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Jumpstart the World
Elle is a loner. She doesn’t need people. Which is a good thing, because she’s on her own: she had to move into her own apartment so her mother’s boyfriend won’t have to deal with her.
Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.
But Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he’s transgender. And when Elle learns the truth, her world is turned upside down. Now she’ll have to search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.
Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.
Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.
But Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he’s transgender. And when Elle learns the truth, her world is turned upside down. Now she’ll have to search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.
Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.
186 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2010
371 people are currently reading
2579 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Ryan Hyde
72 books6,174 followersCatherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 50 published and forthcoming books.
She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.
Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was made into a major Warner Brothers motion picture. It was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in over 30 countries. Simon & Schuster released a special 15th anniversary edition in December of ’14.
Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition, an age-appropriate edited edition of the original novel, was released by Simon & Schuster in August of ‘14. It is suitable for children as young as eight.
You can learn much more about Catherine at www.catherineryanhyde.com
She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.
Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was made into a major Warner Brothers motion picture. It was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in over 30 countries. Simon & Schuster released a special 15th anniversary edition in December of ’14.
Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition, an age-appropriate edited edition of the original novel, was released by Simon & Schuster in August of ‘14. It is suitable for children as young as eight.
You can learn much more about Catherine at www.catherineryanhyde.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 239 reviews
October 24, 2015
Sigh. I just would like to stop with the books about a cis character encountering a trans person. Like. Is it really SUCH a shocking experience that we need whole books about it? Is it really.
June 18, 2011
I could say this book is an important contribution to the LGBTQ reading community, and it is--but that would be selling the book far too short. Jumpstart the World is indeed an important tale, but it's a grace to many groups: to those of us who have experienced unrequited love, to those of us who ache to belong but are not "mainstream," to we who continually make mistakes but have a strong and gentle heart. In short, this book is for everybody. It would melt the heart of the most hardened homophobic/transphobic person alive, if only they would open the pages and read Elle's story. This book heals.
Elle is an abandoned teen, and searching for approval so hard it hurts. She seems to want this attention from a certain type of person; instead, she finds offers of friendship from a misfit group of kids, some of whom are openly gay. This disquiets Elle on many levels. She falls in love with Frank, her neighbor, who is also a type of misfit, which pains Elle as well. Learning about her new friends, and who they love, is a difficult part of Elle's journey.
Jumpstart is told in simple, plain prose, and somehow that makes every revelation Elle experiences more visceral. Sometimes Elle's thoughts aren't pretty, and this is addressed in spare language. Sometimes what happens is so beautiful, the straightforward words are like fists to the gut, causing a sharp intake and holding of breath--a resonance so deep you want to hold it forever. Both the ugly and the beautiful are here, existing side by side, and that is how this book tastes like truth.
When I finished Jumpstart the World, I wanted to buy truckloads of it and stand on street corners, handing the book to strangers. There's so much power in this slim novel--power to change. It's a miracle of a read, and if there's one thing this story can do, it's take closed minds and open them wide and bare. It's a book to jumpstart the healing.
Elle is an abandoned teen, and searching for approval so hard it hurts. She seems to want this attention from a certain type of person; instead, she finds offers of friendship from a misfit group of kids, some of whom are openly gay. This disquiets Elle on many levels. She falls in love with Frank, her neighbor, who is also a type of misfit, which pains Elle as well. Learning about her new friends, and who they love, is a difficult part of Elle's journey.
Jumpstart is told in simple, plain prose, and somehow that makes every revelation Elle experiences more visceral. Sometimes Elle's thoughts aren't pretty, and this is addressed in spare language. Sometimes what happens is so beautiful, the straightforward words are like fists to the gut, causing a sharp intake and holding of breath--a resonance so deep you want to hold it forever. Both the ugly and the beautiful are here, existing side by side, and that is how this book tastes like truth.
When I finished Jumpstart the World, I wanted to buy truckloads of it and stand on street corners, handing the book to strangers. There's so much power in this slim novel--power to change. It's a miracle of a read, and if there's one thing this story can do, it's take closed minds and open them wide and bare. It's a book to jumpstart the healing.
February 11, 2011
Hyde flirts with didacticism, even if she doesn't outright commit to it. There are a lot of choices characters make in order to drive the story along in the right direction: Elle's mother abandons her daughter alone halfway across town; Elle is a loner with no friends and apparently no other family; even Elle's cat wants nothing to do with her; Elle cuts her hair and gets bullied at school for being gay; Elle makes friends with a group of gay students (except that Annabel has a prominent birthmark on her face instead of being gay to make her a school outcast--I don't even know where to go with equating her mark to being gay, plus she's randomly dropped out of the story in the middle anyway, so why bother putting her in in the first place?); Frank gets hurt (and can I just say, I was so relieved it was a random accident) so Elle can realize her feeling and make amends....Just a chain of events leading Elle to her big epiphany.
I've talked about Elle a lot, right? Well, she's the point of view character, but this is also all about Elle, another priveleged white girl learning lessons. Do we seriously need another one of these books? Why not Frank's story? Why not Wilbur's?
Elle's relationship with Wilbur is more believable than her crush on/love for Frank. This is a very short book and Hyde didn't spend enough time developing the relationship between Frank and Elle. She also has Elle telling us her feelings all the time instead of Hyde showing them through revealing prose.
Things that really made me want to slap the daylights out of Elle: she has a special iPod just for listening to Janis Joplin; she calmly informs her mother that her mother will keep paying for Elle's apartment, like or not, because "Independence has no reverse gear;" her email address is independence16 (apparently she either didn't have email before she left her mother's apartment or she is really in love with her new self-image); she adopts a cat just to upset her mother, makes no effort to properly care for him, and then feels sorry for herself when he doesn't love her right away.
Things pull together a little more at the end. I would have rated this higher until I started remembering how irritating the whole first half was.
I've talked about Elle a lot, right? Well, she's the point of view character, but this is also all about Elle, another priveleged white girl learning lessons. Do we seriously need another one of these books? Why not Frank's story? Why not Wilbur's?
Elle's relationship with Wilbur is more believable than her crush on/love for Frank. This is a very short book and Hyde didn't spend enough time developing the relationship between Frank and Elle. She also has Elle telling us her feelings all the time instead of Hyde showing them through revealing prose.
Things that really made me want to slap the daylights out of Elle: she has a special iPod just for listening to Janis Joplin; she calmly informs her mother that her mother will keep paying for Elle's apartment, like or not, because "Independence has no reverse gear;" her email address is independence16 (apparently she either didn't have email before she left her mother's apartment or she is really in love with her new self-image); she adopts a cat just to upset her mother, makes no effort to properly care for him, and then feels sorry for herself when he doesn't love her right away.
