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Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Article  in  Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books · January 2017

DOI: 10.1353/bcc.2017.0614

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 Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (review)
Rebecca Linares

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Volume 71, Number 1, September
2017, p. 25 (Review)

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2017.0614

For additional information about this article

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/667847

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 September 2017  •  25

isolated outdoor adventures into a powerful and poetic tale of survival, hope and
despair. Anticipation builds with each chapter’s intentional cliffhanger sentence,
and the suspense will keep readers on shivery tenterhooks. MK

Lauren, Christina  Autoboyography. Simon, 2017 [416p]

Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-8168-7  $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-8170-0  $10.99
Reviewed from galleys R  Gr. 9-12
After living in their predominantly Mormon town in Utah for three years, Tanner
Scott’s parents, who are beyond accepting of Tanner’s bisexuality, caution him—
purely out of a desire to protect him—about openly being his authentic self. When
high school senior Tanner enrolls in an honors seminar requiring students to write
a book in one semester, he has little idea of the story he will tell, but when he lays
eyes on the teaching assistant, Sebastian Brother—who happens to be Mormon—a
forbidden but passionate chemistry builds that ultimately results in a love story,
one Sebastian’s family might not be able to accept. This sensitive and complex
story is as much about finding love as it is about finding and accepting oneself.
The representation of the tensions Tanner experiences between being himself and
respecting Sebastian’s need to protect himself and those he cares about feels urgent
and authentic, particularly in how it highlights the challenges many youth may
face as they come to terms with their own sexuality. The text deals sensitively with
serious issues, especially Sebastian’s grappling with his sexuality in the context of a
stifling Mormon upbringing, but it’s also hilarious and relatable. Readers will enjoy
seeing Tanner find his voice as a young person and an author in his own right as
they learn that the very book they are reading is Tanner’s own story. RL

Lawson, Jessica  Under the Bottle Bridge. Simon, 2017 [352p]

Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-4842-0  $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-4844-4  $10.99
Reviewed from galleys R  Gr. 5-8
Twelve-year-old Minna Treat’s present is firmly rooted in her town’s past. Her family’s
woodworking business is a staple in her hometown of Gilbreth, which was settled
in part by her ancestors in the 1700s. It’s Minna’s personal past that is causing her
angst, however, as she reads through the recently discovered preteen diary of her
mother (deceased when Minna was a baby) and struggles to come up with a junior
artisan project that is worthy of her woodworking heritage (and that will make her
loving but hovering uncle—her guardian—proud). Even more pressing, though,
are the mysterious messages in bottles that Minna keeps finding under a bridge
built by her ancestors: could they be from or about her unknown father? With her
best friend, Crash, and the help of an odd new girl, Grace, Minna tries to solve the
mystery of the messages and find her biological father, all while redefining herself
and her place within her community. Minna’s coming-of-age story is as solid and
well crafted as the furniture made by her uncle, and the bottle-message mystery
is engrossing. Fictional excerpts from a Gilbreth local history book shed light on
Minna’s ancestral past (including a previous Treat’s involvement with a young
woman who was hanged as a witch from the bridge where Minna finds the bottles)
and add further drama and a slightly spooky dynamic to the narrative. Minna’s
relationship with her uncle is both touching and humorous; while her longing for

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