Other Boys
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A 2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection
In Other Boys, debut author Damian Alexander delivers a moving middle grade graphic memoir about his struggles with bullying, the death of his mother, and coming out.
Damian is the new kid at school, and he has a foolproof plan to avoid the bullying that's plagued him his whole childhood: he's going to stop talking. Starting on the first day seventh grade, he won't utter a word. If he keeps his mouth shut, the bullies will have nothing to tease him about—right?
But Damian's vow of silence doesn't work—his classmates can tell there's something different about him. His family doesn't look like the kind on TV: his mother is dead, his father is gone, and he's being raised by his grandparents in a low-income household. And Damian does things that boys aren't supposed do, like play with Barbies instead of GI Joe. Kids have teased him about this his whole life, especially other boys. But if boys can be so cruel, why does Damian have a crush on one?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut graphic novelist Alexander explores his childhood as a sensitive boy starting middle school in this melancholy queer coming-of-age memoir. Following the death of Damian's mother, he lives with his brother and maternal grandmother in a small apartment, and is the new kid at a school where "it seemed everyone was like the perfect families you see on old TV shows." To fend off the bullying he's come to expect, the aspiring artist stops speaking on the first day of seventh grade ("I would give them nothing they could use against me"). As Damian copes with the subsequent isolation, the story intersperses contextualizing moments from his past—damaging gender stereotypes, uncomplimentary commentary on his preference for dolls and dollhouses over action figures. Stylized art, with blocky designs and sometimes-wonky proportions, has a handmade feel. A rapid, platitudinal conclusion undercuts the real pain described throughout, but Damian's lows (undergoing bullying, mourning his mother's murder) and highs (getting a cat, realizing his sexual orientation) prompt deep empathy. Ages 10–14. ■
