I received a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Family week by Sarah Moon demonstrates a reality for LGBT kids and kids from LGBT families, which is that their problems often are the same problems other kids face…with an added element.

So, Mac has a chance to go to a specialty gifted school, where his language gifts can be fully accommodated, but doesn’t want to leave his twin sister or his parents. This would be enough for any kid to deal with, but the fact that Mac is trans and would be able to play soccer at the private boarding school, but not at his local school just adds another twist.

Lina is worried about losing her brother…and is navigating her first lesbian crush,

Avery’s parents are getting a divorce. That’s hard enough for any kid to deal with, but the fact that one of Avery’s dads has left the other for a woman and Avery will soon have a new step sibling and her guilt because at some level, she always wondered what it would be like to have a mom, a dad, brothers, sisters….that’s an extra level.

Milo is failing 7th grade and was recently identified as twice exceptional (Kudos to the author for using 2e!,)


None of these kids’ problems are that they have same sex parents, or that they’re LGBT themselves (for those that are) They’re kids, navigating problems not uncommon for kids their age. And enjoying, but also struggling, with being with their friends that they see every summer, hoping to be understood, but also dealing with the fact that being a teen is harder than being a kid.


Family Week shows the value of community, of connections. Many kids will relate to that, too-ones who go every summer to the same camp, or see the same neighbors when they visit their grandparents. Those who don’t necessarily fit in all year, but have a place they belong will relate to WHY Provincetown family week is so important to Milo, Mac, Lina, and Avery-why being and feeling NORMAL is so powerful. So will parents, reading this book, because ultimately the parents are simply normal parents facing parenting problems and not necessarily making the best choices or fully hearing their kids.


And that is the amazing value of this book. Because not only is it going to help kids who have same sex parents, who are trans, who are gay feel seen, it will also help gifted kids, kids who feel like the less achieving sibling, kids with divorced or divorcing parents, kids who struggle in school, kids who are dealing with crushes, kids who have trouble taking to their parents feel seen. This book has one of the best examples of how giftedness can appear in different kids that I’ve EVER seen.


I look forward to adding this book to the recommended list for the class I teach on Giftedness/Twice Exceptionality. I look forward to adding it to my Little Free Library. It’s an excellent middle grade/middle school book for families to share.

Set in Provincetown, MA, Family Week is the story of three families that share a week together during the biggest celebration of lgbtq+ families in the country. Each of the kids in the story is going through typical preteen drama, for the most part, and it's sweet that they all have each other's backs. My favorite thing about this book, though, is reading how the kids communicate. I love, love, love that, throughout the story, the author gives examples of effective and positive communication between the kids with each other and with their parents in a natural, non-pushy way.
I would definitely recommend this book for kids in middle school and beyond. It's a fun read and the characters are instantly lovable.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book about family both biological, and chosen and it is so funny, honest, and emotional. I can’t imagine anyone not relating to one of the characters in this book and I think this is really an important book that can and will inspire a lot of empathy and understanding. I absolutely loved it.