Scan barcode
librarianpeter's review
4.0
This was not only a quick read but also a really good book. Quick is a relative term in this case because I stayed up until 2:30AM to finish this book just because I could not put it down.
Alan Cole's home life is not a good one. His father is closed off, strict, demanding, shaming, and constantly berating his family. His mother is a meek, emotionally closed off, 50's era housewife who kowtows to her husband's every whim, and his brother is a bullying, jealous, conniving, and wretched human being. Alan is just trying to navigate middle school with his almost friends Zack and Madison all the while trying to hide his crush on fellow student Connor. Alan and his brother Nathan have a competition (mainly a way for Nathan to crush Alan and prove his superiority) but this time will back off if Alan finds some way to win. The game is that they give each other a list and by the deadline the brother that has completed the most things off of the list is the winner. But Alan's is impossible because not only does it include giving up his most prized possession and getting their first kiss but also to stand up against their father. Impossible! And the penalty for losing the game is dire because if he does Nathan will tell everyone about his crush on his male classmate and risk it all.
This book is an exercise in being true to yourself, standing up for what you believe in and standing up to the bullies in your life because you might just find out there are reasons for everything.
Alan Cole's home life is not a good one. His father is closed off, strict, demanding, shaming, and constantly berating his family. His mother is a meek, emotionally closed off, 50's era housewife who kowtows to her husband's every whim, and his brother is a bullying, jealous, conniving, and wretched human being. Alan is just trying to navigate middle school with his almost friends Zack and Madison all the while trying to hide his crush on fellow student Connor. Alan and his brother Nathan have a competition (mainly a way for Nathan to crush Alan and prove his superiority) but this time will back off if Alan finds some way to win. The game is that they give each other a list and by the deadline the brother that has completed the most things off of the list is the winner. But Alan's is impossible because not only does it include giving up his most prized possession and getting their first kiss but also to stand up against their father. Impossible! And the penalty for losing the game is dire because if he does Nathan will tell everyone about his crush on his male classmate and risk it all.
This book is an exercise in being true to yourself, standing up for what you believe in and standing up to the bullies in your life because you might just find out there are reasons for everything.
roaming_library's review
3.0
Synopsis:
Twelve year old Alan Cole is not a coward, and that is the most important thing to take away from this story. He is, however, surrounded by people that make being brave very difficult. Alan's older brother Nathan is cruel and his father is abusive, so all Alan really wants to do is survive and keep himself out of the center of attention--particularly as he tries to figure out his crush on classmate Connor Garcia. But when Nathan finds out that Alan likes a guy, he sets up a game of Cole vs Cole. Each brother must complete a list of tasks, and if Alan loses Nathan will tell everyone about his sexuality.
TW: Abusive parent, bullying
Spoilers Below!!
Review:
There really is not a lot of middle-grade books with lgbt+ themes out there. And the ones that do exist often earn that lgbt+ tag by making one side character kinda hint at it, or by having a lgbt+ parent (that's in the book for like 5 pages total). Basically, there really are not a lot of middle-grade books where the main character is a part of the community. So when I discovered this book I was really interested. I wanted to love this book, truly wanted to be able to rave about and recommend it. As it stands, I think Alan Cole is Not a Coward is just ok. I guess my rating is more 3.5-ish. I mean I did like it and I love the subject being addressed, but the execution could have been better.
What I Liked:
1. The lgbt+ themes
Might as well get right into this aspect of the review. I do really love that someone wrote a middle-grade book with an lgbt+ main character, we need more of those. We need to do away with the misconception that young kids can't know their sexuality or gender if they aren't straight and cis. Books like this can help young readers learn more about themselves, and see that they are not alone. And hopefully gain some empathy for people who are different from them. Since this is aimed at young readers, everything was very sweet and innocent--like how first crushes usually go (another misconception that needs to be changed, the over-sexualization of lgbt people--same-sex romances are not inherently inappropriate). Obviously the threat of being outed was horrible, but it isn't like Bell excused it. It was made pretty clear how terrible this threat was. I do think Bell could have added more in regards to Alan's sexuality, but really it is good as it is.
2. Alan as a character
I really liked Alan. I liked his journey and his growth as a character. I was rooting for him the whole time, as I imagine everyone else is. I like how Bell developed and explained his character. Alan is a good person at heart, but sometimes fear stops him from doing the right things--namely standing up for others and himself (which is understandable given what his family situation was like). I loved seeing Alan become a stronger and more confident person, and seeing him learn that the abuse he faces is not his fault. And well, more on that later
Alan Cole is not a coward, in fact he is extraordinarily brave, and I am glad we got to see him discover that.
