All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr
Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her tongue as her weapon—even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson. But Pastor Johnson isn’t the holy man everyone thinks he is . .
The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone’s favorite community leader.
When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can’t hurt her anymore–or so she believes.
To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser—in the courtroom and her heart—and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.
TW: sexual assault, parent death mention
From the dedication at the start to the author’s note at the end, this book takes its readers on an emotional journey centering around finding your voice in the midst of oppression and trauma. Amina Conteh is confident, outspoken, and sure of who she is. She takes after her deceased mother who used her voice to stand up for what’s right. But a traumatic event involving her community’s beloved pastor shakes Amina and causes her to be quiet and insecure.
This book’s heavy topics, including parental death, sexual assault, and the hardships of going through the legal system, are dealt with in a way that gives full weight to these events while inspiring hope. We see people rally around Amina and support her, but also online comments that doubt her testimony and support her abuser, which show a more realistic look at the way girls and women aren’t always fully believed.
One of the best parts of this book is its true-to-life representation of the aftermath of sexual assault. Chapters are marked by “X time before the assault” and “X days until trial” to both mark time and stay realistic with the slow movements of the court system. Amina struggles in school, pushes people away, and doesn’t feel like herself after the assault. Eventually, therapy and opening up to others helps her feel more like her confident self again, “…the people around you are there to hold you up when you can’t hold yourself”. This is a valuable and important idea for teens to take away from this book.
Sawyerr writes in poetic verse, and this makes the short chapters easy to read which will appeal to some teens but others may not prefer a novel in verse. The occasional lack of quotations for dialogue and jumping between Amina’s thoughts and what she says out loud could also be confusing.
Overall, this contemporary novel in verse will resonate with many teens, whether it’s about the ups and downs of a close friendship, the nerve-racking feelings of first love or disagreements with a parent. While at its core this book is about speaking up and moving on from an act of violence, it also incorporates other “typical” teen encounters and feelings as well, making it an easy book to give to almost anyone. I’d recommend this to older teens because of the mature and potentially triggering subject matter.
If you enjoyed this book, Netflix’s Thirteen Reasons Why (rated TV-MA) might be a good show to watch for the heavy topics explored, and Academy Award winner Spotlight (rated R) or Doubt (rate PG-13) might be a good movies to watch for their explorations of church sexual abuse.
Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night: one, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her.
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike. Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?
TW: ableism, mentions of child abuse, self-harm for magical purposes, violence/blood, mild body horror.
Seelie and her twin sister Isolde embark on a quest that takes them through Faerie realms and into conflict with enchanters and shapeshifters that help them untangle what they really want out of life.
The writing of this novel is very descriptive both in the external, physical worldbuilding sense and the internal, emotional “inside a character’s head” sense. We are given lush descriptions of this fantasy land, the sisters’ enchanted wagon, and the clothing of the world. The reader is also given a window into Seelie’s thoughts and how she takes in the sensory world around her. Readers are transported into Seelie’s head and world.
The shining star of the story is the main character, Seelie, a changeling girl whose internal monologue is refreshing and real. She feels overwhelmed, lost, confused, and broken throughout the story — real reactions to the chaos of the world and situations she’s thrown into. We aren’t given a perfectly strong, perfectly capable protagonist; we’re given a real girl with real struggles and real bravery throughout it all. She resists change yet has remarkable character development as the story unfolds. This fresh voice will appeal to readers with the added tidbit that essentially “changeling” translates to “autism” in our modern world. The author “wanted to write a story about someone like [her], a story where the autistic character is the center of her own narrative.” While the side characters aren’t given as much focus, they are all unique and interesting in their own right. The ending of the book sets up the next installment with lots of unanswered questions that readers will be eager to unearth in the sequel.
I would recommend this novel to fantasy lovers and those who are hoping to dip their toe into the world of fae without needing to devote time to a long series. Additionally, neurodivergent readers might be drawn to this novel for the validating and awesome main character. Keep in mind that there are some lulls in the action that make the pacing of this novel feel unsteady, so readers who aren’t pulled in by the characters or premise might stop reading at the slower parts.
If you enjoyed this book, check out the TV shows Extraordinary Attorney Woo (rated NR) and Atypical (rated NR) for other main characters with autism. The Netflix show Hilda (rated NR) will appeal to those who enjoyed the magical faerie aspects of the book.
Winner: Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
Unseelie and All the Fighting Parts are both powerful, engaging reads that are so different, it’s hard to choose a winner! Ultimately, my pick is Unseelie because of the strong world building, cadre of friends, compelling main character, and accessibility to a larger teen audience.
Christina Olache is the teen services librarian at Roselle Public Library. When she’s not working or reading, you can find her doing sporty things or spending time outside in nature.
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