Rick by Alex Gino (LGBTQ+)

 

Summary

Eleven-year-old Rick is dealing with the challenges of navigating his first year of middle school as well as having a friend named Jeff who objectifies girls and bullies other students, especially if he sees them as different from him. Rick, who feels no liking toward girls or boys, discovers a club on his campus called the Rainbow Spectrum which welcomes students of different gender orientations and identities. As everything plays out, Rick has to decide if his friendship with Jeff is beneficial to him and he also has to figure out how to navigate as a kid who is asexual and aromantic.

Justification

My justification for including this text is the fact that it has received favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. Also, students in Grades 3-6 could also gain awareness about fellow classmates who may be in the LGBTQ+ community and how to properly interact and engage with them (i.e., by addressing them by their preferred pronouns).

Accurate Representation of Cultural Details

The presence of Jeff as a nemesis character symbolizes the lack of tolerance and understanding that some may express toward those within the LGBTQ+ community. Rick has a transgender classmate named Melissa. Rick also bonds with Grandpa Ray who he is sent to keep company every Sunday by his father. Grandpa Ray is a widowed elderly man who has an affinity for crossdressing. Throughout the book, many representations of the LGBTQ+ community are adequately represented in ways to educate young readers.

Appropriateness of Cover Illustration 

The cover illustration for the text is very simple, yet showcases all of the key aspects of Rick's life. In the cover illustration, there is a boy (assumed to be Rick) with a backpack decorated with patches representing his interests (like his favorite TV show, Rogue Space), chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, and  rainbow to symbolize his involvement with the Rainbow Spectrum club and figuring out his own gender orientation.

 Citation

Gino, A. (2020). Rick. .Scholastic Press.

 

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