Alice Austen Lived Here by Gino, Alex

From the award-winning author of Melissa, a phenomenal novel about queerness past, present, and future.

Sam is very in touch with their own queer identity. They're nonbinary, and their best friend, TJ, is nonbinary as well. Sam's family is very cool with it... as long as Sam remembers that nonbinary kids are also required to clean their rooms, do their homework, and try not to antagonize their teachers too much.

The teacher-respect thing is hard when it comes to Sam's history class, because their teacher seems to believe that only Dead Straight Cis White Men are responsible for history. When Sam's home borough of Staten Island opens up a contest for a new statue, Sam finds the perfect non-DSCWM subject: photographer Alice Austen, whose house has been turned into a museum, and who lived with a female partner for decades.

Soon, Sam's project isn't just about winning the contest. It's about discovering a rich queer history that Sam's a part of -- a queer history that no longer needs to be quiet, as long as there are kids like Sam and TJ to stand up for it.

Author: Alex Gino
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 06/07/2022
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.59w x 0.79d
ISBN: 9781338733891
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.2
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 520330 / Alice Austen Lived Here


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/21/2022
Booklist 03/01/2022 pg. 56
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2022
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2022
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2022 pg. 120
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2022 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author

Alex Gino loves glitter, ice cream, gardening, awe-ful puns, and stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of being alive. Their first novel, Melissa, was a winner of the Children's Stonewall Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Children's Choice Book Award. For more about Alex, please visit them at alexgino.com.