY I liked it so much is because of this tone and tenor, but I don't know if it's a book that would appeal to others (particularly kids) who might not enjoy a book purely for that beautiful introspective vibe.
"Do you ever think 'I want to go home' on your way home, but you're thinking of wanting to go somewhere else completely?"
"I want to share more, but I first want someone to promise me that they will love me no matter what. At church they say that's what God is for, but I don't know."
"I hope someone tells you that you are good every single day, even on days when you're feeling like you made a mistake under a streetlight or whatever."
"She kept hold of my hand and said, 'You are irreplaceable.' She sounded kind of mad when she said that. I understand why she would be."
The voice reminded me a LOT of "Please Don't Kill the Freshman," by Zoe Trope, which was my favorite book all through high school. Sending questions out into the world without knowing what you might get back, with almost resignation that you might never get an answer. Just kind of lost in your own head. [b:Please Don't Kill the Freshman|338018|Please Don't Kill the Freshman|Zoe Trope|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328048650l/338018._SX50_.jpg|328430]
End result: it's beautiful. It's simplistic and gorgeous. Adults should definitely read it, slowly. Hand it to kids who love language (and of COURSE to trans kids, questioning kids, kids experiencing abuse, anyone who needs to know they're not alone).
----
Error (maybe corrected in the final printing): Rowan references Harry Potter in a letter written in September of 1997, but HP#1 wasn't published in the US until September 1998.
There's so much beautiful here. There's so much deep, poetic, insightful, sit-back-and-take-notice here. But, my biggest concern is, I almost feel like it should've been marketed as an adult title, a la "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." Narrated by a kid, but designed for adults. BUT, it's not that this is thematically inappropriate (TW: although incest/sexual abuse makes an appearance) -- it's more along the lines of, I don't know if middle-grade readers will appreciate the beauty of its language and content. And this is yearning that deserves to be appreciated. A large part of WHY I liked it so much is because of this tone and tenor, but I don't know if it's a book that would appeal to others (particularly kids) who might not enjoy a book purely for that beautiful introspective vibe.
"Do you ever think 'I want to go home' on your way home, but you're thinking of wanting to go somewhere else completely?"
"I want to share more, but I first want someone to promise me that they will love me no matter what. At church they say that's what God is for, but I don't know."
"I hope someone tells you that you are good every single day, even on days when you're feeling like you made a mistake under a streetlight or whatever."
"She kept hold of my hand and said, 'You are irreplaceable.' She sounded kind of mad when she said that. I understand why she would be."
The voice reminded me a LOT of "Please Don't Kill the Freshman," by Zoe Trope, which was my favorite book all through high school. Sending questions out into the world without knowing what you might get back, with almost resignation that you might never get an answer. Just kind of lost in your own head. [b:Please Don't Kill the Freshman|338018|Please Don't Kill the Freshman|Zoe Trope|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328048650l/338018._SX50_.jpg|328430]
End result: it's beautiful. It's simplistic and gorgeous. Adults should definitely read it, slowly. Hand it to kids who love language (and of COURSE to trans kids, questioning kids, kids experiencing abuse, anyone who needs to know they're not alone).
----
Error (maybe corrected in the final printing): Rowan references Harry Potter in a letter written in September of 1997, but HP#1 wasn't published in the US until September 1998.