Bazan Librarians Review...

OMG! If you are a fan of Queer Eye you totally must read this book! Even if you aren’t a fan or have never seen the show...I repeat, I REPEAT! YOU TOTALLY MUST READ THIS BOOK! You know I am serious because I just wrote that in ALL caps, so I mean business. This book really is a raw journey. I have been a fan of Jonathan Van Ness since I started binge-watching Queer Eye last summer. I was late to the Queer Eye game. Although I love all the fab five, Jonathan sticks out like a glittered and glamourous sore thumb. If you have watched the show, then you know what I mean! On the show, Jonathan’s expertise is grooming. He is the hairdresser and skin expert. He is known for his empowering and uplifting attitude. You can visibly see the self-esteem lifted on the faces and shoulders of the people that he helps on Queer Eye as he shows them one on one TLC. He radiates self-love and self-care. However, that was not always the case. The book lives up to the title because he truly does take you ...

I chose to read this novel because it is set in San Antonio, TX, and it chronicles the life of Lorenzo, a 12 year old attending Tafolla Middle School.  To give you some perspective, Tafolla MS is less than a five minute drive from Bazan Library Branch.  This is a school that I frequent throughout the year for outreach. The book quickly captured my attention after reading the introduction.  It describes fear while walking home, describing streets and interstate highways that quickly set the stage in west side San Antonio.  The author lets the reader know that we will be reading his story as a middle schooler, while ending each chapter with the present day author writing to his younger self. The story presents fear, anxiety, and nervousness entering new territory, middle school.  Young Lencho enters a world that is unfamiliar and quickly learns to adapt new rituals to stay clear of trouble.  Gang fights, hazing, violence, and uncomfortableness bo...