FLIGHT OF THE PUFFIN

Three seventh graders struggle with family, community, and self.

Libby and Jack live in a rural Vermont populated with broadly drawn families: entitled men, submissive mothers, bullies, and government-averse hunters with a fear of gender nonconformity. After opening in Vermont, the story shifts to Vincent, who lives in Seattle and is mocked by his peers due to his obsession with triangles, love of puffins, and unconventional clothing choices. The contrived conflict vaguely centers around trans and nonbinary youth, who are positioned as a problem to be resolved. A local bureaucrat threatens to withhold funds for Jack’s school, citing a number of policy violations, including the absence of a gender-neutral restroom. Jack defends his school’s right to run as it pleases, and, in the process, the well-meaning but clumsy boy makes comments that a horde of strangers—some angry, some more constructive in tone—interprets as transphobic. Ultimately, the comments lead him to understand things differently, including a matter that cuts close to home. Vincent meets T, a nonbinary homeless youth whose perspective is wrought through brief, poetic italics and who functions mainly to teach Vincent important lessons about gratitude and strength. Libby, the least involved in the conflict, also has the least-developed story arc and mainly functions to unite the narratives through postcards. This story puts forward many messages but never coheres as a story and treats trans and nonbinary youth as convenient plot points rather than fully developed human beings. Characters default to White.

Mildly inspirational at best.