A World Worth Saving follows a trans protagonist in a fantastical world of Jewish mythology. I really enjoyed this one. The action is non-stop and the Golem was a fun way to bring in Jewish mythology. This was a darker book than I expected as it does focus heavily on transphobia, but that is not a complaint. I enjoyed the world of the book and all of the main characters. I wish that the main character had been a little bit more caring about his friends from the beginning of the book, but at least he learned as the story went along. Overall, a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley, Kyle Lukoff, and Penguin for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

this book was definitely 50/50 for me. there were moments that brought tears to my eyes, and other moments that were so grating i had to put it down and come back later.

i felt like the pacing was kind of off. most of the "hero's journey" our main character, A, goes on felt aimless. it was kind of weird how unhelpful the supporting characters were. overall the story bests felt a little disjointed and there were times that it really dragged. i liked the jewish mythology a lot, but i will say there were times that it felt like an infodump.

there are a lot of moments in this book that will have us older gen z queers cringing. it really holds up a mirror to those of us who were snotty little know-it-all baby gays, when we were 14 and just discovered they/them pronouns were an option. for me, this book really walked the line between "annoying in a fond, reminiscent way" and "annoying in an unreadable way."

that said, i'm willing to bet there are a lot of know-it-all 14-year-olds who will cherish this book and the way it represents them. there's a lot of care here, a lot of respect for that feeling of being young and trans and lonely. this is the first queer YA book i've read that i feel like really "speaks the language" of young queer kids, and that's worth something.

Since coming out to his parents, fourteen-year-old trans boy A Izenson’s life has grown increasingly bleak and confined as his parents force him to attend Save Our Sons and Daughters, a “support group” for victims of the “transgender craze,” cut him off from his friends, and subject him to constant misgendering and deadnaming. His holding pattern, trying to keep his head above the water until he can escape his parent’s household, finally breaks when his friend Yarrow, a fellow forced attendee of SOSAD, disappears, and A’s attempts to get answers instead reveal a world of supernatural threats.
Demons fuel the fight against trans rights to feed on the suffering it brings. All around him, A begins to see the malevolent sheydim swaying the people’s minds towards hatred. And a strange golem made of wind and trash follows him with cryptic messages about his part to play in an ancient struggle.
Thrust into the fight and forced on the run, A and Sal, a trans girl from SOSAD, must figure out how to survive, much less take on threats from both the mundane and supernatural worlds at once.

A was such a frustrating character at times. There’s a secondary focus on intra-community issues, specifically the ways we can get caught up in our own struggles or those of our sub-groups and not be good allies to other (often more vulnerable) members of our community. The story explores this by making A increasingly self-absorbed and unempathetic towards his friend Sal in very overt ways. Obviously, it’s to serve a purpose, but, man, does it get frustrating. As an adult, I think I have more sympathy for A being a fourteen-year-old in a truly miserable, stressful situation, but also find the way his flaws are portrayed to be sort of heavy-handed. I wonder how I would have taken it when I was in the target audience, if I would have found him too irritating (and, ironically, not have had much empathy for him), or if I wouldn’t have noticed/minded the blunt approach as much.
I enjoyed how Jewish mythology was incorporated and how A’s kind-of, sort-of chosen one schtick was written.
There was plentiful discussion of different beliefs within Judaism and how they do and don’t fit with everything A is discovering. It meshed real-world beliefs with the interpretations and choices that fit the story. The golem manifests this in a fun way, starting as a very unconventional iteration of a golem and eventually coming to understand that it only latched on to that identity and might be something entirely new. It was an interesting way to address the fact that the myth did not quite fit what the author needed and it was sweet to see a couple of trans kids help an ancient, inhuman being start to realize it can define itself.
A being chosen but not The Chosen One was a good choice for his character and the book's themes led him to have some arrogance and bull-headed tendencies while at the same time feeding his insecurities and providing a way to wrap it all up nicely. He isn't special except in the ways that everyone is. He's chosen, but so were others before him and so could others replace him. It fits.

A is a transgender teen who is not accepted by his parents. They force him to go to a conversion support group called Save Our Sons and Daughters (SOSAD). One day, one of his friends speaks up at the group and that night is taken to an unknown location. A gets away and runs to his friends’ house hoping to run away together. When the friends’ parents hear A, A runs and a mysterious tornado of trash hits them allowing A to get away. Suddenly, they hear a voice speaking to them. This voice announces that they are a gollum, and tells A that he must go on a quest to save his friend and others. Will A be able to discover the answers to all his questions about what is happening and will be be able to save his friends from the sheydim that feed off of the transgender children or will he walk away or fail his quest?

