A World Worth Saving
(National Book Award Finalist)
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A groundbreaking, action-packed, and ultimately uplifting adventure that intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia, from Newbery Honor winner Kyle Lukoff.
“Rare and beautiful—a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience.”—Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
★ “A stunning powerhouse of fantasy and real-world issues.”—Booklist, starred review
Lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he still barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.
At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking…it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.
But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A teen discovers that bigotry is literally evil and gets recruited to help in the fight for justice in this YA fantasy adventure. A is a trans boy whose parents refuse to accept his identity and drag him to a “support” group whose teen members are disappearing one by one. After his friend Yarrow is taken, A is approached by a golem—a mythical Jewish creature that’s meant to protect—who explains that sheydim, or demons, are inhabiting those who are transphobic. A is given the choice to help defeat them. By using Jewish mythology to center his story, author Kyle Lukoff presents a fascinating framework that will be refreshingly unfamiliar to most readers, and does so with authenticity and humor. A World Worth Saving is a terrific entry into YA fiction, with something important to say to both the cis and trans people alike.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A transgender teen and a golem aim to dismantle a supernaturally evil conversion therapy program in this satisfying horror-tinged novel by Lukoff (Different Kinds of Fruit). After 14-year-old A Izenson comes out as trans, his Jewish parents force him to attend Save Our Sons and Daughters, a "support group" that's coercing participating members into backing a politician's crusade against gender affirming healthcare. When agender Yarrow, A's closest friend in the group, stops attending meetings—ostensibly to undergo further "treatment"—A's attempts to uncover Yarrow's whereabouts lead him to discovering a golem made of trash that claims A must save the world from a growing evil. With the help of an understanding rabbi, A learns more about banishing sheydim, Jewish demons that seem to be possessing the most ardent anti-trans folks he's encountered. But as A's search for Yarrow becomes entangled with his mythical calling, he realizes that the challenges are too great to face alone. This superb fantastical adventure tackles serious real-world problems faced by queer youth via unique interpretations of Jewish mysticism that, paired with A's powerfully raw emotional journey, further flesh out the thrilling plot. Most characters cue as white. Ages 10–14.
