ANNIE WOODS
  • Home

My Reading Tips

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

8/15/2019

0 Comments

 
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel is an absolutely wonderful book that I recommend with all my heart also to YA readers, even though it for most part has the parents’ perspective. This is such a witty, sweet, honest, gripping and thought-provoking read that addresses so many important questions.
Picture
The book is about the large, gorgeous, lively Walsh-Adams family and their five sons, and what happens when the youngest one, the extraordinarily verbal little Claude, explains that he wants to be a girl scientist when he grows up. Laurie Frankel does such an amazing job in describing how important it is for Claude to wear dresses to feel comfortable and as him/herself even though he is not yet clear with that he is a girl. She also explains so well how the parents find themselves on new and scary terrain, trying to balance Claude’s safety and happiness with the older brothers worry about the comments and bullying both they and Claude will be victims to. After an incident, the whole family moves to a new city, where Claude blossoms as Poppy. The problem is that they have kept the past a secret, allowing Poppy to be a girl just like anyone else, which makes things easier for Poppy in a way, but increasingly difficult on her brothers. The story takes a darker turn when she is outed and Poppy and her parents must find their footing again.

This is a wonderfully contradictory story. So painful at times, yet so heartwarming and joyful, written with such a humor and witty language. And with so much knowledge. Laurie Frankel has herself a daughter who was born a boy, which is evident from the depth and understanding of what the family goes through in the book. I know that I will keep coming back to this book and the questions about how to best support and protect a child who isn’t identifying itself as its genders, but still not entirely as the other either. I loved the way the book does not give any definitive answers, but rather opens of for discussions about what it really means to be true to yourself; suggesting that there are times when neither right nor left works and, instead, you have to go straight ahead, through the great unknown of the middle.

And I was so moved by Laurie’s explanation about the inspiration behind the book and the differences between a novel you write and your own life, in that the novel should be perilous, unpredictable, full of near misses and heartbreak, but the latter you want as plotfree as possible and a world where anyone can be who they are and become their most wanted , loved and appreciated selves.

Find out more about the book and the author here: Laurie Frankel
0 Comments

    Annie Woods’s
    ​Reading Tips

    I love YA books more than any other kind of literature, and especially books with LGBTQ representation, and want to share what I read with you. So please go ahead and check out my reading tips here and make sure to give some love to all these amazing books too.!

    Below under Categories, you can find the reviews per author as well.
    Picture
    Photo by @tata.lifepages

    Categories

    All
    Abbi Glines
    Abdi Nazemian
    Adam Silvera
    Aisha Saeed
    Alexandra Christo
    Alwyn Hamilton
    Amy Engel
    Amy Harmon
    Amy S. Foster
    André Aciman
    Angie Thomas
    Ashley Woodfolk
    Audrey Coulthurst
    Becky Albertalli
    Benjamin Alire Saenz
    Bill Konigsberg
    Casey McQuiston
    Cassandra Clare
    C.G. Drews
    Colleen Hoover
    C.S. Pacat
    Curtis Sittenfeld
    David Yoon
    Dean Atta
    Debbie McGowan
    Delia Owens
    Elizabeth Acevedo
    Elizabeth Corr
    E. Lockhart
    Emily M. Danforth
    Erin Watt
    Ernest Cline
    Gilly Macmillan
    Haley Rhoades
    Holly Black
    Jacqueline Woodson
    Jamie Deacon
    Jandy Nelson
    Jeff Zentner
    Jenna Evans Welch
    Jennifer Gilmore
    Jennifer Leigh
    Jennifer Niven
    Jenny Downham
    Jenny Han
    Joey Paul
    Kasie West
    Katharine Corr
    Kevin Van Whye
    Kiley Reid
    Kim Liggett
    K.M. Shea
    Laurie Frankel
    Leigh Bardugo
    Leylah Attar
    Lisa Williamson
    Lisa Wingate
    Mackenzi Lee
    Maggie Stiefvater
    Malin Persson Giolito
    Malorie Blackman
    Marie Lu
    Mary E. Pearson
    M.C. Frank
    Meredith Russo
    Mila Gray
    Miranda Kenneally
    Nic Stone
    Nina Kenwood
    Pearl Khatri
    Phil Stamper
    Quinn Anderson
    Rachael Lippincott
    Rachel Hawkins
    Rainbow Rowell
    Rosemary Danielis
    Ruta Sepetys
    Sally Green
    Sally Rooney
    Sarah J Maas
    Sarah Waters
    Simone Elkeles
    Sophie Gonzales
    Stephenie Meyer
    Suzanne Collins
    Tahereh Mafi
    Tomi Adeyemi
    Veronica Rossi
    Wesley Chu
    Victor Dixen
    Victoria Aveyard
    Virginia Macgregor

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home