From the author of Melissa, Green follows one of Melissa's friends, Green, who is a nonbinary 7th-grade student trying to understand the significance of one's identity, both for themselves and for others, while trying to put on their school's gender-free production of The Wizard of Oz. This book has an incredible amount of representation in it! From Green's deaf grandmother to their single dad to their accepting and supportive group of friends, I was surprised to see the diverse amount of representation in the book! This is so important for younger readers to be exposed to and to understand. I especially love how blasé Green's reactions were to the diversity of characters as it normalizes non-cis relationships and identities for younger readers!

I especially loved how Gino handles the issue of periods for Green. Periods are often not talked about in middle-grade books, and Gino handles it perfectly. I found my own worries expressed in the pages and felt my own experiences validated by Green's words.

One thing that I didn't love about the book is just how much it attempts to accomplish. It is without a doubt true that the negative experiences and prejudice that LGBTQIA+ youth face are difficult, unjust, and isolating. However, I wish the book chose a few of these issues and dove deeper into each one rather than name-dropping many. I felt like it led the book to be disorganized in some places and could be confusing for some younger readers learning about these issues for the very first time. On the other hand, I could also see how these pages, which are filled with many discussions of LGBTQIA+ problems, could be extremely validating for LGBTQIA+ youth, so I concede that maybe my opinion here doesn't entirely matter.

Overall, I think any reader would benefit from reading this book. It's cute, funny, and you can't resist rooting for Green in their romantic endeavors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for giving me an E-ARC of this book!

Green, by Alex Gino, returns readers to the world of Jung Middle School and its Rainbow Spectrum Club. In it, titular character Green helps advocate for gender-free casting in the school’s production of The Wizard of Oz, experiences physical changes to their maturing body, and navigates romantic feelings toward another student, Ronnie. This book, like many of Gino’s other books, was a fairly quick read. And one of the delights of this book was in being able to reacquaint myself with familiar beloved characters.

What a good follow-up to Melissa! Green is a nonbinary middle-schooler navigating all those common middle-school traps like crushes and the school play, and also adjusting to their own identity and body to boot. I liked that Green was solidly nonbinary and very confident in that choice - Alex Gino's books are always great representation for a variety of families, family structures, and identities, and all of that is here as well. I enjoyed going along with Green for the ride that is a middle-school crush - I feel you, Green. You're in good company. I'm glad that Melissa and Kelly and some of the other characters from Melissa (formerly known as George) made an appearance, but you don't necessarily have to have read her book to understand this one. All in all I really enjoyed it! A solid middle-grade novel with excellent representation - I'd definitely recommend that my library pick this one up!

Thank you to Scholastic and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this novel. It was interesting to read a book from the perspective of a nonbinary character because those perspectives are often overlooked in literature. Some students will appreciate having a character they can relate to.

Green follows a non-binary middle schoolers as they struggle with a crush, a changing body and trying out for the school musical. The members of the Rainbow Spectrum are in full force! So lovely to see the continuing journey of these amazing kids.

This middle grade books follows the character of Green, a non-binary student who is navigating all the things a middle grade student has to deal with — school work, crushes, trying out for the theater production, and dealing with the changes their body is going through. This book delves into the different kind of nuances that non-binary people struggle with at this age like dealing with body dysmorphia or trying to find a bathroom they can use that isn’t halfway across campus. Of course that isn’t a full list, but it showed the little mirco situations they had to deal with constantly.

I liked this book and think it did a great job at showing a perspective we often don’t get to hear for this age group. Green’s friends are fun and the storyline of the crush is very real to anyone who understands what it was like having a crush at the age. This is a book I would recommend for middle grade students. But, if this is a book you’re just going to protest and give a bad review and you’re already someone who is not open minded in having these conversations then please just move along.

Oh my oh my! Green is NB and starting the 7th Grade. As our story progresses, they develop a crush on a seemingly cishet person.

We continue as Green goes through tribulations that half the population should be familiar with. By the end, we have a story of what it is to be a child in middle school and a journey of self discovery.

We also get to see some cameos of characters from other books in the universe such as Melissa and Rick.

Alex Gino does a wonderful job at bringing representation to the foreground in a world where that is of utmost importance. Thank you NetGalley, Alex Gino, and Scholastic for allowing me an early copy for my honest opinion!

Green releases October 3. 2023!

Third in the lightly connected series that began with <i>Melissa</i>, <i>Green</i> follows a nonbinary seventh grader as they deal with the sort of basic problems that make middle school difficult even if you're not queer. Green personally is struggling with two specific issues: they have a crush on a boy who isn't sure if he's straight or not and they're debating whether or not to take hormone blockers. Green is secure in their identity but conflicted about their AFAB body, and even as a cis woman, I found it very relatable. Green's reaction to menarche is one of the most realistic depictions I've ever read (sorry, Judy Blume); they struggle with the overall grossness of it while wishing that just <i>that</i> part of an AFAB body could go away, because they rather like their curves. It's a piece of the gender puzzle that doesn't get a lot of treatment in fiction, and while we absolutely need period-positive books, we also need stories like this that remind us that we can love our bodies but still hate some of the things they do.

<i>Green</i> isn't quite as in-depth as <i>Melissa</i> or <i>Rick</i>, but it's still an excellent, important piece of queer middle grade fiction. As the book points out, we don't all fit into neat boxes or even labels, and WHO we are is more important than WHAT we are. We all need to hear that sometimes, especially in middle school. Bless Alex Gino for saying it in so many ways.

Not as involved or introspective as the others in the series; great to see a book about a kid who already understands their identity and is supported and affirmed but both the other books in the series had a start-to-finish plot that was absent here.

Rating: 5⭐️
Pub Date: 10/3/23

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alex has done it again with Green! While reading Rick a few weeks ago, I was very intrigued by one of the kids in Rainbow Spectrum that Rick met, named Green, and I was so happy when I saw that they were the main character in Alex’s Middle Grade series!
Green has such a great attitude and outlook on life, and I wish I was more like them! Things for them start getting complicated, though, when they develop a very strong crush and start their period. The approach to the conversations regarding these topics were astounding, and I definitely learned a bit about a non-binary point of view I might have never considered.
There’s also disability representation, as Green’s Nan is deaf, which was super sweet to read about. I LOVED the Metallica love included, as well as seeing how much Melissa has grown!
I can’t wait to see which character will be the main character in Alex’s next book! I can’t get enough of these kids, and I’m so proud of them.

PS: I am now calling books my “word children.”

👠🏳️‍🌈🥞