Things pull together a little more at the end. I would have rated this higher until I started remembering how irritating the whole first half was.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2013
I would not classify this book as queer fiction because it's not about LGBT people. It's about using LGBT people as a prop to teach a heterosexual girl that being different is okay.
Elle gets booted out of her home and into an apartment because her mother's new boo does not want her to be around. Elle meets neighbor Frank, crushes on neighbor Frank, freaks out when she discovers neighbor Frank is trans, learns some lessons, becomes a better person.
Elle also does not want friends, at all!, yet she makes a solid group of friends that are outcasts because of their sexuality (and a birthmark, but this book didn't feel like fetishsizing birth defects, only sexuality and a man's trans identity.) She treats them rather cruely in the beginning, and they just take it. Ugh.
Throughout the book Elle thinks, and vocalizes, a lot of hurtful things and only gets called on it once, by Molly, who then later apologizes for it. The book focused so much on Elle's pain and barely even touched on the hardships that Frank and everyone else had to go through.
A completely unsatisfying read.
Elle gets booted out of her home and into an apartment because her mother's new boo does not want her to be around. Elle meets neighbor Frank, crushes on neighbor Frank, freaks out when she discovers neighbor Frank is trans, learns some lessons, becomes a better person.
Elle also does not want friends, at all!, yet she makes a solid group of friends that are outcasts because of their sexuality (and a birthmark, but this book didn't feel like fetishsizing birth defects, only sexuality and a man's trans identity.) She treats them rather cruely in the beginning, and they just take it. Ugh.
Throughout the book Elle thinks, and vocalizes, a lot of hurtful things and only gets called on it once, by Molly, who then later apologizes for it. The book focused so much on Elle's pain and barely even touched on the hardships that Frank and everyone else had to go through.
A completely unsatisfying read.
September 12, 2015
A story about a cishet girl who eventually learns that trans people are actually real people who are real - quelle surprise! - and are just as deserving of love and acceptance as everyone else, even despite being trans! Wow, who could have thought! So radical, amirite?
In all seriousness though, why is this story told from the point of view of a cishet girl when the book has such a rich and eclectic mix of characters? Why not from the P.O.V. of Frank? Or even Wilbur? Or just someone who doesn't think the pinnacle of ~progression~ is accepting and maybe - just maybe - even coming to love queer and trans people as actual people?
Oh, yeah, that's right. It's because the cisnormative and heteronormative POVs are the only ones that matter. Silly me to forget such an obvious thing!
I'm well aware that Hyde most likely only had good intentions with this novel but for god's sake, stop glorifying cishet people for being decent people! Are we supposed to be grateful for basic human decency?
One thing I will say about this book though is that I absolutely loved Wilbur - he was an angel too precious for this earth - and I really do appreciate the representation of effeminate boys in non- queer-shaming ways. And some of Elle's internal monologues on photography were so profound that I felt that the rest of the book did a disservice to the book's one redeeming feature.
Overall, I would not recommend this book as a source of LGBT+ fiction on the basis that it perpetuates some very harmful misconceptions/attitudes regarding trans people and lionises the cis narrative. I didn't necessarily hate it - I was just disappointed, as I really really hoped to like this book and find in it decent representation of the trans and queer communities.
Better luck next time, I guess. At least it's better than Pronoun.
In all seriousness though, why is this story told from the point of view of a cishet girl when the book has such a rich and eclectic mix of characters? Why not from the P.O.V. of Frank? Or even Wilbur? Or just someone who doesn't think the pinnacle of ~progression~ is accepting and maybe - just maybe - even coming to love queer and trans people as actual people?
Oh, yeah, that's right. It's because the cisnormative and heteronormative POVs are the only ones that matter. Silly me to forget such an obvious thing!
I'm well aware that Hyde most likely only had good intentions with this novel but for god's sake, stop glorifying cishet people for being decent people! Are we supposed to be grateful for basic human decency?
One thing I will say about this book though is that I absolutely loved Wilbur - he was an angel too precious for this earth - and I really do appreciate the representation of effeminate boys in non- queer-shaming ways. And some of Elle's internal monologues on photography were so profound that I felt that the rest of the book did a disservice to the book's one redeeming feature.
Overall, I would not recommend this book as a source of LGBT+ fiction on the basis that it perpetuates some very harmful misconceptions/attitudes regarding trans people and lionises the cis narrative. I didn't necessarily hate it - I was just disappointed, as I really really hoped to like this book and find in it decent representation of the trans and queer communities.
Better luck next time, I guess. At least it's better than Pronoun.
January 4, 2015
I was really looking forward to reading this book. I finally found a YA book about gender! However this book was actually such a disappointment. It has terrible narration, dialogue, and boring characters. The narrator has a really negative attitude towards anything LGBTQ+ and freaks out and is so defensive about being called gay and even about the thought of someone being transgender. She kicks people out of her apartment for even having the thought.. This book is really bad and was a struggle to get through. I honestly think this book encourages negative attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community. It does not do a good job of educating (straight, especially) people about being transgender and gay. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
September 19, 2013
A short good book on accepting differences in people. I mainly read it, because Catherine's writing is like a comfort to me. We all find authors we love... that is me and Catherine Ryan Hyde; we may go steady soon.
July 10, 2017
This is the first book I've read by Catherine Ryan Hyde. The story was well written but, as a parent, I had a hard time with the part about Elle being set up in an apartment by her mother at sixteen, especially since they live in New York. I found that part unrealistic. And I didn't like Elle so I had a hard time relating to her and what was happening her life.
I'd picked the book up at my library because I was interested in reading about transgender characters and I liked her portrayal of Frank. I thought Elle's reaction to finding out Frank was transgender was typical of most people, especially if they have a crush on that person.
I would recommend the story for anyone whose interested in transgender characters and how they deal with living their live and how people often react to finding out that they are transgender.
I'd picked the book up at my library because I was interested in reading about transgender characters and I liked her portrayal of Frank. I thought Elle's reaction to finding out Frank was transgender was typical of most people, especially if they have a crush on that person.
I would recommend the story for anyone whose interested in transgender characters and how they deal with living their live and how people often react to finding out that they are transgender.
April 16, 2015
so this book is titled after a quote from one of the most significant characters in the book. sometimes we do things to jumpstart the world into doing what it knows it should. this is not a book meant to change minds, its meant to move the stagnant. I would not give this book to my homophobic students, but I would give it to their friend who stands off quietly to the side, wondering what their role in everything should be. oh and the recurring cat motif was extra awesome. I kind of wish I had a cat like Toto now.
May 2, 2011
This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/20...
At 15, Elle isn't old enough to be on her own, but her mother's boyfriend doesn't want her around. Rather than being a good mom and telling the boyfriend to take a hike, Elle's mom rents an apartment across town for her to live in. In defiance, Elle chops off her hair and heads to her new high school looking a bit worse for the wear. She also chooses the ugliest cat she could find at the pound to irritate her beauty-obsessed mother. Toto is scraggly and only has one eye, but Elle grows to love him.
