I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean
Publisher: Penguin Group/Dial Books
Ages: Grades 4-6, Ages 9-11
Release Date: 26 May 2020
Rowan just wants to be himself, the problem is that when people look at him they just see Ellie. Rowan must learn to navigate school as friends become cruel and he begins to retreat into himself. His mom seems absent in his life and his dad pays the wrong type of attention to him. To escape his reality he finds comfort in writing down his story on letters that he attaches to balloons, in the hopes that someone, somewhere will find them.
I had high hopes for this story, and the story itself is moving. It is emotionally gripping and even in the depths of all the abuse Rowan/Ellie endures, he does find a friend (and a rather fabulous one at that). My issues were largely pacing ones. I felt like parts of this really meandered, to the point where I'm not sure that a child who really needed this would stick it through. I think Bean spent far too much effort setting this story in the 90s. Yes, the Spice Girls were a thing-we get it.
That being said, I do still look forward to reading what comes next for Bean. I have really high expectations (especially if this is the same Lexie Bean who has written numerous articles for Teen Vogue). And perhaps, that is what I crave-a really awesome teen book in the voice I get from those articles.
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