Brie Hutchens is trying to figure something out, something big, something important. It would be a lot easier if it was like one of her soap operas, something written out for her to say that perfectly describes how she feels (how does she feel? Confused mostly), something that will connect with her mother and help her understand what’s going on with Brie (even if Brie herself isn’t so sure about what’s going on). Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen, so drawing inspiration from them is the next best thing. But everything is too much, everything is happening so fast and without her permission. All Brie knows is two things: she wants to act and she wants to adjust the hair on a pretty girl. In a moving, sometimes heartbreaking story about a girl trying to figure out who she is while keeping everything from friends, family, and Jesus. Brie Hutchens just wants everything to be OK and sometimes, to make things even just OK takes a lot of bravery, hard work, and help from others.
I wasn’t expecting this to be as emotional as it was, but it was and I think it’s just that much better for it. Additionally – and to this point I want to say that I have a tendency to wipe my brain clean of synopsis just in case they spoil the book – I wasn’t expecting this to be from the perspective of an eighth grader and that was hammered home by the fact that this read more mature than some older YA novels that I read. That is in no way a criticism, it just made it difficult to remember she was supposed to be 13-14 years old and it did sometimes clash with her more immature actions. On the whole, I think Brie was a lovely girl and represented her age group well so kudos to Nicole Melleby for that.
Brie’s story will, I think, resonate with a lot of people. She’s scared, confused, frustrated, and mostly feels isolated from her support group. I think this is a lovely story for people to connect with whether they be queer or not. I’m sad that the publish date was pushed back except for the fact that now I get to recommend it to you so that you can pre-order it and have it in time to keep Pride Month going on after the month has ended. It comes out on June 30 (with just oh so many other great books) and you don’t want to miss out.
Just Read It 