Every Variable of Us

by Charles A. Bush

After Philly teenager Alexis Duncan is injured in a gang shooting, her dreams of a college scholarship and pro basketball career vanish in an instant. To avoid becoming another Black teen trapped in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, she shifts her focus to the school’s STEM team, a group of self-professed nerds seeking their own college scholarships.

Academics have never been her thing, but Alexis is freshly motivated by Aamani Chakrabarti, the new Indian student who becomes her friend (and crush?). Alexis begins to see herself as so much more than an athlete. But just as her future starts to reform, Alexis’s own doubts and old loyalties pull her back into harm’s way.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Lesbian, Queer, Realistic Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2022

About the author

Charles A. Bush lives in Philadelphia where he attended Cabrini University before honing his craft at the University of Oxford. In addition to writing young-adult novels, he spends far too much time obsessing over all things Marvel (like, seriously, the guy needs help), has long run out of places to store his mountains of books, and dreams of someday debating literature with Rory Gilmore. In addition to receiving the 2022 Moonbeam Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction and being selected by the New York Public Library as “One of the best YA books of 2022,” his debut young-adult novel, EVERY VARIABLE OF US, has been featured in publications like Teen Vogue “25 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read in 2022,” BookRiot, The Nerd Daily, and The School Library Journal. He is represented by Selectric Artists. You can follow him on Instagram (@Charles_A_Bush), TikTok (@Charles_a_Bush), & Twitter (@CharlesBush10).

Reviews

[Fanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’ve often come across opinions about adult readers being a target audience for young adult books or not. Of course, the demographic is meant for the young readers but with the growing space for more YA books, a lot of stories might read like it’s meant for those who were teenagers. While all sorts of such stories can be great or dismissable, it’s always a surprise to see a YA book that actually gives space for teenage characters to be impulsive, true, and somewhat problematic—basically, young. This debut is one such surprise that is definitely worth picking up but doesn’t completely impress.

Alexis (Black) wants to get away from what her life offers at the moment: a drug-addict mother, shootings that are the norm, and an area where Black people are always living under the threat of being shot by the cops. She does have a plan: play basketball and get a scholarship which can help her escape from this mess to a better life. But when an accident takes away everything from her, especially her dream of playing basketball and that scholarship, she is left with something already scarce in her life: hope. Aamani Chakrabarti (Indian American) is the new kid at her school and seems like the light that can show Alexis the way forward. She is intelligent and witty, and shows Alexis that more than just one path can lead to her dreams—prompting Alexis to join her STEM team. What unfolds is a journey where Alexis learns the newfound way to freedom and Aamani helps her with studying and quizzes.

Consider reading this review over on my blog.

The simplistic writing is easy to read but the plot doesn’t offer anything too refreshing and each subplot often turns too character-oriented. But in terms of the very same characterisation, Bush definitely creates a personality that makes space for growth while excellently exploring themes of poverty, neglect, gangs, drug abuse, unsafe neighbourhoods, living on the streets, and moving out of the systematically enforced confinements. The chaos experienced by Alexis is greatly unwrapped in contrast to the sequences at school where Aamani and her group of friends—a diverse cast including bisexual and gay teens, a Muslim girl, and a neurodivergent boy—give her an opportunity to not be defined by her past but by what the future holds for her. Not an easy read (and not just because the plot doesn’t have major turns to keep one’s attention intact) for the blatant racism, internalised homophobia, and significant slurs that filled the page, but definitely an important one in terms of character growth.

Speaking of which, Every Variable of Us also tests its readers for how long they can give Alexis a chance to be impulsive, wrong, messy, and flawed before the story truly brings justice and righteous change to her. Whether it’s the “not like other girls” attitude she carries as a sportsgirl confident in her skills or the subsequent judgement she passes for the “nerds” and makeup-wearing girls around; whether it’s her outright racist description of Aamani’s desi lunch toward the start or an implied steamy scene between the two while a third character sleeps in the same room. Some of it is a mess but also realistic. Sure, comments made by other characters like a guy who undermines the #MeToo movement through an insensitive comment or a drug dealer who labels every brown kid as a terrorist, can be critcised as a reader but there’s no doubt it aids in making the novel exactly what it means to be: raw.

