Krieger
My vote is for The Prince and the Dressmaker. I enjoyed the characters and the luxurious setting and illustrations. I also appreciated that the setting isn’t contemporary and I think there’s value in seeing gender fluid characters in other locations and other times. This is a subtle way to acknowledge that nonbinary identities aren’t “new” things and there is a rich, if imagined in this story, history of this way of being. Frances as an ambitious young designer who wants to be a good friend is easy to connect with, and I felt for the prince and the familial and national pressures that end up highlighting his own character flaws. I wasn’t sure at the end however, that I needed them to fulfill a love story. I think I might have been more satisfied if they remained friends who understood, accepted, and supported each other. Overall though, I would see myself recommending The Prince and the Dressmaker to more of my students over Anger is a Gift, keeping in mind that I teach grade 7.
I did find Anger is a Gift rather relentless, which in turn made me realize my own privilege as I read it. To be able to say that it felt like too much, or that Moss faces too many challenges, then to be able to put the book down for a while for a break, is a privilege that many readers, children, students do not have because Moss’s reality is their reality. That being said, I found the main characters unevenly developed and even near the end of the book sometimes their actions or responses confused me. The diversity of the minor characters really is the strength of the book for me and Moss’s friend group seems to be written with an ease and veracity that Moss himself lacks from time to time. I appreciate Anger is a Gift for representing the intersectionality of all the issues that affect youths like Moss and his friends and the ways they rely on each other to navigate their circumstances and carry the torch forward for social justice, but I think there are better written books that do similar things that I would recommend to my students ahead of Oshiro’s novel.
Mac Lean
My vote is for Anger is a Gift, but it doesn’t have my whole-hearted support. I think the story overall could have been much tighter and faster paced. Character development is important when you are trying to build a complex backstory for the protagonist and create a universe, but I could have done with 50-75 less pages of that and more focus on the school protest at the end. It felt way too rushed and I wanted to know more about that part of the story and the aftermath, but by then my attention was fading and I just wanted the book to be over. That being said, I loved the side characters. They were interesting people that had full lives, not just foils or plot drivers. I kind of wish that Shamika was my bff. I read her lines in the voice of Lizzo. :) As for The Prince and the Dressmaker, I wanted to like it, I really did, but it just didn’t hook me. I think it would be a good story to include in your bookshelf if you teach Division 2, but for YA I expected the characters to have learned deeper lessons about life. I didn’t find the Prince to be a sympathetic character because he was using the Dressmaker to fulfill his fantasies, not considering her needs, and treating her like his dirty little secret, so I wasn’t emotionally invested in him having a happy ending. I also found the ending to be predictable and trite. For a younger reader, it ties the story up with a nice little bow, but they could have given the ending real depth for the YA category. We’re big kids. We can handle it.
Jarvis and Chinn
Our vote is for The Prince and the Dressmaker. Here’s why. While Anger is a Gift was an explosive, emotional rollercoaster ride, and Mark Oshiro described Moss’ anguish and anxiety in a relatable way to many of our students, the overwrought drama without so much as a space to breathe is so difficult to digest. It is an important story. Representative of a perspective that needs to be heard more, but as we picture our own students and what we imagine they gravitate towards in the books they might choose, we realize that they are looking for escapism and fantasy, while still thinking about important issues in their world. While it was relatively surface level, we felt that The Prince and the Dressmaker hit tones on both sides. Sometimes kids just want a good little story that doesn’t hang over them, that they can recognize themselves in the characters a bit, enjoy the beautiful illustrations, and move on. We are ALL for emotionally charged stories that paint a bleak-but-real picture, but we also love the fluffy ones too.
Looks like Team 10 votes for The Prince and the Dressmaker!
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