Her neighbor Frank helps her with her unpacking, and Elle develops a bit of a crush on him. Then she finds out he has a partner, Molly, but the crush endures. When Molly goes to her locker at school, someone has scrawled the word "QUEER" across it (probably due to her chopped off hair), and that lets her know that she will probably not be making many new friends. She does, however, end up getting to know a group of LGBT kids, and, while she's not certain exactly how she feels about them, they take her in with open arms. At a get-together at Elle's apartment, her new friends tell her that they think Frank is transgender, and Elle is flabbergasted at even the thought, especially since she's crushing so much on him. If he's transgender, what does that say about HER, especially since all of her new friends have varying sexual identities?
This novel is brilliant; I love Ms. Hyde's writing style. She totally gets into the mind of a teenager who is going through a heck of a lot. Knowing that your mother prefers being with her boyfriend over taking care of you would throw anyone into a tailspin, and finding yourself seriously crushing on someone who is or was a woman at the same time?
This book is not about sexual identity, although that theme runs through the book. It's about friendship, and acceptance, and knowing that being different isn't a bad thing. There is a lot of punch packed into this short novel, and I would highly recommend it to any reader, not just YA readers. I really loved it, and I'm passing it on to my Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn, who I think will love it too.
QUOTES
I took it kind of hard. Hearing that he wasn't around much. But then again, I don't have tons and tons of friends. And only one ever offered to look after me. Even my mother isn't entirely committed to that.
I didn't want to look at him. Because I didn't want to do that thing. That obvious thing. Where you look at him in a whole new light. Use the new information to look at him and see something entirely different. I didn't care to try on any new views of Frank.
It struck me suddenly how utterly ridiculous it is to ever think you know anybody. Or to ever think you've found anybody you can love.
Because you don't know anybody.
Ever.
Especially when you haven't even known them all that long. But, really, not even when you've known them all your life. I never thought my mother would trade me for some dork named Donald. And I sure as hell never thought Frank was anything other than a guy.
Writing: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 5 out 5 stars
BOOK RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
At 15, Elle isn't old enough to be on her own, but her mother's boyfriend doesn't want her around. Rather than being a good mom and telling the boyfriend to take a hike, Elle's mom rents an apartment across town for her to live in. In defiance, Elle chops off her hair and heads to her new high school looking a bit worse for the wear. She also chooses the ugliest cat she could find at the pound to irritate her beauty-obsessed mother. Toto is scraggly and only has one eye, but Elle grows to love him.
Her neighbor Frank helps her with her unpacking, and Elle develops a bit of a crush on him. Then she finds out he has a partner, Molly, but the crush endures. When Molly goes to her locker at school, someone has scrawled the word "QUEER" across it (probably due to her chopped off hair), and that lets her know that she will probably not be making many new friends. She does, however, end up getting to know a group of LGBT kids, and, while she's not certain exactly how she feels about them, they take her in with open arms. At a get-together at Elle's apartment, her new friends tell her that they think Frank is transgender, and Elle is flabbergasted at even the thought, especially since she's crushing so much on him. If he's transgender, what does that say about HER, especially since all of her new friends have varying sexual identities?
This novel is brilliant; I love Ms. Hyde's writing style. She totally gets into the mind of a teenager who is going through a heck of a lot. Knowing that your mother prefers being with her boyfriend over taking care of you would throw anyone into a tailspin, and finding yourself seriously crushing on someone who is or was a woman at the same time?
This book is not about sexual identity, although that theme runs through the book. It's about friendship, and acceptance, and knowing that being different isn't a bad thing. There is a lot of punch packed into this short novel, and I would highly recommend it to any reader, not just YA readers. I really loved it, and I'm passing it on to my Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn, who I think will love it too.
QUOTES
I took it kind of hard. Hearing that he wasn't around much. But then again, I don't have tons and tons of friends. And only one ever offered to look after me. Even my mother isn't entirely committed to that.
I didn't want to look at him. Because I didn't want to do that thing. That obvious thing. Where you look at him in a whole new light. Use the new information to look at him and see something entirely different. I didn't care to try on any new views of Frank.
It struck me suddenly how utterly ridiculous it is to ever think you know anybody. Or to ever think you've found anybody you can love.
Because you don't know anybody.
Ever.
Especially when you haven't even known them all that long. But, really, not even when you've known them all your life. I never thought my mother would trade me for some dork named Donald. And I sure as hell never thought Frank was anything other than a guy.
Writing: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 5 out 5 stars
BOOK RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
January 8, 2021
A YA book by this author, but a lesson to be learned by everyone. It touches on acceptance, friends and feelings of doubt. Glad I read it.
October 20, 2010
Abandoned across town in a brand new apartment, Elle is left with a living room of boxes each full with items she could care less about, and a cat who would rather hide in the closet than come anywhere near a human being. Only when she meets her new neighbor, Frank, does she begin to feel a flicker of life return to her body. Although for Elle, the life she’s about to embark on is one she couldn’t have imagined if she tried. Forced to discover the importance of another’s individual worth Elle is about to realize that she could impact not only her own life, but all who come in contact with her.
Elle’s experiences are influenced heavily by the lack of concern and love her mother has for her. Pre-occupied with her most recent boyfriend, Elle’s mother abandons her. It effects everything about how Elle interacts with people. From the distance she keeps to which words she chooses to speak and when to say them. The only acquaintances she allows herself to have are her new neighbor Frank and then later a few friends from school. Even their interest and subsequent kindness isn’t enough to break down the walls she’s built.
In ways that I haven’t read before, Catherine Ryan Hyde captures what it means to be a teenager. Being one is such a multi-layered experience that, I think, as we get older we tend to peel away – leaving only our core-selves. We forget that to be a teenager is more than attending high school and plodding through homework; it’s painful, enlightening, joyous, heart-wrenching, arduous, and much much more. As a teen we see things for the first time as we never have before and often we make mistakes that can feel like the end of the world because we’ve never experienced them before. We often grow numb as we age, forgetting the passions and anxieties we once had. Jumpstart the World wipes away that desensitization and opens your eyes to things once forgotten.
One of my favorite scenes from the story happens just after Elle’s discovery that her cat is suddenly quite ill, leading her to seek Frank’s help in which she also learns he’s transgender. In one fell swoop she feels unsettled and unsure of how to handle the situation. Are they friends still? Is she now gay? With no instructions and the absence of love in her life up to this point she’s finds it nearly impossible to process what’s happening to her.
