The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow
CW: Poop, Divorce, Parental Fighting, Internalized Queerphobia, Low Self Esteem, Anxiety, Medical Descriptions, Tween Angst, Mentioned Racism, Ableism
5/5
Libby (the app) recommended Jake Maia Arlow's The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet to me. This was likely because I asked my library to add Arlow's How to Excavate a Heart. This is the first book I've read by them, but I know they're going to continue to be one of my favorite authors. This book was filled with Queer, Jewish, and chronic illness representation! The story wasn't a reflection of my life or anything close, but I still found myself relating to the feelings of the characters. I'm glad Arlow wrote a character as complex as themself.
In The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet, Al is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at age 12. She has been pooping a lot, often having to run to the bathroom in urgency. She's not feeling good, physically or about herself, but it's made worse by her mother's constant worrying and the thought that she may lose her best friend, Leo. While Leo is busy finally following his passion by joining the school musical, Al gives in to joining an IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disorder) peer support group. Things start looking up for Al, but how long can it stay like that? Will her secrets or her stool come out first?
Although the pacing in Arlow's novel was hard to follow at times, I have zero other complaints about how it was written. This book invoked an impressive balance of emotions from me. There were funny moments, relatable ones, ones that made me annoyed with Al or other characters, and ones that brought me close to tears. There were just enough characters to make Al's life feel real, but not to overwhelm the audience. I know that middle-grade novels aren't for everyone, but I love how wholesome they are. They can tackle poop, anxiety, fights among friends, divorce, and big promises broken while still being sweet and healthy. Writers for adult romances could learn something from them, especially through the middle school romance featured in The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet.
The copy I listened to of Arlow's book had an Afterwards by the author. They talked about being nervous about writing a character who is queer and Jewish and has a chronic illness that involves poop. They worried about people calling it silly or too much, which I imagine bigots would do with even just one of these. Arlow figured that if all three were true for them, they could be true for Al too. I'm so glad they did! I don't have Crohn's, but these three things are true of me. I appreciate the representation very much and can empathize with Al and her friends. The diversity representation in this book includes anxiety, non-binary, racial, and aromantic. Nothing feels shoehorned, it all matters.
Singling out the queer rep, I appreciate that almost every character is a part of the queer community. It's highly unrealistic in TV shows where there are a bunch of straight characters and one queer one. We flock together. I also appreciate that this is just a slice of Al's queer identity journey. It's not the beginning or the end. It's unlikely that we figure it all out quickly. Al knows she likes girls and gets the chance to like a specific one. She tries out a label for herself, but she doesn't sound 100% sure of it, but that doesn't get resolved. She makes a non-binary friend who uses "she/they" pronouns (pronouns beautifully woven throughout the narrative) and starts to question if maybe that would work for her. She's in the stage that older trans people might call an "egg". Someday after the story ends, she may just find herself hatched as a non-binary person.
As multiple characters are Jewish, the audience gets to experience a nice sample of different personal relationships to the religion. Al and her mother aren't very religious, but they care about their Jewish identity. Leo and his mother are more religious. His mother runs a Jewish bakery and uses a lot of Yiddish. Leo is dealing with the realities of being a biracial Jew. He doesn't look much like his mother and doesn't "look Jewish". There's also Sephardic Jewish representation, although not as heavily explored. If you're looking for Jewish joy, you'll absolutely find that in The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet.
As long as medical descriptions don't deter you completely, I definitely recommend Jake Maia Arlow's The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet. Either you can relate to the chronic illnesses of the characters or you can learn a lot about it. You'll be treated to the sweetest cast of characters along the way in addition to Jewish food ideas. If you're looking for your next bathroom read, this is the one!
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