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shinesalot 's review for:
The Whispers
by Greg Howard
This book was not what I expected. My 6th grader son asked if we could read a book with a gay or bisexual character. So far I have found it difficult to find middle grade books that have characters that are gay or bisexual. There are tons of appropriate texts that have trans characters, but specifically gay/bisexual seems a little harder to find.
That said, the magical/mystery aspects of this book were engaging. Riley dealing with his "condition" (of being gay) was handled fairly well. However, the ending - the death of the dog and truth about Riley's mom - were just to much for my sensitive 6th grader.
This seems like it is an important book - for tweens dealing with grief and/or death of a parent, this will work well for them. For my super emotional tween, the bigger themes in the story would have had him in tears. I am glad I read it before we read it together.
That said, the magical/mystery aspects of this book were engaging. Riley dealing with his "condition" (of being gay) was handled fairly well. However, the ending - the death of the dog and truth about Riley's mom - were just to much for my sensitive 6th grader.
This seems like it is an important book - for tweens dealing with grief and/or death of a parent, this will work well for them. For my super emotional tween, the bigger themes in the story would have had him in tears. I am glad I read it before we read it together.