Pansexual & Saphic main character identity.
Summary
Avery Hart lives for the thrill and speed of her dirt bike and the pounding thump of her drum kit. But after she’s diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disease that affects her joints, Avery splits her time between endless physical therapy and worrying that her fun and independence are over for good. Sarah Bell is familiar with worry, too. For months, she’s been having intense panic attacks. No matter how much she pours her anxiety into making art, she can’t seem to get a grip on it, and she’s starting to wonder if she’ll be this way forever.
Just as both girls are reaching peak fear about what their futures hold, their present takes a terrifying turn when their school is seemingly attacked by gunmen. Though they later learn it was an active shooter drill, the traumatic experience bonds the girls together in a friendship that will change the way they view their perceived weaknesses—and help them find strength, and more, in each other.
Student Reviews
Ableism
Active shooter drill
Anxiety
Bullying
Chronic illness (hEDS)
Death of loved one (aunt)
Grief
Gun violence
Homophobia/homomisia
Mental illness
Panic attacks
Religious bigotry
Terminal illness
Transphobia/transmisia
Violence
Coming soon...
Jules Machias is the author/illustrator of the novels Both Can Be True (an American Library Association Rainbow Booklist Top Ten Title for Young Readers, a Bank Street Children’s Best Book of the Year, and an Indie Next List Pick) and Fight + Flight.
Jules has worked for veterinarians, marketing firms, construction companies, a car parts warehouse, and schools for kids with disabilities; they now own and operate Red Pen Refinery, an editing business. Jules lives in Cincinnati with their family, a bunch of lizards and pythons, a herd of discount-rack dogs, and a garage full of dirt bikes and art supplies. Visit Jules on Instagram for ridiculous dog pictures.