I liked this book, but I will admit it had times that were hard to get past, mainly that A was a very flawed character who was genuinely unlikable throughout the majority of the book. I am glad, however that I stuck it out and continued to read it, because the flaws that made him unlikable were there for a reason. As an exvangelical goy, I appreciated the Jewish folklore and explanations about Jewish tradition, as I had no references for most of them. I found the references particularly interesting and I appreciated the interweaving of the folklore and tradition with the story and I loved the description of transness and holiness. I do, however wish that the end did not happen so suddenly.

Overall, a good read, 3.75/5 stars for me.

A World Worth Saving is a story about a trans Jewish boy who was chosen to try to save his friends from their parents and also demons. I liked how A was flawed and grew throughout the story, even though at times it killed me a little inside. The plot was interesting and I really liked how the Jewish faith and stories were portrayed and woven in. I learned a little more about the faith and enjoyed the plot line (although at times it was slightly unbearable).

This book had a really strong opening. It felt quite a bit like trans Jewish Percy Jackson I thought, but this later changed.

While the synopsis does make it clear that transphobia is prominent in this book, I think as an adult it is too much for a middle grade book. I don't know how kids are on the internet these days, but I know I had hope for a good world when I was in the target audience for this book. Given that even I debated putting this book down and walking away because it got so traumatic, I'm not sure what to think. I stuck with it because I believed in the happy ending, a child dealing with similar issues to the main character may not, and end up feeling hopeless.

That being said, I did like the humor that came in it. I liked A sticking up for himself, and while the conclusion felt a little rushed with some realizations, I liked the ending.

If you are a trans person who is looking for a book to escape for a bit, I don't think this book is for you, because it hurts for a long while. But if you're a trans person looking for a story where we win, read this one to the end.

This powerful and timely novel is an absolute must-read! Raw, heartfelt, and laced with supernatural thrills, it deftly tackles the real struggles of being trans in a world that doesn’t always understand. I really cannot imagine better trans representation that feels like how ACTUAL trans tweens in 2024 speak to each other, and what they experience when their families are against them. And of course, the magic element is perfect for making it more digestible. Truly inspiring, and I will be purchasing this for the trans tweens in my life.

This was such an adventurous book. The pacing was really good and it helped keep the story moving and the character development on a nice progression. I loved following these characters and seeing them fall and rise again to achieve their mission. It was a fun story and it was a great world that the reader is brought into. Lukoff balanced character and plot so well that the story is well rounded and a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really wanted to like this. I mean, it sounded like a fun read - a trans boy who struggles against a conversion camp? I was hoping it would be somewhat like Surrender Your Sons, if perhaps a bit lighter.

Unfortunately, this book failed to reach my expectations. I debated giving it two stars, but near the end I simply skimmed, and the ending was lackluster. I considered DNF'ing at 80%, but continued simply because I was too far into the book to stop.

The characters talk somewhat stiltedly, at times - certain sections of this book remind me more of an article than a story. It almost comes off as preachy at some points - not because of its morals and beliefs, but because of how they are presented.

A was an obnoxious main character to follow, and while that was intentional, his flaws were not well balanced with things that would endear me to him. He's bullheaded and has a hero complex, while also being ignorant and resistant to change. A goes through a lot, but at times I felt like it was a challenge to empathize with him because he simply wouldn't listen or examine his biases until the very end, and even then, his redemption arc was less that, and more of him simply not being selfish anymore. He apologized, sure, but it wasn't enough for me.

I recognize this can simply be how kids are, and that it's a good thing to have all sorts of trans people in media, including ones that are obnoxious, but that doesn't stop me from being annoyed by him, either. He is manipulative and selfish. And while that is a part of the story, a component of the plot, it was also simply not fun to read.

The story itself is rather slow paced, despite being relatively short. It felt like it was dragging several times.


I am not the core audience - this books is marketed to middle graders, and I do think that if I had had it as a kid, this would perhaps have appealed more. Or maybe not - I may have very well been as annoyed by the main character as I am today, and unenthused by the mid pacing. I can't really say.

This is a good book for a kid who is just being introduced to trans issues, especially if they're swept up into the inter-community fights. It would also be good for a kid whose empathy is poorly developed.

Other than that? I can't say I'd recommend this with my full heart, or perhaps at all unfortunately.

I cannot tell you how badly I wish I had this book when I was younger. Even now, at the age of 31, the stuff A went through impacted me so much I teared up multiple times. This representation is so important, and to do it in a way so that trans kids can see themselves on a grand adventure that so many cis characters get to go on is wonderful. This book was fun, complex, well written and so so important. Thank you.