Review: Rick by Alex Gino

From the award-winning author of George, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend. 

Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out. 

But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that...understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones. 

As they did in their groundbreaking novel George, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world...and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.

Review: This was such a sweet story of what happens when you start middle school and meet new people and see new things and those friendships you begin to reevaluate. 

This book is incredibly real in that sense because we have all had our friendships grow and change as we move onto the next stage in our lives whatever that stage might be. It was so organic the way Rick moved to middle school and found that that opened his eyes to new experiences and new ideas. 

I love the idea of the Rainbow spectrum club as well. I wish there had been something like this in the schools that I attended, it really sounds like a wonderful place where all ideas can be explored and no topic is taboo. We also get to catch up with characters from George in that club and so that was wonderful too. 

I was really impressed when I read George for the first time when it came up but Rick just takes it to a whole other level when it comes to being open about identity in all its forms. If you’re looking for some diverse middle grade fiction you have found it here. I listened to this on audiobook and I was so impressed with the narration so I recommend this book to you in whatever form you prefer. 

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