The Vast Fields of Ordinary

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
First Published: May 14th, 2009
Publisher: Dial Books
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, LGBT, Contemporary, Coming of Age

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BLURB:

It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.

Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet – and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future. 

Being Fishkill – Ruth Lehrer

Being Fishkill by Ruth Lehrer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
First Published: November 14th, 2017
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Family Relationships, Contemporary, LGBT

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BLURB:

Born in the backseat of a moving car, Carmel Fishkill was unceremoniously pushed into a world that refuses to offer her security, stability, love. At age thirteen, she begins to fight back. Carmel Fishkill becomes Fishkill Carmel, who deflects her tormenters with a strong left hook and conceals her secrets from teachers and social workers. But Fishkill’s fierce defenses falter when she meets eccentric optimist Duck-Duck Farina, and soon they, along with Duck-Duck’s mother, Molly, form a tentative family, even as Fishkill struggles to understand her place in it. This fragile new beginning is threatened by the reappearance of Fishkill’s unstable mother — and by unfathomable tragedy. Poet Ruth Lehrer’s young adult debut is a stunning, revelatory look at what defines and sustains “family.” And, just as it does for Fishkill, meeting Duck-Duck Farina and her mother will leave readers forever changed.