Book: Lily & Dunkin

Lily & Dunkin
by Donna Gephart

Length: 352

Format: eBook
Price: Free -downloaded from Overdrive

How I heard about it: it's on the book list I made from my YAL conference

Basic Premise: Two outcast middle schoolers find that, amidst their struggles, joy can be found in friendships if they will take time to look closely.

My Take: 7 out of 10 (scale here)

This book was recommended at my young adult literature conference. I would definitely categorize as elementary it in terms of readability and style. However, it deals with a very controversial issue, which may be better suited for older readers. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have chosen a book like this, but I had a student this year going through some of these issues, and as I believe that reading is one of the best conductors of empathy and understanding, I checked it out on Overdrive and started it on the flight.

Like many middle schoolers, the two main characters have social issues that isolate them from their peers. Dunkin is bipolar and hallucinates. His father is out of the picture, but the reason for this is unclear until the end of the story. Tim was born a boy but is a girl in his heart and has renamed himself Lily. His mother and sister are supportive, but his father doesn't understand and the kids at school have begun to target him. The friendship that develops between the two is unlikely and painfully awkward at times, but the ending is quite heartwarming.

I think the author handled this delicate topic quite well. I was particularly interested to read the note to the reader following the conclusion of the story. In it, she discusses her own personal struggles with her son's bipolar disorder and her interest in a transgender girl she encountered when she was young.

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