Different Kinds of Fruit

by Kyle Lukoff (Author)

Different Kinds of Fruit
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

In this funny and hugely heartfelt novel from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Too Bright to See, a sixth-grader's life is turned upside down when she learns her dad is trans

Annabelle Blake fully expects this school year to be the same as every other: same teachers, same classmates, same, same, same. So she's elated to discover there's a new kid in town. To Annabelle, Bailey is a breath of fresh air. She loves hearing about their life in Seattle, meeting their loquacious (and kinda corny) parents, and hanging out at their massive house. And it doesn't hurt that Bailey has a cute smile, nice hands (how can someone even have nice hands?) and smells really good.

Suddenly sixth grade is anything but the same. And when her irascible father shares that he and Bailey have something big--and surprising--in common, Annabelle begins to see herself, and her family, in a whole new light. At the same time she starts to realize that her community, which she always thought of as home, might not be as welcoming as she had thought. Together Annabelle, Bailey, and their families discover how these categories that seem to mean so much--boy, girl, gay, straight, fruit, vegetable--aren't so clear-cut after all.

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Kirkus

Starred Review
Lukoff reflects diversity in the world around Annabelle while also heightening her awareness of spaces that are not as inclusive as they claim to be and exploring what to do with that understanding. Inquisitive, engaged, and action-seeking.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
Themes of inclusion and privilege in today's society are seamlessly integrated into the familiar plot of a kid's first crush, and the focus on the great ways that communities can come together to keep everyone within it safe is a gratifying through line.

Publishers Weekly

Rising sixth grader Annabelle Blake is in her last year at her Tahoma Falls, Wash. school, and all she wants is a break from her small-town routine. Happily, change soon arrives in the form of Bailey Wick, a nonbinary new student on whom Annabelle develops her first crush. When Annabelle's father reacts poorly upon learning Bailey's gender, Annabelle learns that her dad is a "stealth" trans man who no longer publicly participates in a local LGBTQ community. Inspired by both her father and by Bailey, whose gender is disrespected by adults in the school community, Annabelle and her classmates fight for real, progressive change via protests and a Coming Out Day panel. Via the cued-white protagonists, Lukoff (Too Bright to See) highlights topics including climate change, gender presentation, intercommunity conflict, and LGBTQ history, but supporting characters--especially Bailey and their parents--are insufficiently developed, serving primarily to explain LGBTQ terms to Annabelle. Still, Annabelle's energetic voice is infectious, and the book's central theme--that labels can be both powerful and arbitrary--is bighearted and affirming. Ages 10-14. Agent: Saba Sulaiman, Talcott Notch. (Apr.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A brave title for a time when we need brave books for kids more than ever. - Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production
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.

Hala Tahboub is a children's book writer and illustrator. She started her creative journey as an architect and interior designer. She won the SCBWI Canada East chapter's Storyteller Award for Illustration in 2019, and she was the SCBWI's December Featured Illustrator in 2020. Hala believes in kindness, coffee, chocolate, and in the immense power of stories. She lives in Montreal.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593111208
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Dial Books
Publication date
April 11, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV060000 - Juvenile Fiction | LGBT
Library of Congress categories
Families
Family life
Schools
Gender identity
Transgender people

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