The Ship We Built By Lexie Bean is the heartbreakingly real story of Rowan. Rowan has so many things going on in life and is trying to deal with them all by writing in a journal. This is truly a story of self discovery and growth that will have you crying throughout.

This was recommended by a friend who knows the author, so I gave it a shot. It is not bad by any means, but I am not in the right space emotionally to finish this story. Maybe later in my life.

A much needed middle grade novel to provide an entry point to conversations, build empathy, and show those hurting that they are not alone. I loved that the story was told through letters, showing readers that sometimes we need another way to heal. It was encouraging when Rowan begins to feel like he can connect with his classmate. As always, the inclusion of an author's note and resources is always welcome.

Abused by his father and ignored by his mother at home, 10-year-old, transgender, Rowan feels like he’s a social pariah. At school, he’s bullied or ignored and doesn’t understand why people won’t except him for who he is. To cope, he sends letters up in balloons in hopes of finding a friend who understands him. Will he find someone who accepts him for who he is? A touching, heart-wrenching novel about self-discovery, the author tactfully handles the sensitive subject. Although the 90s references are relied heavily upon to portray the time period, the telling of the story through letters sent up in balloons is an intriguing touch. Rowan is a likable, realistic character who readers will identify with. Readers who like realistic fiction, LGBTQ fiction, or stories about fitting in will enjoy reading this book.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given to us by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.. All opinions expressed are our own. No financial compensation was received.

Set in 1997, Rowan is a trans boy who does not feel like he fits in anywhere. He knows who he is and what he likes, but he cannot seem to convince his parents. Because of whom he is, at night he is abused by his father and his mother turns a blind eye When his parents send him to see a therapist, he begins to question whether or not something is really wrong with him. To cope, he writes notes with secrets on them up in the air in balloons. In it, he asks anyone who finds it to respond and leave messages under a sign. Will anyone ever answer his notes? Will he and his parents ever see eye to eye? Bean does a great job of bringing to life the struggles Rowan experiences with tact and sensitivity. Her portrayal of Rowan is realistic, and readers are easily able to empathize with him. Pop culture references are heavily relied on to portray the time period, but the story will appeal to adults and older teens alike. Readers who are interested in self-discovery, LGBTQ+ issues, and empathetic stories about characters dealing with abuse will want to pick this one up.
Please note: This was a complementary review copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

I love this book. It’s one of those books you can’t put down, and when you do finish it, you sit there wishing for more and wanting to know what happens with the characters and what they’re up to now. The first couple of pages completely pulled me into the story and I ended up reading it in one sitting.

I’m a sucker for a book told in letter or journal form, and so of course I’m a fan of the format of The Ship We Built. The author’s twist on the letter format was creative and (literally) uplifting. When I was in elementary school and starting out reading middle grade books, I was always drawn to books in this format—I think it helped me get to know the characters on such a deep, intimate level.

Rowan is such a real and wonderful character—I was so struck by his process throughout the book of learning to believe himself—believe what he knew to be his gender, his name, and the realities of the hard things he was experiencing. The character Sophie has great wisdom not only in how to show up for transgender children and/or children who are experiencing abuse—but in how to show up for people of all ages who are trans and/or have experienced abuse.

While I was reading The Ship We Built, I kept thinking that it reminded me of a middle-grade Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s hard to describe, but this is how I can put it best: both books left me with a kind of feeling that helped me feel less alone in the things that make me feel lonely. I think this is a great book for people of all ages—but especially for kids that are experiencing abuse or have friends that are, and for kids that are trans or have friends that are.

Lexie Bean wrote with such talent and empathy—this is a book that is unique not just for its content (there are not enough published books for kids by transgender authors) but also for the skill, research (I was catapulted into 90’s nostalgia), and life experience put into writing it.

I’m so grateful to have read this book. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Lexie Bean for sending me a copy of the galley!