3. The Family
Alan's family is terrible, absolutely awful. But they are written really well. Bell does a good job showing what abuse can look like. The dad controls the family's actions, their interests, their way of expressing themselves. It is clear how afraid of him they all are, and Bell also shows how this affects the family dynamic. The mom is isolated, cut off from her family, and most likely feels trapped in the situation. Her desire to change things and help her kids is clearly fighting with her fear of the dad. Nathan sees cruelty as the only way to go through life, and constantly tortures Alan to make someone feel as terrible as his dad makes him feel. And Alan goes through life trying to take up as little space as possible. The characters in the family all feel real, and the abuse is described really well--especially for a young audience. It was also really interesting to see how the family changed, as they tried to gain power and stop the dad's abuse.
4. The Cover
Not much to say here, I just think the cover is really pretty and well done.
What I Didn't Like
1. The side characters
As much as I liked Alan, I really did not love the side characters--adults and kids. Where Alan felt real and grounded, his classmates felt almost like caricatures.
Madison was meant to be the super smart kids that doesn't fit in because he acts like an adult--sure. But, to me, it just did not feel natural. It felt less like the creation of a real kid, and more like intentionally trying to make a Character. You know like, less of a snapshot of the real world and more like "This is a Character! Look at how quirky this Character is!" But with Madison I can at least see what the archetype is meant to be, I cannot say the same for Zack
I'm sorry, but Zack was just really annoying. He was way too "lol random XD" for a book written in 2017. I get that he was just meant to be like, the weird kid who does their own thing, and that is fine. But again, it felt less like a real person and more like a cartoon character. After a few chapters I just started skipping his dialogue, it didn't add anything to the story and kinda just took up space. I think both Zack and Madison could have been more impactful if they had been written realistically
A lot of the adults speak in ways that feel unnatural to me, and some of the ways they and the side kids acted was just so outside the realm of reality. I mean, that girl who brought a dead rat to a work dinner? People don't act like that, it was jarring. Given the realistic nature of the rest of this book, and how seriously written Alan and his family were written, it just took me out of the story
2. The Hollywood cliches
I know this book is not aimed at my age group, so it is going to try and be more upbeat and such. And that is great, but I felt like the hollywood cliches just kinda diminished the themes of the book. So, for instance, hollywood really loves the whole "dramatic thing happens in front of large group of random people who all care for some reason". I am not sure why some creators think these important or dramatic things need an audience, but it is just uncomfortable. Again, there are aspects of this book that realistic and grounded, so the shift from that to the sugary or cheesy scenes was jarring. It felt like reading two different books.
For example, because I get that "hollywood cliches" is a little vague, Alan passing the swim test. I know that this was a big symbolic aspect of the book, but having his classmates cheer and clap after he passed? Yeah I am not so sure about that. I remember middle school, and I really sincerely doubt anyone in his class would even have watched him swim. We were all way to preoccupied with ourselves to be concerned about what other people were doing. This was something important to Alan, and it is ok to just keep the significance to him. I don't need the "and then everyone clapped" to feel the importance of the scene.
And, having a bunch of kids watch that last fight between Nathan and Alan at the end; ok sure, kids love to see a good fight in school, so I get having an audience there. But I don't know why they would have cheered when Alan got the paper out of the vending machine, it isn't as if they knew about the competition, why would they care?
3. The Abusive Father
Ok, I know the family was one thing I liked in this book, and I stand by that still, but I also think the way abuse was portrayed could have been better. The way we see the abuse was really well done, we see the subtle ways the dad controls his family and puts them down. We see the way this affects the kids, how it changes their behavior, all really well done. But then we get the backstory, I did not love the backstory. I assume the point of telling us that the dad had kinda shitty parents is meant to show that abuse can create abusive people, showing the cycle. That is ok, but the backstory with the dad's parents dying and then he just suddenly becomes a raging asshole? I don't know, I just don't buy it. First of all, none of that excuses his behavior. He is clearly abusive, his family is afraid of him, and the way the mom told Alan about the dad's past just made it sound like she was defending him. I don't really care that he has issues with his parents, that in no way justifies how he treats his family. He blamed a five year old kid for his parents dying....this guy had issues way before the accident. I do not buy that he was an amazing, kind dad before his parent died. And then at the end having him say one kinda, maybe encouraging thing, as if that fixes or changes anything--not a fan.
And, I don't know, it almost made it seem as if the responsibility of stopping abuse is on the victim and not the perpetrator. I know that is not what Bell intended, but it is how it came across to me. Alan stands up to his dad and then he kinda says something nice-that makes it seem like Alan needs to be the one to change his dad's behavior. It says to me, if you have an abusive parent all you need to do is defy them and then they will change. The dad is the one who needs to fix himself, or the mom needs to get the kids out of the house, it is not on the 12 year old to fix things. I also don't think someone as abusive as the dad (he is really just awful) would change because his son stood up to him once. If anything, that could just make things worse--in some situations.
