I’ve heard a lot of Children and YA authors talk about writing the book they wished they could have had as kids, teens, or young adults. And honestly I’m not sure if Lamar Giles wrote this book in a similar vein but omg this is a book I wish I could have read as a teen and I’m SO SO glad Lamar Giles wrote it. 

This is a YA book that follows teenage Del and his (somewhat abrupt) shift into all things church and chastity pledging. Church because of his mom (and wanting to stay on her good side because he’s a teenager and wants access to the car) and chastity pledge because ironically he wants to be closer to his longtime crush Kiera. 

So much happens in this book and throughout it we see the ways sexism seeps into the minds of even the most “well intentioned” people and plays a role in how they treat others. I love that Del is the narrator of this book. Seeing his perspective, and especially how he occasionally uses his best friend Qwan—and the ways other boys his age talk about or act around girls— to justify to himself that he’s ~different~ allows for some super interesting character development. Giles asks us to think about what nice boys think they are “owed” for being nice boys. 

There’s so much nuance to discussions around sexism and masculinity and I think this book does such an amazing job of exploring all of that. 

And lucky for everyone involved, Del has his sister Cressie to help navigate those discussions.

(I would read a sequel dedicated to Cressie and her YouTube channel) 

This book is really something, and I suggest you read it and share it with all the young (and old) people in your life 

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