For me, my Frank was a boy by the name of Dirk. It was my junior year of high school and we’d just moved to a new town with a new school. I knew no one. He was the first person to say hello to me and the last to say goodbye before we moved back to our hometown a year later. Completely smitten, I ignored what was so blatantly obvious to so many others. In the end I only discovered Dirk was gay three days before we moved and in so many ways I was just like Elle in Jumpstart the World, devastated and scared. This was my first personal encounter with anyone gay and I had no idea what it meant for our future friendship. Much like Elle I discovered that it changed nearly nothing, except it did. He was still a huge part of my life and someone who had made a difference when no one else had. He made me aware of others in a way no one else could have, from how he regarded me to how he was(and had been) treated himself. It was a defining moment in my life, one in which enabled me to look on another with new eyes, an open mind and most of all…love.
Love. It’s power to move forces for good and it’s debilitating effect when it is lacking is tremendous. In Jumpstart the World love could quite possibly be considered another character, it encapsulates everything that Elle experiences, the good and the bad. Her mother, her new circle of friends, and most especially her relationship with Frank. Though Elle doesn’t realize it initially, love is something that’s a driving force in her life, and unfortunately it’s due to a lack thereof. Thankfully with the help of her friends, most importantly her relationships with Frank and Wilbur, she is able to thrive in her new life. A life that has the potential to “jumpstart the world.”
For me, Jumpstart the World is a must read. Not only will it help adults in regaining a sense of appreciation and understanding of this difficult time of life, it may also help others to become more tolerant and kind. In a day when teens often feel abandoned and completely alone they need books like Jumpstart the World that show them there is love in the world. With an eloquence I have yet to read elsewhere, Catherine Ryan Hyde illustrates precisely the impact one individual can have on another, especially when the motive is love.
Elle’s experiences are influenced heavily by the lack of concern and love her mother has for her. Pre-occupied with her most recent boyfriend, Elle’s mother abandons her. It effects everything about how Elle interacts with people. From the distance she keeps to which words she chooses to speak and when to say them. The only acquaintances she allows herself to have are her new neighbor Frank and then later a few friends from school. Even their interest and subsequent kindness isn’t enough to break down the walls she’s built.
In ways that I haven’t read before, Catherine Ryan Hyde captures what it means to be a teenager. Being one is such a multi-layered experience that, I think, as we get older we tend to peel away – leaving only our core-selves. We forget that to be a teenager is more than attending high school and plodding through homework; it’s painful, enlightening, joyous, heart-wrenching, arduous, and much much more. As a teen we see things for the first time as we never have before and often we make mistakes that can feel like the end of the world because we’ve never experienced them before. We often grow numb as we age, forgetting the passions and anxieties we once had. Jumpstart the World wipes away that desensitization and opens your eyes to things once forgotten.
One of my favorite scenes from the story happens just after Elle’s discovery that her cat is suddenly quite ill, leading her to seek Frank’s help in which she also learns he’s transgender. In one fell swoop she feels unsettled and unsure of how to handle the situation. Are they friends still? Is she now gay? With no instructions and the absence of love in her life up to this point she’s finds it nearly impossible to process what’s happening to her.
For me, my Frank was a boy by the name of Dirk. It was my junior year of high school and we’d just moved to a new town with a new school. I knew no one. He was the first person to say hello to me and the last to say goodbye before we moved back to our hometown a year later. Completely smitten, I ignored what was so blatantly obvious to so many others. In the end I only discovered Dirk was gay three days before we moved and in so many ways I was just like Elle in Jumpstart the World, devastated and scared. This was my first personal encounter with anyone gay and I had no idea what it meant for our future friendship. Much like Elle I discovered that it changed nearly nothing, except it did. He was still a huge part of my life and someone who had made a difference when no one else had. He made me aware of others in a way no one else could have, from how he regarded me to how he was(and had been) treated himself. It was a defining moment in my life, one in which enabled me to look on another with new eyes, an open mind and most of all…love.
Love. It’s power to move forces for good and it’s debilitating effect when it is lacking is tremendous. In Jumpstart the World love could quite possibly be considered another character, it encapsulates everything that Elle experiences, the good and the bad. Her mother, her new circle of friends, and most especially her relationship with Frank. Though Elle doesn’t realize it initially, love is something that’s a driving force in her life, and unfortunately it’s due to a lack thereof. Thankfully with the help of her friends, most importantly her relationships with Frank and Wilbur, she is able to thrive in her new life. A life that has the potential to “jumpstart the world.”
For me, Jumpstart the World is a must read. Not only will it help adults in regaining a sense of appreciation and understanding of this difficult time of life, it may also help others to become more tolerant and kind. In a day when teens often feel abandoned and completely alone they need books like Jumpstart the World that show them there is love in the world. With an eloquence I have yet to read elsewhere, Catherine Ryan Hyde illustrates precisely the impact one individual can have on another, especially when the motive is love.
January 23, 2013
This book called "Jumpstart the World" is about a sixteen years old girl name Elle who's relationship with her mother is not the best. Her mom basically chooses her boyfriend over her,so she sent her to live in a apartment by herself where she meets this guy named Frank who is many years older than her. Since she saw Frank from the very first time she liked him and can not stop thinking about him. Since Elle moved to her new apartment Frank have offer her his friendship and helped her in many things so Elle started feeling something for Frank. "Frank is the type of guy that's hard not to like" Says Elle.
Based on what I've read so far about the book i think this book is great.! I really enjoy reading it everything i start to read it. It's a very catchy book that grabs the reader's attention really fast. Also this book is a good book for a teenager like me to read because Elle's life story makes a connection with my life,so i really understand what her life is having to deal with her mother's boyfriend and the fact that she does not feel like she has a mother because her mother is never there for her.
At the beginning of the book i noticed that this book had caught my attention really fast which is rare. Every time i read a book it usually starts very slow and boring, but this book actually was not.This book is very fun and interesting at the same time. I liked that the reader used very good grammar which makes the reader read even more.Before i started reading the book i was wondering what the cover meant. I Really thought it was a scary book but as soon as i started reading it i found out the true meaning of the book cover. It really fits and describes the story.
I definitely loved this book even though i'm still reading it. I enjoy every page i read because it's just a great book. I will definitely recommend this book to a friend because i know she will enjoy it as much as i am. Its a great book and the story is interesting. Thanks to Catherine Ryan Hyde for providing such an excellent book like Jumstart the World. I really hope to read more books as interesting as this one.
Based on what I've read so far about the book i think this book is great.! I really enjoy reading it everything i start to read it. It's a very catchy book that grabs the reader's attention really fast. Also this book is a good book for a teenager like me to read because Elle's life story makes a connection with my life,so i really understand what her life is having to deal with her mother's boyfriend and the fact that she does not feel like she has a mother because her mother is never there for her.
At the beginning of the book i noticed that this book had caught my attention really fast which is rare. Every time i read a book it usually starts very slow and boring, but this book actually was not.This book is very fun and interesting at the same time. I liked that the reader used very good grammar which makes the reader read even more.Before i started reading the book i was wondering what the cover meant. I Really thought it was a scary book but as soon as i started reading it i found out the true meaning of the book cover. It really fits and describes the story.
