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A review by tsipi
Ciel by Sophie LaBelle
4.0
It's a bit difficult for me to review this book. I am a huge fan of Sophie Labelle, and have followed her comic 'Assigned Male' since its inception, so I was thrilled to support her and buy her first novel(ette?).
But the book is so clearly aimed at young children, and I, alas, hardly remember that far back :) So I thought it was a lovely read, and I would get the book for any middle-school kid in my life, and then - would love to know what they think about it.
That said, Ciel is a great character, and I really like that the story is as much about their inner thoughts as about things that "happen" (not much does, actually). There is a little bit of a feeling of a list being checked off (Trans boy? check. Trans girl? check. Non-binary character? Check! A person of color? Yep, and a disabled person? Yes, and we're good to go!) but then, that's kind of staying true to the cast of the comic, and didn't feel uncomfortable.
In a couple of spots it was obvious I was reading a translation, but hey, that should be the worst thing I read. Bottom line, it's great reading about young trans/queer kids just being kids. Here's to a LOT more of that!
But the book is so clearly aimed at young children, and I, alas, hardly remember that far back :) So I thought it was a lovely read, and I would get the book for any middle-school kid in my life, and then - would love to know what they think about it.
That said, Ciel is a great character, and I really like that the story is as much about their inner thoughts as about things that "happen" (not much does, actually). There is a little bit of a feeling of a list being checked off (Trans boy? check. Trans girl? check. Non-binary character? Check! A person of color? Yep, and a disabled person? Yes, and we're good to go!) but then, that's kind of staying true to the cast of the comic, and didn't feel uncomfortable.
In a couple of spots it was obvious I was reading a translation, but hey, that should be the worst thing I read. Bottom line, it's great reading about young trans/queer kids just being kids. Here's to a LOT more of that!