An epistolary novel told as a series of letters sent aloft in balloons by 10-year-old Rowan, a trans boy struggling to prove his identity to his parents, including his abusive father, in the 1990s. (Sexual abuse is implied but never described.) At school in his small Michigan town, however, he’s shunned after calling a girl “cute” and having people think he was a lesbian—but he was already growing apart from the girls who used to be his friends. His loneliness and hurt are palpable.
He begins a friendship with a new girl, Sofie, who is dealing with her own problem of having an incarcerated parent. Their growing bond as they try to make sense of the injustices of the world forms the heart of the story. While it ends on a hopeful note, not everything is wrapped up neatly, but that feels authentic for Rowan and his particular story.
At times harrowing, this is nevertheless a moving and recommended read.
Rowan is presumed White; Sofie is Black.
