Down to the Bone in Queereaders

Oct 07, 2009 Nancy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: gay, kids-and-teens, library-books, outlaw-reviews, shelf-inflicted

Cross-posted at Outlaw Reviews and at Shelf Inflicted

Laura is a junior in a Catholic high school looking forward to summer and to celebrating her two-year anniversary with her girlfriend, Marlena. Instead, she is humiliated when her teacher reads a love letter from Marlena out loud in front of all her friends, resulting in her expulsion from school and in the loss of her friends. Her mother has thrown Laura out of the house, promising that she can return only when she reveals the name of her sec ...more

69 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2010 Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, young-adult, lgbtq, romance

Laura attends a Catholic high school and is almost done with her junior year; like most teenagers, she is looking forward to her summer break - where she has her family and a nice job awaiting her. Not only that, but it's almost her two year anniversary with her girlfriend, Marlena. Unfortunately, Laura is caught reading a love note from Marlena during class. Not only does her teacher confiscate it, but she also reads it aloud to her entire class. Even though Laura is mortified and almost pees h Laura attends a Catholic high school and is almost done with her junior year; like most teenagers, she is looking forward to her summer break - where she has her family and a nice job awaiting her. Not only that, but it's almost her two year anniversary with her girlfriend, Marlena. Unfortunately, Laura is caught reading a love note from Marlena during class. Not only does her teacher confiscate it, but she also reads it aloud to her entire class. Even though Laura is mortified and almost pees her pants, she refuses to tell the administrator her girlfriend's name. This results in her immediate expulsion. When her mom finds out, she throws her out of the house and says that she will only allow Laura back when she changes her sinful ways. Luckily, Laura meets an entirely different type of family - the type that may even accept her for who she really is.

I have many mixed feelings on this book. I bounced from three stars to four, then two, then four, then three. One of the things that made this book uncomfortable reading at first was my age and gender, obviously. I don't think fourteen-year-old males are generally the target audience for this book, even if it was for teens. I was a bit... perturbed, at times. But that doesn't really have to do with the book, that's more about me specifically.

Anyway, once I removed that aspect (it didn't deduct from the rating), this was a pretty decent novel, especially for a first time author. I enjoyed the diversity of it, with all the varying sexualities as well as focusing on Cuban-Americans. Good thing I took Spanish 1 in middle school, because otherwise I might not have understood a lot of the words. There is a glossary in the back, though.

The writing was very stylistic. Dole wrote Laura as a very raw character, I pretty much felt everything she was feeling and even tasted everything she tasted. There were a lot of great descriptions in this book. Sometimes the writing was a bit awkward, like as in awkward dialogue or phrasing, but other than that the writing was great.

Plot and character wise Down to the Bone was okay. Sometimes I felt Laura's confusion over her sexuality really annoying - I understand how confusing it can be to a person, but once she fell in and out of love more than twice I started to get bothered. Also, I didn't feel a lot of development from some of the side characters. Otherwise it was a good novel and my rating shouldn't stop anyone from reading this book, especially those seeking a fresh and unique read. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 04, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip marked it as to-read

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, teen, f-f-lesbian, lendle-wait-list

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

How mortified would you be if one of your teachers read one of your private notes or letters out loud in front of the class? Take that mortification times one hundred, and that's what happens to Laura Amores on the last day of class. Except this letter is from her girlfriend and describes in detail their forbidden love. By the end of the school day, previous friends have deserted her, the nuns at her school have expelled her, and her mother has kicked her o ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2011 Akiva ꙮ rated it it was ok

Shelves: 3-fmt-f-novel, f-c-mg-ya, z-au-oc, f-trans, f-queer, f-race-eth-identity, f-immigrant

Ok, I finished it. I mostly managed by skimming a bit, which made the dialogue and general writing style more bearable. The nifty thing about this book is the representation: latin@ queer kids, being kicked out, making your own family, some genderqueer/trans representation. So maybe it's worthwhile for you if those are things you are desperate for. But you'll also have to spend a lot of time reading lists of things the characters think are cool ("She tells me more specific things she's intereste ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 14, 2009 Colleen rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, lgbtqia

I really liked this book but I think I would have liked it more if it was a trilogy. An excellent account of a Cuban Catholic girls' struggle with sexual identity, it packs a lot of momentous events into 384 pages. First there is the story of Laura's first love. Then there is the story of her struggle to earn her mother's love. Finally there is the struggle to accept herself. I certainly recommend this book as a good read, I just felt that I wanted more. ...more

1 like · Like · see review