Ellie Beck (aka Rowan), if a fifth grader in Michigan in the late 1990s. The book is told in letters Ellie writes and sends off into the world tied to ballons, hoping someone will find them and write back. In these letters Ellie puts down what can't be said out loud, that Ellie feels like a boy, and about the nighttime visits from his father. He signs the letters with different names he's trying out, finally deciding he feels like his name is Rowan.
Though Rowan never tells his parents he feels like a boy, they figure something is going on when he cuts his hair short, like a boy's. They bring him to a counselor who essentially tells him he's confused, and doesn't know what he wants yet. after that initial visit, Rowan decides it's safer being Ellie. Rowan has one close friend in the book, Sofie, who he can safely be Rowan, and just be himself.
This is the kind of story that tugs on your heart strings. It covers school bullies, friendship breakups or being cast out from the inner circle, childhood sexual abuse, transgenderism, alcoholism and more. The author does a wonderful job crafting a story around these intense elements in a way that is approachable to young readers. The resources and hotline numbers at the back are an essential addition to this title.

One of the best books of 2020! Rowan is a lonely child who feels confused about his gender identity. Born a girl, Rowan longs to be a boy. He even changes his name frequently. He shares his thoughts in letters attached to balloons, hoping someone will find them and want to be his friend. Even more confusing is that his dad comes into his room at night making him very uncomfortable and prompting unanswerable questions of what it means to be a male. The Ship We Built is a story filled with longing and heartbreak, confusion and questions, abuse and hope. It’s powerful, emotional story about gender identity, sexual abuse, and survival.

Told in a series of letters that the narrator put on balloons and lets float away because they do not even feel safe enough to write down these things in a diary or journal that maybe found. Set in the 1990s, this 5th grader is questioning things about their body and other feelings about growing up. This #ownvoice book about a transchild that believes that they will be forever alone and them meets another with their own secrets. Important story to have in a library and to have accessible to children.

The Ship We Built was a difficult read. It was difficult because of the subject matter but the presentation was fantastic. It follows a fifth grader in Michigan, in the 90s, while they explore gender and identity.

This is done through letters sent to no one in particular by balloon. The letters take on an incredibly confessional tone to the point where I struggled to continue reading. Some of it felt like the usual pains of growing up. Some were much more heartbreaking as the protagonist hinted at deeper abuses at home.

I honestly feel that this book has the potential to appeal more to adults. Definitely would only recommend to mature middle-graders as there is somewhat subtle subtext about sexual abuse. My only complaint is that parts moved too slowly where nothing progressed for a bit too long with no additional characterization or plot development.

This book was like a time warp back to the 90s. So much nostalgia regarding all things 90s pop culture it referred to. The letters in this book felt incredibly honest and realistic in the way someone that she writes. It almost felt like diving into someone’s actual journal. Very realistic! So much to think about. So very helpful to understand the stories of the individual.

I am going to preface my review by referring to the main character as Rowan, their chosen name. I also am using he/him pronouns since based on my reading those are the pronouns that seem to best fit the character.

The Ship We Built was a sensitive and forthright look at a child dealing with gender identity and queerness. In this epistolary novel, we get to know Rowan and his struggles with gender identity, fitting in at school, dealing with an unstable, religious, and low-income home life, and trying to balance the loneliness of keeping your true identity secret. We follow Rowan through his year in 5th grade, with his new best friend Sophia, an understanding yet understated teacher, and an anonymous friend/the reader to help him along the way. This book is a slow burn, meandering through the school year in a way that felt authentic to an actual 5th grader's writing. While emotional and heart wrenching, this book was a fantastic look at what queerness can look and feel like to a child. It was a tough read, but very worthwhile.

Rowan Beck knows he was born a boy, but is unable to walk confidently as one at home or at his elementary school in a small Minnesota town where most people still call him by the name Ellie. Faced with isolation at home and school, Rowan explores his thoughts and feelings in the form of letters he releases to the universe tied to a balloon.

