The Ship We Built

The Ship We Built

By: Lexie Bean

Book Quote:

"I know who I am and I know I'm much more than my body."

Library Cat Rating:  😺

Review:
     Rowan Beck knows he was born a boy, but is unable to walk confidently as one at home or at his elementary school in a small Minnesota town where most people still call him by the name Ellie.  Faced with isolation at home and school, Rowan explores his thoughts and feelings in the form of letters he releases to the universe tied to a balloon.  

     VERDICT is that this is an authentically written and heart wrenching story about identity and friendship, but I am not sure where I would place it in my library.  It is being classified as Children’s Fiction, but I am not sure how many children will be able to stick with Rowan throughout his story.  As an adult reader I really had to push myself to finish this book.  I was emotionally invested in Rowan’s story, but found it to move quite slowly at times.  I think I would be more likely to recommend this book to older teens and adults interested in LGBTQIA+ literature.  This is a story that needs to be told and I think has the potential to be impactful on readers, but I wish I could be more confident that it will appeal to a wider age range of readers, specifically the younger middle grade readers its being marketed towards.  

Citation:

Bean, Lexie. (May 2020).  The Ship We Built.  New York, NY:  Penguin Young Readers Group.  

**I read an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book.**

Annotation:
Rowan Beck knows he was born a boy, but is unable to walk confidently as one at home or in the elementary school of a small Minnesota town where most people still call him Ellie.  Faced with isolation at home and school, Rowan explores his thoughts and feelings in the form of letters he releases to the universe tied to a balloon.

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Extras:

To learn more about the author and book, visit Lexie Bean's website here.  Lexie has a lot of really cool projects happening outside the book world - including some cool film and stage projects you can watch clips of on his website!