A review by villagebi
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

i don’t necessarily think the writing in this book merits a 4.75 but the way it invoked emotion in me that led to me crying in my office at 9:30 in the morning and the way i could’ve used a book like this when i was the same age as the characters makes me rate this book so highly. my experiences teaching in florida under ron desantis’s government led me to quit the industry all together. when teachers can’t present their authentic selves or allow students to express themselves it hurts. as a sub would would be positioned in a class for weeks at a time, kids would come to trust me and would try to tell me about their identity and i wanted so badly to help them out in their discovery the way my teachers helped me. but our school already had a lawsuit against it for “indoctrinating students” because we had a teacher transition midway through the school year. i was told to be cautious not because my identity and the identity of my students was morally incorrect, but because i could receive a felony for simply accepting a students existing identity as a 6th grader. in 7th grade i figured out what i was like an epiphany. it makes me sad that where i live, things have only gotten worse for children since this books release. we have truly gone backwards in florida. i hope students understand that their teachers support them, even if it is illegal for them to say so. and i hope one day this book will be taught in a class in florida and that a child will feel better inside knowing who they are is not only ok, but something worth celebrating.