I definitely loved this book even though i'm still reading it. I enjoy every page i read because it's just a great book. I will definitely recommend this book to a friend because i know she will enjoy it as much as i am. Its a great book and the story is interesting. Thanks to Catherine Ryan Hyde for providing such an excellent book like Jumstart the World. I really hope to read more books as interesting as this one.
September 16, 2013
I read this book in one sitting. I was a little afraid that this book would be maudlin and preachy. I was pleasantly surprised. Catherine Ryan Hyde showed both restraint and skill when writing this book.
Obviously this book would be wonderful for LGBTQ teens to read. It is important to be able to see yourself reflected in literature. But in a way I almost feel as if it is a more important book to share with people who do not have a connection with that community. The beauty of literature is that it allows us to experience the world from a different perceptive, to gain awareness of another's reality. This book in some ways is like an introduction from Elle to the reader, "Here is my friend Frank. This is why I love him." It is hard to truly hate someone once you get to know them and I feel that that is some of the lasting power of this book.
Jumpstart the World manages to do with without feeling contrived. Considering the potential for this subject to read as a sort of after school special I think that is remarkable. I was impressed that the characters seemed so authentic. There were no "angels" and even characters that are written as deeply flawed (such as Elle's mother) are never shown as being flat or without the potential for change.
This book left me with characters that I really loved (Wilbur, Bob, and Bobby on particular) and a great deal to think about.
Obviously this book would be wonderful for LGBTQ teens to read. It is important to be able to see yourself reflected in literature. But in a way I almost feel as if it is a more important book to share with people who do not have a connection with that community. The beauty of literature is that it allows us to experience the world from a different perceptive, to gain awareness of another's reality. This book in some ways is like an introduction from Elle to the reader, "Here is my friend Frank. This is why I love him." It is hard to truly hate someone once you get to know them and I feel that that is some of the lasting power of this book.
Jumpstart the World manages to do with without feeling contrived. Considering the potential for this subject to read as a sort of after school special I think that is remarkable. I was impressed that the characters seemed so authentic. There were no "angels" and even characters that are written as deeply flawed (such as Elle's mother) are never shown as being flat or without the potential for change.
This book left me with characters that I really loved (Wilbur, Bob, and Bobby on particular) and a great deal to think about.
January 24, 2018
This book presents an interior view into an adolescent girl’s evolving relationship with an older neighbor. This friendship is complicated and challenged by the neighbor’s own complication. (Trying to avoid spoilers here.)
In short, I found this to be an illustrative characterization of a young woman and her deepening maturity and wisdom.
In short, I found this to be an illustrative characterization of a young woman and her deepening maturity and wisdom.
January 15, 2025
Mixed feeling about this unusual CRH book. Too many things simply made no sense at all. It felt very incomplete. Lost and confused characters with multiple issues who just couldn’t seem to find their way. If it wasn’t a quick (short) read, I probably would not have bothered to finish it.
favorite quotes:
“Since we all know for a fact that we're all going to die, why don't we all treat each other like we could lose each other at any minute?”
favorite quotes:
“Since we all know for a fact that we're all going to die, why don't we all treat each other like we could lose each other at any minute?”
May 18, 2011
I'd love to read a good YA book about a transman, but this isn't it. Nothing was plausible, up to and including the magical pixie gay. Oh, and character "development."
March 14, 2025
While I appreciate any story that attempts to promote acceptance of trans and mentally ill people, I have some thoughts on this one.
The main character was just absolutely awful to read about for the first half of the book. Like scraping sandpaper across my eyes for a few hours. As a trans person I have difficulty empathizing with cis people who react with such immediate hostility to the possibility of someone they’re close to being trans but I really tried to put myself in her shoes while reading this. Elle is bullied for having a gender non-conforming haircut and is taken in by the nice queer kids, who show her a lot of grace despite her obviously complicated feelings about homosexuality. When they merely suggest that Frank is a trans man she kicks them all out and refuses to speak to them. When she realizes they’re correct and her reaction was out of order, she doubles down and refuses to speak to Frank much at all. She’s averse to the idea because she has a crush on Frank and worries that she may need to re-question her sexuality, which is a perfect moment to try to break down that common cisnormative mindset that AFAB = not male, but this ends up being a missed opportunity as it’s not really explored. She eventually grows from these experiences and becomes a better person but my God she is unrealistically dense and cruel even for a 16 year old with a troubled family life. She’s not educated except for the brief moment where she’s forced to consider how Frank might be discriminated against in the hospital, so it feels like she’s hasn’t grown much at all by the end. She isn’t outwardly hostile anymore and I guess that’s a good first step, but it would’ve been nice to have an extra chapter or an epilogue where she’s a lot more knowledgeable on the issues, maybe even have a gallery showing pictures she’s taken to celebrate trans New Yorkers or something.
Also, why did she have to randomly say the r-slur, and why is it never addressed?
Frank is much too quiet. I understand that this story is not about the trans character but about the cis character and how their worldview changes after interacting with the former. But doesn’t that mean that trans character should talk a little about their journey? We don’t learn very much about Frank besides the fact that he’s a vet tech who’s in school and used to live in South Carolina. And he hasn’t had top surgery yet. We don’t know how his family or coworkers feel about his identity, we don’t know how he and Molly met, how their relationship was affected when he came out and started transitioning… there are so many things I would care to know about Frank that could’ve made him much more interesting. Or he could’ve helped educate the main character, give her more information about his life and community. His whole character was another big missed opportunity.
Lastly, a pet peeve I have with trans lit and specifically YA trans lit: being provided with deadnames. I never need or want to know a trans character’s deadname. Especially in this book, when it serves very little purpose. One or two sentences could’ve been put in place of the sentence that contains Frank’s deadname and the story wouldn’t have been impacted whatsoever.
The main character was just absolutely awful to read about for the first half of the book. Like scraping sandpaper across my eyes for a few hours. As a trans person I have difficulty empathizing with cis people who react with such immediate hostility to the possibility of someone they’re close to being trans but I really tried to put myself in her shoes while reading this. Elle is bullied for having a gender non-conforming haircut and is taken in by the nice queer kids, who show her a lot of grace despite her obviously complicated feelings about homosexuality. When they merely suggest that Frank is a trans man she kicks them all out and refuses to speak to them. When she realizes they’re correct and her reaction was out of order, she doubles down and refuses to speak to Frank much at all. She’s averse to the idea because she has a crush on Frank and worries that she may need to re-question her sexuality, which is a perfect moment to try to break down that common cisnormative mindset that AFAB = not male, but this ends up being a missed opportunity as it’s not really explored. She eventually grows from these experiences and becomes a better person but my God she is unrealistically dense and cruel even for a 16 year old with a troubled family life. She’s not educated except for the brief moment where she’s forced to consider how Frank might be discriminated against in the hospital, so it feels like she’s hasn’t grown much at all by the end. She isn’t outwardly hostile anymore and I guess that’s a good first step, but it would’ve been nice to have an extra chapter or an epilogue where she’s a lot more knowledgeable on the issues, maybe even have a gallery showing pictures she’s taken to celebrate trans New Yorkers or something.
