Becky and Josh are almost-twins, with two mums and the same anonymous donor dad.
Josh can’t wait until he’s eighteen, the legal age when he can finally contact his donor, and he’ll do anything to find out more - even if it involves lying.
Becky can’t stop thinking about her new friend, Carli. Could her feelings for Carli be a sign of something more?
Becky and Josh both want their parents to be proud of them…but right now, they’re struggling to even accept themselves.
Usborne
I loved Sarah Hagger-Holt’s debut MG novel, NOTHING EVER HAPPENS HERE and was lucky enough to have the chance to interview her, read it here, so I was really pleased to be asked to be on the tour for PROUD OF ME.
A Pride group is being set up at school, run by older students but our protagonists get involved (if you like the group scenes, I’d recommend Alex Gino’s RICK as well, for an American version). Friendships play an important role in this story – both brilliant friendships and less satisfying ones – and the feelings Josh and Becky have about their friends are wonderfully described, everything feels very true. In the meantime, Josh and Becky both find themselves keeping very different secrets as he investigates their donor father and she realises she might have feelings for a new friend.
Becky’s best friend Archie is a great character. Openly gay, he (rather than their Mums) is why Becky and Josh both initially go along to the Pride group, and he has some very interesting things to say, for example:
“…Look, if someone else puts a label on you and uses that to define you or put you in a box or to treat you like dirt, then of course that’s bad. But when people say that they’re not into labels, it’s probably because they’ve bought the whole idea that being LGBTQ or whatever is bad, so they don’t want to be associated with it. But labels can be good if you reclaim them, then you can share who you are with other people and be stronger together.”
but he also got into my bad books with this one, which will have every librarian shaking their head in despair, hah:
“Wow, did you know he even has his books in height order? Is your brother for real? Perhaps he’s not really a teenager at all, but a librarian disguised in a teenager’s body?”
Josh’s secret investigations show him trying to find his place, and his uncertainty around friendships is brilliantly portrayed. It is a really positive book. Their Mums’ fears for them are genuine, remembering how different and difficult it was to “come out” 30 years ago, with the reactions of adults and children in the story really shining a light on how inclusive and safe (hopefully) schools today can be. The children are supporting one another and turning around the attitudes of surrounding adults with positivity!
Do take a look at the other sites for the rest of the tour, and thanks to Usborne for the review copy!
