LitBit Speaks

Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart. Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they're willing to risk -- to get the thing they want the most. This is a phenomenal book, in my humble opinion. There aren't too many books dealing with male sexual abuse, particularly in YA. Sex and sexuality are messy parts of young adulthood, but what this book does really well is discuss consent and the ways in which physical cues can be misinte...

Ben Carver is back to normal. He's working steadily in his classes at the Natick School. He just got elected captain of the baseball team. He's even won a full scholarship to college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg the past semester is in the past. Except . . . There's Hannah, the gorgeous girl from the neighboring school, who attracts him and distracts him. There's his mother, whose quiet unhappiness Ben is noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there's Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else . . . and maybe the real normal that Ben needs. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I love that this book deals with sexuality in a fluid state, whether you see Ben as bisexual, gay, straight, or something else, how he sees himself is in love with the person he is in love with! He loves Rafe. He loves Hannah. He doesn't want to be categorized as gay. He prefers straight...

Every morning is beautiful when Noah visits his Grandparents. When Grandpa and Noah wake up, they take off singing and hardly stop: walking the dog, splashing through puddles, and eating French toast with cinnamon.  But one summer Grandpa seems to have forgotten how to do the things they love. Does he even know who Noah is?  Grandma steps in energetically, filling in as best she can. But it is Noah who finds the way back to something he can share with Grandpa. Something musical. Something that makes the morning beautiful again.  This is a story about how love helps us  find even what we think is lost. It isn't often that something as complex and emotionally nuanced as alzheimer's is explored in a picturebook. Arthur Levine has written a story that is incredibly sensitive and insightful, filled with descriptive and imaginative language. The book is an emotional rollercoaster, moments of happiness contrasted with moments of heartbreak, confusion, and frustration....