Also, why did she have to randomly say the r-slur, and why is it never addressed?
Frank is much too quiet. I understand that this story is not about the trans character but about the cis character and how their worldview changes after interacting with the former. But doesn’t that mean that trans character should talk a little about their journey? We don’t learn very much about Frank besides the fact that he’s a vet tech who’s in school and used to live in South Carolina. And he hasn’t had top surgery yet. We don’t know how his family or coworkers feel about his identity, we don’t know how he and Molly met, how their relationship was affected when he came out and started transitioning… there are so many things I would care to know about Frank that could’ve made him much more interesting. Or he could’ve helped educate the main character, give her more information about his life and community. His whole character was another big missed opportunity.
Lastly, a pet peeve I have with trans lit and specifically YA trans lit: being provided with deadnames. I never need or want to know a trans character’s deadname. Especially in this book, when it serves very little purpose. One or two sentences could’ve been put in place of the sentence that contains Frank’s deadname and the story wouldn’t have been impacted whatsoever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, and it was a quick read! Elle’s mom basically kicks her out. Before Elle moves to her new apartment, Elle decides to go to the shelter and gets a one eyed cat. Elle likes this cat but mainly gets him because her mother would hate it. She names him Toto after Toto in the Wizard of Oz. While Elle is moving into her new apartment, Frank introduces himself and that he is her neighbor. Right way, Elle knows that she is going to like Frank. At the beginning of the book, Elle has sort of long red hair but then she cuts it into a short man-like hair style (specifically Annie Lennox). Elle also knows that her mother would hate this. We learn that Frank lives with Molly, and she is a photographer who makes really good chicken noodle soup. At school, a group of guys writes ‘queer’ on Elle’s locker. Elle then goes into the bathroom and meets Shane who has blue hair. She is skipping class. Elle starts sitting with Shane and her friends Bob and Bob (who are dating), Wilbur, and Annabel (even though we don’t really see much of her). Elle visits Molly and Frank a few times during the novel. On Elle’s birthday, after coming home from school, Elle finds a wrapped present outside her door. She received a large piece of cake and a stuffed cat (Toto currently hates her). A few days later, Elle has a party with Shane, the Bobs, and Wilbur. They bring 2 six packs of beer. Later during the party, Frank stopped over to say that tomorrow Molly was making soup. After he leaves, Little Bob says FTM. Then the rest of her friends start talking but Elle is confused. They think Frank is a trans man but Elle doesn’t believe them. The next night, while Elle is over at Molly and Frank’s place, Elle is uncertain if she is still friends with the people from school because she felt that they were judgemental. She talks about it with Molly and Frank and they assure her and want her to have more than 2 friends. When she gets home, a present and card are sitting outside her door. She receives a painting of flowers from the Bobs. Elle is enlightened that they gave her something. The next day, Wilbur tells Elle that Shane is looking for her and they (Shane and Elle) argue about whether Frank is a trans man or not. She reunites with her and the Bobs. When Elle arrives home from school, her mom is there unexpectedly. Elle was mad at her mother but she also got presents for her birthday so that made her happy. Since Molly is really good at photography and Frank is really good at Scrabble, Elle wants to take picture of them dancing. Her photos didn’t turn out so well but then her mom arrives. Her mother is confused about how she was taking pictures and Elle explains that she used the money from returning all of the things her mother bought her. A while later, Elle realizes that Toto’s food bowl still has a lot of food in it. Elle finds Toto in a closet and he doesn’t look so good. One side of his face was lumpy and puffed up. We learned earlier that Frank is a vet so Elle runs over and talks to him. Frank is holding a party. While in Franks apartment, Elle sees a top surgery tree but is confused at what it is. On the subway, Elle asks about the top surgery tree. Frank explains that it’s a phase of gender-reassignment surgery (he was a woman). At the vet we learn that Toto had an infected tooth and they had to surgically remove it. It rested and received antibiotics at the hospital. Elle skips school a few days but one day she decides to go in later in the day. She finds Wilbur who is skipping gym class. Elle asks him if she can take pictures of him. They also talk about Toto. Elle brings Toto home a few days later but has to give him pills so she has Frank help her. They also talk about how their relationship is now that Elle knows that Frank was once a woman. That next Sunday, Wilbur and Elle go to a park (probably Central Park since the novel is set in New York) and Elle takes pictures of Wilbur near a dog statue (Balto?). After taking pictures, Elle and Wilbur talk about their sexuality (he wears a lot of makeup). Wilbur doesn’t need to be a girl but he’s not happy with who he is. Wilbur also knows that Elle is uncomfortable with Frank. When they go back to Elle’s apartment, there are police officers there, and it looks like someone got hit by a car (Wilbur then leaves). Harry (who is schizophrenic and crazy if he doesn’t take his meds) says he was the one that did it. Elle goes out on her fire escape, which she does a lot (Frank also sits out on his and they talk) and she sees glasses on the ground. She thinks they are Franks and she runs down, grabs them, and finds Molly. We then learn that Frank was the person hit by the car and he is at the hospital. Elle doesn’t believe that Crazy Harry should be able to live outside of supervision (Molly and Elle talk about this, and Molly doesn’t hate Harry). Frank goes home that night because he refuses to stay at the hospital but Liz, a nurse, is with him and Molly. The next night Frank needs to go to the hospital. Since Molly and Frank aren’t married, Molly can not stay after visiting hours, but Frank has to stay in the hospital. Elle decides that she will stay with him that night. She hides under the bed and isn’t seen for awhile. Then a nurse comes in to check on Frank (checks his drain which Elle had to look away for) and Elle learns that the nurse is a man. Elle quickly hides behind a chair in the room but the nurse sees her. The nurse and Elle agree that they never talked at that he didn’t know she was in there. A few days later, Frank is able to go home. One night Wilbur comes to Elle’s apartment and the next morning they talk about Elle’s crush on Frank and her cat. Frank asks Elle to change his bandages because Molly gets queasy when she does it. While Elle is helping Frank, she gets queasy from seeing a metal bar and pins in his arm. Frank mentions jumpstarting the world. A few days later, Elle’s mother arrives again and Elle tells her about Franks accident and Toto. The next day, Frank tells Elle that he and Molly are moving back to South Carolina, because of the doctor bills and the rent. Wilbur comes over one night and they talk about how sad Elle is about Frank leaving. Wilbur explains to her that she isn’t alone. A few days later, Elle’s mother comes back and tells her that her boyfriend broke up with her. Elle also is joined by her school friends with ice cream because Wilbur told them about Franks situation. That night Shane makes up a game where each person has to say the worst, most painful loss that they ever had with someone. Little Bobby talks about his relationship with his pediatrician. Bobby talks about a thirteen year old girl he had a crush on and they wrote notes in class. Bobby kept all of the notes but the girl wanted them back and then she burned them. Someone else (maybe Big Bob) talks about his cousin who he had a lot of experiences with but then his cousin told everyone that Bob was gay. Wilbur talks about his mom’s boyfriend’s brother who was really kind to him but then he molested him. Wilbur also talks about how he wanted him to keep doing what he did so he could get attention. The day that Frank and Molly leave is the day that Elle talks to Crazy Harry. He is interested in her camera. Also that day, Toto finally comes out of his hiding spot and loves up Elle. The last few pages are letters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2025
I completely agree with the 1 and 2 star reviews on this book, I wish I could link them here, but I couldn't find that option. Some snippets from reviews I particularly agree with:
**Shona writes:**
Beyond this book being misclassified as queer literature when it's really a "reward cishet people for basic decency" story, there was the cat subplot that absolutely infuriated me. The MC goes to a shelter, adopts a cat that "no one else wants," and acts like she's some kind of hero and savior for it. Then she doesn't even bother to take care of the poor animal, doesn't check on him for *seven days*. And then there's that scene where Frank tells her to "let herself off the hook" for neglecting the cat. She never put herself on the hook in the first place! Seriously, I hated it.
