Embedded Files
Main Character
Main Character
Representation
Representation
Asexual main character identity.
Summary
Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.
But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that ... understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.
As they did in their groundbreaking novel George, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world ... and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.
Student Reviews
Trigger Warnings
Trigger Warnings
Aphobia/Aphobic narratives
Bullying
Death (past, mentioned)
Emesis (past, mentioned)
Fires
Forced labeling
Homophobia/Homophobic language
Parental disconnect
Suspension from school
Transphobia
What parents need to know
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Rick is a stand-alone follow-up to Alex Gino's award-winning debut book George. Rick and his best friend Jeff start middle school together, but Rick is increasingly troubled by Jeff's bullying and homophobia. Rick finds refuge in his school's Rainbow Spectrum club, a group supporting LGBTQ students and their allies, but struggles in his desire to stand up to Jeff. Readers will become familiar with a number of gender and sexuality identity terms alongside Rick. Positive messages affirm characters' various and diverse identities, emphasize the importance of doing the right thing, and encourage kids to find friends and supporters who they can be authentic with. While primary characters are White and cisgender, secondary characters represent various skin colors and ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. Male-idenitified characters express emotions and cry. Violence is mild, including name-calling and vandalizing posters. "Jerk" and "freak" are the harshest language used. Brief comments on girl's bodies, references to "liking" girls or boys, and hand-holding make for a tame, though certainly not boring, read.
Author Info
Author Info
Alex Gino is author of middle grade novels Alice Austen Lived Here; Rick; You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!; and the Stonewall Award-winning Melissa. They love glitter, ice cream, gardening, awe-ful puns, and stories that reflect the complexity of being alive. For more information, visit alexgino.com.
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