3.5
A World Worth Saving
ByPublisher Description
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A groundbreaking, action-packed, and ultimately uplifting adventure that intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia, from Newbery Honor winner Kyle Lukoff.
“Rare and beautiful—a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience.”—Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
★ “A stunning powerhouse of fantasy and real-world issues.”—Booklist, starred review
Lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he still barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.
At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking…it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.
But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?
“Rare and beautiful—a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience.”—Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
★ “A stunning powerhouse of fantasy and real-world issues.”—Booklist, starred review
Lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he still barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.
At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking…it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.
But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesA World Worth Saving Reviews
3.5
Oliver Bass
Created 15 days agoShare
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“I enjoyed the exploration of Jewish mythology and I loved seeing so many trans and non-binary characters. The last half star is for the representation of positive adults who stand up to transphobic parents.
That said, there were three things that really pulled me out of enjoying this book:
1) I didn’t like being quoted statistics. There are much more effective ways of showing, not telling those stories. Save the statistics for non-fiction.
2) A was hard to connect with for the vast majority of the book. It wasn’t until maybe 80% of the way through that he even began to grapple with any of the issues people were calling him out on.
3) As a Washingtonian it was so obvious that neither A nor the author had ever lived in Washington, much less Seattle.”
Mrs-B-Reads
Created 23 days agoShare
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“Read for RIMSBA. Kyle Lukoff is a gifted writer who has tackled a tough topic here, and manages to masterfully weave LGBTQ+ rights, trans youth, conversion therapy, unhousedness, the pandemic and Jewish lore together to create a fast paced, engrossing novel. Did I mention there’s a trash golem?! My heart breaks for trans youth who are rejected by their families, and this book should be read by parents, teachers, guidance counselors, religious leaders, and anyone who has contact with kids today to understand more about this subject.”
Brady Parkin
Created 2 months agoShare
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Leigh Hendrix
Created 2 months agoShare
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buggie <3
Created 3 months agoShare
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About Kyle Lukoff
Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright to See, received a Newbery Honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became a Brother also won the Stonewall. He has forthcoming books about mermaids, babies, apologies, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian.
Other books by Kyle Lukoff
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