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Reviewed by: Kathy Jaccarino, High School Librarian Title: A Million Quiet Revolutions
Author: Robin Gow
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Year: 2022 Good for Grades: 10-12 Genre/Type of Book: Novel in Verse/Realistic Fiction
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: One sexually explicit scene.
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I chose this book to read because it featured two trans teenagers, and I was looking for something to read in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility. I purchased it for my library because it got very good reviews.
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
There are Revolutions, and there are revolutions!
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Review:
I can't say I loved this book. I wanted to love this book. I really did. It is a story of two trans teens, one Jewish and one Puerto Rican (so we have some diverse characters...although their different cultures are not fully explored). Aaron and Oliver live in a very small, predominately white town. One reviewer stated, "While exploring records of queer people throughout history—in particular, a pair of Revolutionary War soldiers, from whom they take their names—Aaron and Oliver carve out space for themselves where they know they'll fit comfortably. This beautiful coming-of-age story will resonate with those who love character-driven fiction, especially the history buffs!" I think this is the review that sold me. I was intrigued by the concept of queer people in history- how this is not something that is ever talked about or taught. I felt this might be a great opportunity that might lead us to explore some of these histories. Aaron and Oliver do explore this concept in the course of the book, but it feels forced.
The book is an epistolary novel of sorts- much of it is told as a series of letters between Aaron and Oliver, who are separated during their senior year because Aaron's family moves to the Bronx. They decide to write letters to each other as Aaron and Oliver did during the Revolutionary War. This sounds lovely, but never to talk on the phone?! There are a few texts, but Oliver is trying to hold fast to their deal to only write each other letters! Why!?
Aaron and his family move because his beloved older brother is a victim of abuse in the Catholic Church and they want to go where he is not going to be looked at as a victim. People don't have the internet? Newspapers? And, I think therein lies my issue with the book, it introduces big issues that then become glossed over and then secondary to the main story of Aaron and Oliver. There are parts of the story that seem unrealistically portrayed. It feels uneven to me. And at times I struggled with separating Aaron and Oliver's voices in their writings. I don't feel as if the characters are fully developed, and I think some of the decisions they make are trite.
Do I think this book broaches important topics? YES! I love that it brings up the idea that there were queer people throughout history that need to be recognized. Do I think it belongs in the library? Yes. One of the best things about the book? The title! I think this is clever and profound. Overall, a book about self-discovery, but the more important theme is that of finding one's self in history. If I was going to recommend this book as a curriculum connection, it would be for that! Finding "alternative" stories in history. The author does provided notes at the end of the book that offers references related to this.
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Find resources for A Million Quiet Revolutions at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the publisher's website