VERDICT is that this is an authentically written and heart wrenching story about identity and friendship, but I am not sure where I would place it in my library. It is being classified as Children’s Fiction, but I am not sure how many children will be able to stick with Rowan throughout his story. As an adult reader I really had to push myself to finish this book. I was emotionally invested in Rowan’s story, but found it to move quite slowly at times. I think I would be more likely to recommend this book to older teens and adults interested in LGBTQIA+ literature. This is a story that needs to be told and I think has the potential to be impactful on readers, but I wish I could be more confident that it will appeal to a wider age range of readers, specifically younger middle grade readers.

I wanted to love this much-needed middle grade book, but I just couldn't get through it. I stopped reading this about halfway through. The characters had no depth causing me to feel disconnected to them; maybe this was due to the story-telling through letters too. The constant 90's references became an unnecessary focal point of the story causing serious disruptions in the plotline.
Rowan, born Ellie, is struggling with his identity at an age when the biggest concern is being invited to the next birthday party and being invited to play at recess. While trying to come to terms with his identity, he's also being abused by his father. The story is told through letters written by Rowan that he sends off on balloons for someone to find.

This is a drama that is highly reflective and introspective. Ellie/Rowan Beck tries to navigate her family and losing most of her friends. Lots of pain and transformation happens over the course of Rowan writing a diary and sending off letters with lots of secrets that aren't even shared with the reader right away. Fortunately a friend is also there to help.

A unique style of storytelling through letters and how Rowan learns all about who he really is. Leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Rowan just wants to be himself, the problem is that when people look at him they just see Ellie. Rowan must learn to navigate school as friends become cruel and he begins to retreat into himself. His mom seems absent in his life and his dad pays the wrong type of attention to him. To escape his reality he finds comfort in writing down his story on letters that he attaches to balloons, in the hopes that someone, somewhere will find them.

I had high hopes for this story, and the story itself is moving. It is emotionally gripping and even in the depths of all the abuse Rowan/Ellie endures, he does find a friend (and a rather fabulous one at that). My issues were largely pacing ones. I felt like parts of this really meandered, to the point where I'm not sure that a child who really needed this would stick it through. I think Bean spent far too much effort setting this story in the 90s. Yes, the Spice Girls were a thing-we get it.

That being said, I do still look forward to reading what comes next for Bean. I have really high expectations (especially if this is the same Lexie Bean who has written numerous articles for Teen Vogue). And perhaps, that is what I crave-a really awesome teen book in the voice I get from those articles.

*Thank you Netgalley, Lexie Bean, and to the publisher for an eARC of The Ship We Built! All thoughts and comments are my own.

Just.. wow. I finished the book about an hour ago and I'm still trying to process my thoughts on this. Rowan is in 5th grade during the late 90s, navigating their body and what it means to be a boy or girl. Lexie Bean does an amazing job with identifying issues that a young trans kid may experience growing up.

This book is SO IMPORTANT. A name is important. It is our main identifier. As someone who has personally struggled with this as well, sometimes we don't know when to use our birth name or a name we choose for ourselves. Throughout the story, Rowan switches between names based on his current mood. This personally really resonated with myself, because my father forced a name on me that was not mine. I periodically had to switch given the situation that I was in.

In a growing society where we learn acceptance of each and every human, this book is going to be a stand out. It is currently the only middle grade book that features a trans boy character, and written by a trans author. I hope that this representation finds its way to more audiences. I recommend this book to anyone working with people, kids, and those who may identify with any of the themes presented. I hope to see this book in my kids' library.

If you are that ONE person who shows kindness to someone who needs it most.. you could be saving their life. Thank you so much Lexie for writing this book. The world needs this now more than ever.

**Trigger warning for light disclosures on sexual abuse, substance abuse, homophobia, and bullying. The author does an excellent job with bringing these issues to light, while providing resources at the conclusion to the book.