Rick by Alex Gino
CW: Queerphobia, Arophobic Microaggressions, Almost-Use of a Dead name, Grief, Past Death of a Spouse, Violence, Mentions of Vomit, Mentions of Harry Potter, Transphobic Microaggressions, Past Bullying, Small Act of Arson, Parental Disconnect, Suspension, Pressure Surrounding Pronouns
4.5/5
Before starting to read Alex Gino's Rick, I considered that it might tie into Melissa, also written by Gino. When I couldn't find any easy answers, I decided to jump into the book and find out along the way. My answer is that Melissa is an important person to Rick and I probably should have read Melissa first. However, Rick included enough details about her to have its own story make sense on its own. In summary, you'll be okay if you read the books out of order!
Last year I included Rick in my International Asexuality Day reading list. I try to avoid adding books I haven't read to my reading list posts, but I knew from the description I really wanted to read it. Now that I have, I regret that I didn't read it sooner. It's a book I wish I had when I was a kid and that I'm glad youngsters today can enjoy. The main character explores asexuality and aromanticism for himself while being surrounded by a whole Rainbow Spectrum (that's a book reference!) of other identities.
Rick is starting middle school, which comes with many changes for him. New school, new priorities, getting to ride the city bus, and starting to visit his Grandpa Ray. When he hears about an after school club for queer kids, he starts to wonder if that might be a place for him. His best friend and family are always talking about feelings for other people, but Rick's never experienced these feelings. As his first month of school progresses, the club decides to put on a cabaret. Alongside the visits with his grandpa, these things start to make Rick's thoughts clearer to him.
While I absolutely recommend this book to older readers, please keep in mind that it is a middle grade book/chapter book. It's about middle school, told from a middle schooler's perspective. It makes a point of being educational, and each chapter is like a mini-story that adds to the overarching one. None of these are bad things, but it's good to know what to expect going in. You can also expect good pacing, exclusively well-written characters, and fun chapter titles. The only inconsistency in Gino's writing is when they slip into Melissa's perspective. It was likely a force of habit or a nostalgic move from having written her book first, but it feels out of place when everything else is from Rick's point of view. Otherwise, the writing in this book is quite good and I will be reading other works by Gino in the future.
In Rick the students are trying to raise money for more queer books to go into the school library. I think this book is exactly the kind of book that they would want. Very early in the book the reader gets reassurance that Rick's parents would support him if he was gay. Although there is a homophobic character in the book and some arophobic microaggressions, it's made clear that these things are not okay. A lot of identities get explored and explained in Rick, such as pansexual, enby/non-binary, gay, trans, and of course, aromantic and asexual. The book also covers topics such as drag, preferred pronouns, being raised by two women, and the history of terms for the queer community. Everything is presented through the characters in the book, which keeps the plot exciting! Rick goes above and beyond for representation.
If you decide to read Rick, I recommend trying the audiobook as it is read by Alex Gino. If you wish to know more about the queer community or aroace folks in general, this is a good place to look. Even if you are already familiar with these topics, this is a cute read that provides the world with more queer representation. Give it a chance!
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