All in all, I did enjoy this book but I can't say I loved it. I think it is important and has a lot of strong suits, but could also have been improved in a lot of ways. I do acknowledge that I am no where near the target audience, so that could be impacting my rating a bit. Maybe how this is written is perfect for the younger reader. But, for me, there was definitely room for improvement. I will say I am intrigued enough to read the sequel. I am pretty attached to Alan, and I am always down for lgbt+ books, so I do want to see what happens next.
Twelve year old Alan Cole is not a coward, and that is the most important thing to take away from this story. He is, however, surrounded by people that make being brave very difficult. Alan's older brother Nathan is cruel and his father is abusive, so all Alan really wants to do is survive and keep himself out of the center of attention--particularly as he tries to figure out his crush on classmate Connor Garcia. But when Nathan finds out that Alan likes a guy, he sets up a game of Cole vs Cole. Each brother must complete a list of tasks, and if Alan loses Nathan will tell everyone about his sexuality.
TW: Abusive parent, bullying
Spoilers Below!!
Review:
There really is not a lot of middle-grade books with lgbt+ themes out there. And the ones that do exist often earn that lgbt+ tag by making one side character kinda hint at it, or by having a lgbt+ parent (that's in the book for like 5 pages total). Basically, there really are not a lot of middle-grade books where the main character is a part of the community. So when I discovered this book I was really interested. I wanted to love this book, truly wanted to be able to rave about and recommend it. As it stands, I think Alan Cole is Not a Coward is just ok. I guess my rating is more 3.5-ish. I mean I did like it and I love the subject being addressed, but the execution could have been better.
What I Liked:
1. The lgbt+ themes
Might as well get right into this aspect of the review. I do really love that someone wrote a middle-grade book with an lgbt+ main character, we need more of those. We need to do away with the misconception that young kids can't know their sexuality or gender if they aren't straight and cis. Books like this can help young readers learn more about themselves, and see that they are not alone. And hopefully gain some empathy for people who are different from them. Since this is aimed at young readers, everything was very sweet and innocent--like how first crushes usually go (another misconception that needs to be changed, the over-sexualization of lgbt people--same-sex romances are not inherently inappropriate). Obviously the threat of being outed was horrible, but it isn't like Bell excused it. It was made pretty clear how terrible this threat was. I do think Bell could have added more in regards to Alan's sexuality, but really it is good as it is.
2. Alan as a character
I really liked Alan. I liked his journey and his growth as a character. I was rooting for him the whole time, as I imagine everyone else is. I like how Bell developed and explained his character. Alan is a good person at heart, but sometimes fear stops him from doing the right things--namely standing up for others and himself (which is understandable given what his family situation was like). I loved seeing Alan become a stronger and more confident person, and seeing him learn that the abuse he faces is not his fault. And well, more on that later
Alan Cole is not a coward, in fact he is extraordinarily brave, and I am glad we got to see him discover that.
3. The Family
Alan's family is terrible, absolutely awful. But they are written really well. Bell does a good job showing what abuse can look like. The dad controls the family's actions, their interests, their way of expressing themselves. It is clear how afraid of him they all are, and Bell also shows how this affects the family dynamic. The mom is isolated, cut off from her family, and most likely feels trapped in the situation. Her desire to change things and help her kids is clearly fighting with her fear of the dad. Nathan sees cruelty as the only way to go through life, and constantly tortures Alan to make someone feel as terrible as his dad makes him feel. And Alan goes through life trying to take up as little space as possible. The characters in the family all feel real, and the abuse is described really well--especially for a young audience. It was also really interesting to see how the family changed, as they tried to gain power and stop the dad's abuse.
4. The Cover
Not much to say here, I just think the cover is really pretty and well done.
What I Didn't Like
1. The side characters
As much as I liked Alan, I really did not love the side characters--adults and kids. Where Alan felt real and grounded, his classmates felt almost like caricatures.