Maybe I should give this 2 stars instead of 1, just because it's at least not actively telling queer people to go to hell. I'm sure there are books out there doing that, and maybe I should reserve my 1-star ratings for them. I wish you'd make it possible to give zero stars, Goodreads.
**Shona writes:**
I would not classify this book as queer fiction because it's not about LGBT people. It's about using LGBT people as a prop to teach a heterosexual girl that being different is okay.
Elle also does not want friends, at all, yet she makes a solid group of friends that are outcasts because of their sexuality (and a birthmark, but this book didn't feel like it was fetishizing birth defects, only sexuality and a man's trans identity). She treats them rather cruelly in the beginning, and they just take it. Ugh.
Beyond this book being misclassified as queer literature when it's really a "reward cishet people for basic decency" story, there was the cat subplot that absolutely infuriated me. The MC goes to a shelter, adopts a cat that "no one else wants," and acts like she's some kind of hero and savior for it. Then she doesn't even bother to take care of the poor animal, doesn't check on him for *seven days*. And then there's that scene where Frank tells her to "let herself off the hook" for neglecting the cat. She never put herself on the hook in the first place! Seriously, I hated it.
Maybe I should give this 2 stars instead of 1, just because it's at least not actively telling queer people to go to hell. I'm sure there are books out there doing that, and maybe I should reserve my 1-star ratings for them. I wish you'd make it possible to give zero stars, Goodreads.
July 21, 2024
even after looking through a lens of twelve years after this book was originally published, some parts were still a hard read.
i bought this book because i am severely lacking in literature that involves transgender men as one of the main supporting characters, and as a trans man myself i want to read more books that involve such things.
i honestly think my life would be the same as before i read this book. the age gap between elle and frank adds absolutely nothing except a weird feeling sitting in your stomach as you read along. the tired trope of “character A has never experienced this type of thing before and therefore is borderline phobic of it until something tragic happens to character B and it changes character A’s entire world view” is incredibly tired and thoroughly played out. the main character being so young and “sheltered” is the only redeemable aspect of elle’s thought process after finding out frank is a trans man.
while i do not think i could’ve brought myself to finish this book if it was longer than it was at 186 pages, the book felt too short to actually develop any connection to any character introduced. the random and casual use of the r slur near the end of the book was incredibly out of left field, especially since the word had not appeared before hand out of any character’s mouth before this point and just added the final nail in the coffin for my two star rating.
i bought this book because i am severely lacking in literature that involves transgender men as one of the main supporting characters, and as a trans man myself i want to read more books that involve such things.
i honestly think my life would be the same as before i read this book. the age gap between elle and frank adds absolutely nothing except a weird feeling sitting in your stomach as you read along. the tired trope of “character A has never experienced this type of thing before and therefore is borderline phobic of it until something tragic happens to character B and it changes character A’s entire world view” is incredibly tired and thoroughly played out. the main character being so young and “sheltered” is the only redeemable aspect of elle’s thought process after finding out frank is a trans man.
while i do not think i could’ve brought myself to finish this book if it was longer than it was at 186 pages, the book felt too short to actually develop any connection to any character introduced. the random and casual use of the r slur near the end of the book was incredibly out of left field, especially since the word had not appeared before hand out of any character’s mouth before this point and just added the final nail in the coffin for my two star rating.
January 16, 2024
This is my new favorite book by Ms. Ryan-Hyde. Wonderful in so many ways. It delves deeply into the LGBTQIA community but focuses on a 15 year old girl put in an apartment across town (NYC!) by her mother because her mother’s current boyfriend doesn’t like kids. No one called Child Protective Services but they should have. They have a complicated and unhealthy relationship. Not a surprise.
She meets an older man as she moves in and becomes close friends with him but he turns out to be transgender and transitioning. She is used to being alone but finds a few unlikely friends at her new school, sort of, finds she has talent in photography. She’s a cat who hates her. Trials and tribulations ensue.
That doesn’t do justice to this magnificent book. The issues transgender people face have been something I’ve been thinking about for a few years, have read a lot, including fiction, about them but no one has so clearly delineated them as Catherine has done in this quick read. The best part being the ending leaves me feeling someday we might just get this right. Not today, nor even soon, but someday. There is hope in this book. I’m neither gay nor transgender but I hurt when people do and this eased that just a bit. I’m grateful for that.
She meets an older man as she moves in and becomes close friends with him but he turns out to be transgender and transitioning. She is used to being alone but finds a few unlikely friends at her new school, sort of, finds she has talent in photography. She’s a cat who hates her. Trials and tribulations ensue.
That doesn’t do justice to this magnificent book. The issues transgender people face have been something I’ve been thinking about for a few years, have read a lot, including fiction, about them but no one has so clearly delineated them as Catherine has done in this quick read. The best part being the ending leaves me feeling someday we might just get this right. Not today, nor even soon, but someday. There is hope in this book. I’m neither gay nor transgender but I hurt when people do and this eased that just a bit. I’m grateful for that.
December 2, 2024
Two stars because there were some things I liked. But it still wasn’t great by any stretch.
