Union

by Sara Cassidy

Key Selling Points


A 15-year-old boy juggles work, sexual trauma and a new girlfriend in this novel in verse.
The power of love to heal past wounds is the central theme.
The author explores losing and doubting one's voice in an experimental narrative form.
The novel is written almost entirely in single-syllable words, to reflect Tuck’s dissociative mental state.
This author’s works have been on many award lists, including the Governor General’s Literary Award, BC & Yukon Book Prizes and Forest of Reading.

Genres: Poetry

94 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2022

About the author

Sara Cassidy is an award-winning Canadian author of 20 acclaimed books for children and teens. Her early novel GENIUS JOLENE won the 2020 Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize. Her middle-grade novel NEVERS was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in Young People's Literature and the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Two novels appeared on Kirkus's Best Middle Grade Books of 2018 and 2016: THE GREAT GOOGLINI and A BOY NAMED QUEEN.

She is the author of the highly praised picture book FLOCK, and the wordless graphic novels KUNOICHI BUNNY and HELEN'S BIRDS, a 2021 Canadian selection for the Silent Books Collection (IBBY). Her board books include I MAKE SPACE, about creating boundaries, THE SUN IS A PEACH and THE MOON IS A SILVER POND, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Sara lives on Vancouver Island and loves to visit classrooms over Zoom/Skype/Teams. sarascassidy@gmail.com

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stupid. 1. Choose a plot line. 2. What child wants to learn about unions?

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a tough time getting into this. The book tries to delve into several issues and at least 3 storylines (a budding romance, workplace union and sexual abuse), but failed to deliver on all fronts. It tries to strike a good balance and I think the union plot was the most insightful, but I would have preferred more meat and resolution for everything.

For a novel-in-verse, this lacks readability. There were some parts where it took me some time to realise the protagonist had moved on to talking about something else even though it's still the same stanza. The potential was there, but the execution was not.

[Reuben Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It surprised me how strong a sense of the characters I got in such a short novel; each word was chosen so carefully and the poems were beautifully crafted to get me attached to Tuck and rooting for him. I’ve seen other reviews saying the author needed to pick a theme, but I disagree - I think the budding romance with someone he can trust and the first steps he’s taking towards valuing himself at work weave perfectly into the picture of a young man slowly recovering from trauma, and for me this was possibly the best way of exploring what had happened to him. I wasn’t expecting quite the impact this tiny book had, but hit me in the feels it certainly did.

[Natalie HH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uff, I feel awful lowly rating poetry or anything written in verse, especially given the nature of the content in this case. However, this was all over the place. It was three different stories all in under 90 pages. I appreciate the double entendre of the book title (I think that was intentional) and it somewhat helps tie in 2 of the storylines, but this really lacked any meaningful depth and commitment. The shallow structure really did the characters a disservice, though I appreciate the stand the protagonist ultimately took to get his life back on track. While the story(ies) were meh at best, its a 5 outta 5 stars on the cover art!!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This brief verse novel packs a punch: The poems are concise yet robust and convey a change in tone from sobering and intense to hopeful. Trix is a mother figure of sorts, picking up on Tuck’s anxiety and helping him find counseling. Tuck’s subsequent evolution—both in his relationship with Grace and as a harbinger for advancement in work conditions—makes him a sympathetic, courageous character worthy of kudos...Moving and accessible." - Kirkus Reviews

[Aaronlisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have better if it had focused on one topic. As it was, it felt too rushed. And the focus on unionizing a fast food work place minimized the abuse that affected the main character.

Further to that, I can’t really see a union asking a teenager to be the one that gets the other workers to unionize.

It felt like the author was trying to do too much in a short story. I had no issues with the story being told in poetry.

[Read by Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Union is a novel in verse about a young man who is dealing with the aftermath of abuse, rebuilding self-worth as a human being (where he struggles with "Am I worthy?") and as an employee (where he struggles with "Do employees deserve more?"). A short book that touches on heavy themes without delving too deeply. A quick read that isn't likely to stay with you afterward.

[Kinnedy Guter Sandstoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was at a conference with a group of teachers in DC. We found this book sitting on a seat in the airport. As it was getting passed around from teacher to teacher, we all read it. What a great airport find. It was a quick and easy read that was poetic and straight to the point.

[Kylie Totten · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was very short and straight to the point. It was pretty easy to follow and each topic in the book was written in the style of a poem - first book I’ve ever read that was like this! I do wish we got more insight on each of the background characters, but it was a nice read!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick coming-of-age read that will have readers rooting for Tuck. Abused by his mother's boyfriend, he gets a job and helps fight for a union for him and his coworkers.

[Nawal Ciaramitaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so short and covered too many topics to get into in any of them in-depth

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough stuff this kid is going through. Very confused about the whole getting him to take charge of the union thing

[Kaicifer (Summer Reading Arc) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, I almost didn't finish it ( it kind of bored me).
I feel bad for not liking this story, I had high expectations. The trauma that the MC endures isn't talked about enough, it just magically gets "resolved". And I know that its about a union but most of the book is about that and not about the 3 other things going on. overall, I felt that this book was unfinished (almost) and needed a better ending.

[lucinderist · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 !!

short, simple, and surprisingly sweet ! the book juggles a lot of themes well, the commentary in regards to the union was particularly insightful. jeff's introduction poem was my favourite— his line about his dream (of BASIC necessities) being seen as nothing but a cost to larger corporations really hammers home the gravity of the situation and the greed at hand. however, i do think the length of the book does hold the story back, robbing it of inherent depth that a longer run-time would allow for.

overall a good read, an excellent use of twenty or so minutes 👍👍