Madison was meant to be the super smart kids that doesn't fit in because he acts like an adult--sure. But, to me, it just did not feel natural. It felt less like the creation of a real kid, and more like intentionally trying to make a Character. You know like, less of a snapshot of the real world and more like "This is a Character! Look at how quirky this Character is!" But with Madison I can at least see what the archetype is meant to be, I cannot say the same for Zack
I'm sorry, but Zack was just really annoying. He was way too "lol random XD" for a book written in 2017. I get that he was just meant to be like, the weird kid who does their own thing, and that is fine. But again, it felt less like a real person and more like a cartoon character. After a few chapters I just started skipping his dialogue, it didn't add anything to the story and kinda just took up space. I think both Zack and Madison could have been more impactful if they had been written realistically
A lot of the adults speak in ways that feel unnatural to me, and some of the ways they and the side kids acted was just so outside the realm of reality. I mean, that girl who brought a dead rat to a work dinner? People don't act like that, it was jarring. Given the realistic nature of the rest of this book, and how seriously written Alan and his family were written, it just took me out of the story
2. The Hollywood cliches
I know this book is not aimed at my age group, so it is going to try and be more upbeat and such. And that is great, but I felt like the hollywood cliches just kinda diminished the themes of the book. So, for instance, hollywood really loves the whole "dramatic thing happens in front of large group of random people who all care for some reason". I am not sure why some creators think these important or dramatic things need an audience, but it is just uncomfortable. Again, there are aspects of this book that realistic and grounded, so the shift from that to the sugary or cheesy scenes was jarring. It felt like reading two different books.
For example, because I get that "hollywood cliches" is a little vague, Alan passing the swim test. I know that this was a big symbolic aspect of the book, but having his classmates cheer and clap after he passed? Yeah I am not so sure about that. I remember middle school, and I really sincerely doubt anyone in his class would even have watched him swim. We were all way to preoccupied with ourselves to be concerned about what other people were doing. This was something important to Alan, and it is ok to just keep the significance to him. I don't need the "and then everyone clapped" to feel the importance of the scene.
And, having a bunch of kids watch that last fight between Nathan and Alan at the end; ok sure, kids love to see a good fight in school, so I get having an audience there. But I don't know why they would have cheered when Alan got the paper out of the vending machine, it isn't as if they knew about the competition, why would they care?
3. The Abusive Father
Ok, I know the family was one thing I liked in this book, and I stand by that still, but I also think the way abuse was portrayed could have been better. The way we see the abuse was really well done, we see the subtle ways the dad controls his family and puts them down. We see the way this affects the kids, how it changes their behavior, all really well done. But then we get the backstory, I did not love the backstory. I assume the point of telling us that the dad had kinda shitty parents is meant to show that abuse can create abusive people, showing the cycle. That is ok, but the backstory with the dad's parents dying and then he just suddenly becomes a raging asshole? I don't know, I just don't buy it. First of all, none of that excuses his behavior. He is clearly abusive, his family is afraid of him, and the way the mom told Alan about the dad's past just made it sound like she was defending him. I don't really care that he has issues with his parents, that in no way justifies how he treats his family. He blamed a five year old kid for his parents dying....this guy had issues way before the accident. I do not buy that he was an amazing, kind dad before his parent died. And then at the end having him say one kinda, maybe encouraging thing, as if that fixes or changes anything--not a fan.
And, I don't know, it almost made it seem as if the responsibility of stopping abuse is on the victim and not the perpetrator. I know that is not what Bell intended, but it is how it came across to me. Alan stands up to his dad and then he kinda says something nice-that makes it seem like Alan needs to be the one to change his dad's behavior. It says to me, if you have an abusive parent all you need to do is defy them and then they will change. The dad is the one who needs to fix himself, or the mom needs to get the kids out of the house, it is not on the 12 year old to fix things. I also don't think someone as abusive as the dad (he is really just awful) would change because his son stood up to him once. If anything, that could just make things worse--in some situations.
All in all, I did enjoy this book but I can't say I loved it. I think it is important and has a lot of strong suits, but could also have been improved in a lot of ways. I do acknowledge that I am no where near the target audience, so that could be impacting my rating a bit. Maybe how this is written is perfect for the younger reader. But, for me, there was definitely room for improvement. I will say I am intrigued enough to read the sequel. I am pretty attached to Alan, and I am always down for lgbt+ books, so I do want to see what happens next.
agenderberry335's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
robynryle's review against another edition
5.0
I loved every single word of this book. The sweet, sweet boys of the Unstable Table. The way that even most of the villains veer toward good in the end. The amazing courage that Alan shows and the sad, but realistic portrayal of the consequences. The only thing I didn't love about this book was how short it was because I wanted more time to hang out with these people.
amd_'s review
4.0
I did really like the book. I wish we could have seen more of the family escaping the abusive household. I also think that it is quite mature for middle grades. I do 100% believe we need to discuss mature topics like mental illness, abuse, and sexual orientation during those years, but maybe a lighter hand would be better. I think otherwise, the book could be triggering or scary for younger kids and discourage them from reading contemporary books like this in the future
emmascc's review
4.0
This book made me really sad for a lot of it, but I was so happy to see Alan stand up for himself
finntheknight's review against another edition
5.0
Sensationell gefühlvoll. Ein Buch was Situationen ernst nimmt und anspricht. Alan muss man einfach lieben!