Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino [MG Review]

Summary 💬

Sam is very in touch with their own queer identity. They’re nonbinary, and their best friend, TJ, is nonbinary as well. Sam’s family is very cool with it… as long as Sam remembers that nonbinary kids are also required to clean their rooms, do their homework, and try not to antagonize their teachers too much.

The teacher-respect thing is hard when it comes to Sam’s history class, because their teacher seems to believe that only Dead Straight Cis White Men are responsible for history. When Sam’s home borough of Staten Island opens up a contest for a new statue, Sam finds the perfect non-DSCWM subject: photographer Alice Austen, whose house has been turned into a museum, and who lived with a female partner for decades.

Soon, Sam’s project isn’t just about winning the contest. It’s about discovering a rich queer history that Sam’s a part of — a queer history that no longer needs to be quiet, as long as there are kids like Sam and TJ to stand up for it.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

I’ve read almost every book Gino has put out. (I haven’t got to Green yet.) Each time, I go in hoping for something different, and each time, I’m disappointed by what I get. That’s on me, though. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. But… Alice Austen Lived Here seems to have taken things to a next level. And by ‘things’ I mean, books that aren’t a story for the sake of a story, but rather more a history textbook in novel form.

Alice Austen is literally a book about two kids doing a history project. It’s dry as heck. I’ll give it one star for the queer rep (it is nice to read about two nonbinary kids whose identies aren’t being challenged or causing them anguish) and maybe another star for the mentorship plot and fat rep?? Even though I did think elements of it were odd, such as Jess (an adult) changing in front of Sam (kid protagonist) when there was no reason to (like, they weren’t getting ready to go swimming). The book is especially dry until about halfway through, then becomes a mite more interesting as Sam interacts with Leslie and Jess. If there was no queer rep, it would be an extremely blah book. I’d like to think we’re past the need for books that exist solely because they have representation. I would love to see something with more story substance from Gino, but I should probably just accept that’s not their style.

Even if one considers the queer rep in a positive light, who is this book for? It’s like it’s written for queer kids but not? The lack of knowledge Sam has, for someone who is nonbinary and has a nonbinary friend, was surprising to me. Like, how did they come to know about Sylvia Rivera but not Marsha P. Johnson? I can understand not knowing about either of them, given the kids’ age, so that was just one point that made me crinkle my eyebrows in confusion. Also, I wondered how there are two publically nonbinary kids in their grade (Sam and their friend TJ) but they don’t know any other queer kids.

I also was surprised by Sam’s narrow definition of family as biological only. “I’m not related to Jess. So we’re friends. And if we’re not best friends, we’re not as close as I thought” (pg 124), says Sam, in response to Leslie suggesting that Sam think of Jess as family if they don’t like the term mentor. But like, non-bio/found family is not a uniquely queer concept (even I was aware, from a young age, that I had people in my life who were considered family but weren’t bio family) and it’s in a ton of middle grade books…

So that brings me back to my question, who is this book for? I will accept all those things that Sam doesn’t know about are things a proud queer kid could conceivably not know about. I guess kids have to start somewhere! I feel like the main takeaway, whether you’re nonbinary or not, is that this book… is dry as sawdust. Unless you are like Sam (out and proud but living in a bubble???) then I’m not sure what you’d take away from this story. The friend vs mentor plot has some value (if we nevermind how didactic it is), at least. There’s a topic I’d like to see more fully explored in middle grade. But this thin story doesn’t give it enough page time.

I haven’t even commented on the cartoon villain teacher… but I guess those kinds of teachers do exist in real life, too.

The Bottom Line 💭

Not sure who to recommend this one to… I would say skip it in favour of any of the other rich middle grade stories about nobninary kids.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt
🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ MG Book Village
🍂 Reviews: Karen @ Ms Yingling Reads
🍂 Related: For better books about nonbinary or trans kids, check out Too Bright to See, The House that Whispers, or Jude Saves the World.

Please do leave your recommendations for queer middle grade in the comments…