Jacob Walters’s dad has worked to make his son’s life a living hell. But when the cute new transfer student suffers his father’s wrath, Jacob must make the hardest decisions of his life.
Skylar Gray is adopted, nonverbal, and he feels most comfortable wearing skirts. Life has never been easy, but with a fresh start at a brand-new school, with new parents and in a new state, he just might finally make some friends. Maybe. Honestly it’s hard to focus on anything when gorgeous rocker boy Jacob is around. But it’s hard for Skylar to trust anyone when people have always been quick to ditch him at the first inconvenience; they always seem more than ready to judge him as defective. And the bullies love to confirm it. Skylar has only ever had himself, so why would anything be different this time? Especially for an anxious boy with literally no voice.
Jacob doesn’t give a damn, especially not since he came out over the summer. He expected the hate he got from his father, who mostly acts as if it never happened, but he refuses to let it hold him back. It doesn’t matter, Jacob’s over it. He’s going to paint his nails, dye his hair, and strike a heavy rift on his guitar if he wants to, even if it means being grounded most of senior year. But when the cute nonverbal transfer student, Skylar, wears a skirt to school, prompting a sexist new dress code proposal, Jacob decides it’s time to take a stand, no matter the risk to himself.
TW: Homophobia, Bullying, Sexism, Ableism
❤️ diverse characters
❤️ non verbal character
❤️ crushes and coming out
❤️ Gender non-conforming character
❤️ prom
I’ve been a fan of Jordon Greene’s writing for quite some time now. This book may be one of my favourites that he has written.
While there is a little bit of drama and struggle in this novel, the story is overwhelmingly positive and hopeful. I found it to be the kind of story that I’m going to go back to because it just warms my heart.
The characters in the novel are diverse and each of them has a truly distinctive voice. Skylar was my favourite character. Skylar is adopted and nonverbal; he uses his phone to communicate most of the time. At the beginning of the story Skylar is settling in with his new parents. He’s hopeful that he may be able to make new friends at a new school… but can’t help but remember he’s always had to rely on himself in the past and no one else.
Jacob is one of the people that Skylar meets at school. In some ways, they are opposites of one another. At first, Skylar doesn’t expect someone like “rocker” Jacob to be nice to him… let alone interested in him. What he doesn’t know is that Jacob is out to everyone. Sure, he’s had a rough time at home with a father who doesn’t support him, but he trudges forward and tries to just live his life.
One of the things that helps to bring Skylar and Jacob together is the misuse of the school dress code. Skylar likes to wear skirts and that doesn’t sit right with the powers-that-be in the school.
While his friends support him, he’s surprised that Jacob is one of his biggest supporters.
Things do get a little challenging for the two characters as they get to know one another. Skylar continues to deal with the emotional fall-out from being adopted and Jacob finds himself at odds with his father over more than just his sexuality.
This is a sweet and timely story. It took me back to the lovely feeling of those friends in my high school years who were more important to me than anyone. This book is about being confident enough to trust yourself, but also learning to trust the people around you.
There are certainly enough warm fuzzies in this book to get you started on the winter months! A great read!
I received an ARC of Every Word You Never Said by Jordon Greene in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 