This felt shallow. Like the novella version of Oscar bait. Gonna use a straight person encountering minorities for the first time to prop up a story that would only truly twist and pull at straight cis people’s emotions for the duration of the book. Surface level explanation of concepts feelings and identities. It feels like it was written so non community members could clap themselves on the back after reading it.
Suppose the good news is that it reads like a footnote compared to almost of the other powerhouse queer stories.
I think if this was written from the perspective of an adult it might mean more and have more room for depth as well. Because it would mean the MC would have more lived experience to internalize, and the relationship / friendship between her and frank wouldn’t feel so awkward in some places for reasons you can’t fault a 15 year old kid for.
Always enjoy found family and the idea of a queer couple looking after a kid left to fend for herself would otherwise be a great premise. But this ain’t it.
This felt shallow. Like the novella version of Oscar bait. Gonna use a straight person encountering minorities for the first time to prop up a story that would only truly twist and pull at straight cis people’s emotions for the duration of the book. Surface level explanation of concepts feelings and identities. It feels like it was written so non community members could clap themselves on the back after reading it.
Suppose the good news is that it reads like a footnote compared to almost of the other powerhouse queer stories.
I think if this was written from the perspective of an adult it might mean more and have more room for depth as well. Because it would mean the MC would have more lived experience to internalize, and the relationship / friendship between her and frank wouldn’t feel so awkward in some places for reasons you can’t fault a 15 year old kid for.
Always enjoy found family and the idea of a queer couple looking after a kid left to fend for herself would otherwise be a great premise. But this ain’t it.
January 11, 2021
Catherine Ryan Hyde, how do you do it. Every one of your books, I just feel so totally understood. It’s like we are all so normal in all of our weirdnesses.
And also alike in all of our differences.
When Elle starts a new school at age 15, and strangers paint “queer” on her locker, I think of me in second grade at a new school with all the kids around me laughing and screaming Fran is a lesbian. Now I am wondering why didn’t I just ask somebody what is that? And where was the part of me that knew everyone is OK, so that’s probably OK too, whatever it is.
I was so terrorized by that word, delivered right after my dad died and we moved to a place where I had no friends, and no emotional support.
Just one person to really talk to would have done me wonders. And I know it is that way for so many people. Just someone to sort through it and see that we are OK. Someone to care in that way.
I could probably write books about any one of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books. That is all for now.
And also alike in all of our differences.
When Elle starts a new school at age 15, and strangers paint “queer” on her locker, I think of me in second grade at a new school with all the kids around me laughing and screaming Fran is a lesbian. Now I am wondering why didn’t I just ask somebody what is that? And where was the part of me that knew everyone is OK, so that’s probably OK too, whatever it is.
I was so terrorized by that word, delivered right after my dad died and we moved to a place where I had no friends, and no emotional support.
Just one person to really talk to would have done me wonders. And I know it is that way for so many people. Just someone to sort through it and see that we are OK. Someone to care in that way.
I could probably write books about any one of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books. That is all for now.
May 21, 2021
Wonderful!
Another Great story with lessons to be had. It seems that we all have to take our time trying to accept who we are and how we will react to people who may have a secret that they may or may not share with others. Even when we consider that person to be our friend. In this book I found myself identifying with Elle in how she reacts to the info her friends tell her about her friend and neighbor Frank. He is transitioning from female to male and Elle found herself attracted to him. But when she finds out he is transitioning, she wonders if she might be gay. Being only15 years old when she moved into the apartment, it is a wonder how she coped so well as she did. Being more or less a teenager, anything could have happened. I truly appreciate and enjoy reading every book I can of Ms Ryan Hyde and look forward to the next one I can find.
Another Great story with lessons to be had. It seems that we all have to take our time trying to accept who we are and how we will react to people who may have a secret that they may or may not share with others. Even when we consider that person to be our friend. In this book I found myself identifying with Elle in how she reacts to the info her friends tell her about her friend and neighbor Frank. He is transitioning from female to male and Elle found herself attracted to him. But when she finds out he is transitioning, she wonders if she might be gay. Being only15 years old when she moved into the apartment, it is a wonder how she coped so well as she did. Being more or less a teenager, anything could have happened. I truly appreciate and enjoy reading every book I can of Ms Ryan Hyde and look forward to the next one I can find.
January 13, 2022
About being different
We are all, each one of us, different, aren’t we?
This is about a 15 year old whose mother does not choose her, but pays for her to live in a cheap apartment in New York, while running off with the boyfriend she chose.
Elle immediately meets her neighbor. He is about a decade older but she has a crush on him. At school a girl with green hair befriends her. She becomes one of their offbeat group of mostly gays. Elle assures them she is not gay. Then she overhears her friends talking about her neighbor Frank and she runs from their conclusions and them.
This is not only a good read but a bit of an important book. It’s about love and rejection and belonging.
We are all, each one of us, different, aren’t we?
This is about a 15 year old whose mother does not choose her, but pays for her to live in a cheap apartment in New York, while running off with the boyfriend she chose.
Elle immediately meets her neighbor. He is about a decade older but she has a crush on him. At school a girl with green hair befriends her. She becomes one of their offbeat group of mostly gays. Elle assures them she is not gay. Then she overhears her friends talking about her neighbor Frank and she runs from their conclusions and them.
This is not only a good read but a bit of an important book. It’s about love and rejection and belonging.
September 16, 2023
Very mixed feelings on this book. I found Elle very insufferable at times, and she was honestly I really bad friend to all characters in this book. I did enjoy the growth she went through to become accepting of Frank, but is she really accepting Frank for who he is? Or was she just scared that she would be seen as gay because she had a little (big) crush on Frank who was AFAB, and she was already being bullied for "being gay" since she shaved her head. I don't think she's accepting, but rather trying to validate her own feelings and worries about her self. Maybe that's too deep of an analysis, and maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but something about this is just not sitting right with me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2020
This is one of Hyde's YA novels. A good story of friendship, acceptance and equality. Although there were some aspects of this story that were a little far fetched to me, the most important lesson this book offered for young readers or anyone, is the acceptance and understanding of people from all walks of life.
This is the second book I've read by Hyde. She has a knack for writing about some tough topics with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
This is the second book I've read by Hyde. She has a knack for writing about some tough topics with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
June 1, 2020
It's another story about a cis white girl where the queer characters are merely on the periphery. But it's also honest about it (even if the writing is very ... basic, especially at the start).
It's about a dumb kid finally waking up to the world at large. And yeah, it's clumsy about it, but it's got a lot of good points to make about being a teenager who doesn't know what they're doing.
(Wilbur is criminally underserved though. I need a whole series about Wilbur.)
It's about a dumb kid finally waking up to the world at large. And yeah, it's clumsy about it, but it's got a lot of good points to make about being a teenager who doesn't know what they're doing.
(Wilbur is criminally underserved though. I need a whole series about Wilbur.)
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