Of course, as a desi myself, I did judge Aamani when she said her favourite film is Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and the Hindi dialogues were too translationary but the effort made by the author to show her as someone grown up in the Indian culture as a Hindu is quite praise-worthy—definitely stereotypical in some places but at this point, I truly don’t expect too much from non-desi authors. The sapphic relationship takes time to unfold but doesn’t emotionally move past the best-friendship vibe that it gives off at the beginning or throughout. The individual queer journeys, on the other hand, are well explored as Aamani acknowledges coming out to her Indian American parents and not being disowned but also not being accepted with that identity, or how Alexis grows from her own homophobia and allows herself a possibility, followed by her searching for “Black queer people” on Google—a small step but the first one nonetheless.

Thank you, North Star Editions, for the review copy!

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Black queer YA, raw and painful, funny at times. Alexis ‘Lex’ is an average student, but great at basketball and therefore hoping for a scholarship. Until she gets shot in a gang shooting.

I loved the beginning of the story, and the first chapter immediately pulled me in. I barely had time to breathe when Lex was chased by a cop. She had a constant stream of thoughts filled with strong opinions, and this story seemed incredibly fast paced. Furthermore, the author used teen slang including a lot of curse words. Don’t tell my kids, but I secretly love cursing in YA 😂.

We all know books about Black girls who lead a harsh life, and are surrounded by people who live in a vicious circle of poverty, violence, and drugs. This story adds an extra layer because Lex slowly realizes she’s queer. I loved Charles’s author’s note:

Not every block in the hood is filled with violence and drugs. In fact, many are filled with love and Black beauty.
and:
I was told I had to be one thing to get a taste of wealth—an athlete. And I was told I couldn’t be queer to get it.

I loved de characters, the writing and the rep. Sadly, I couldn’t connect to the story as much as I wanted to because I didn’t enjoy all those cuts within a chapter. They slowed the pacing and took me out of the story. Therefore, I didn’t feel the emotions I wanted to feel. I didn’t cry, didn’t feel angry, wasn’t sad. Sometimes, I even lost interest, and I had to push myself to read on. The only time I had goosebumps was when Lex googled Black queer people. But after two pages or so there was that cut again. Bam! Gone were my goosebumps.

I believe this an important debut and many people will love it. My feelings about those cuts are probably an it’s me, not you thing. And even though I couldn’t fully connect to the story, I’ll definitely check out Charles’s next book.

I received an ARC from Flux and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Celine Ong]

to avoid becoming another black teen trapped in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, alexis duncan is on track to a college scholarship for a pro basketball career. however, when she gets shot during a gang shooting, her sporting dreams are dashed. feeling lost, the new indian student, aamani chakrabarti, convinces her to join school’s stem team and begins to show alexis how her future may not be as predetermined as she thinks.

every variable of us is a work of fiction, but it shows experiences that are so real and brutal till this very day. i could tell you that this is an important read, how alexis’ existence is made up of so many intersections - female, queer, disabled, person of color - but that hardly feels sufficient.

i could tell you that this has a lovely sapphic romance, with two girls falling in love under the moon, the stars, the planets and craving the universe that awaits them (and you know i am a hoe for space). but that still feels insufficient.

i acknowledge that its a privilege for me to be reading this book in a safe space, where alexis’ lived experiences do not reflect my reality although i saw parts of myself in her intersections of queerness and disability and that meant so much to me. so instead today i’m going to amplify charles a. bush’s words on his book because and no one says it better.

he calls this book his “heart and soul”. he dedicates this to queer black kids who are afraid to come out. kids who should not become another name in an article, another statistic, kids who had to grow up too early. but beyond that fear exists immense joy and hope, that regardless of skin or environment, people can be and do anything.

the heart of this book is honest and unashamed, of growing past learnt prejudices, coming to terms with your queerness and standing proudly in the face of immense hate and adversity. it acknowledges that life is messy and uncertain, but it can be pretty spectacular too.

✼ thank you to the flux / north star editions & netgalley for sending me an arc of every variable of us in exchange for an honest review.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating.

Alexis Duncan has a plan to get out of her neighborhood: she’s going to stay eligible to play basketball and get a scholarship. That plan crumbles when she’s shot and her leg suffers permanent damage. Aamani, the new girl in school, invites her to the STEM team so that Lex doesn’t have to completely give up on her hope to go to college. Alexis can’t completely give up on her old life, though, and she continues to find herself in harm’s way.

There were a lot of parts I really enjoyed in this book! I loved Alexis’s stream of consciousness, it really helped me get into the story and into her head. I liked how realistic it was—Alexis didn’t just completely shed every single aspect of her old life and made some decisions that shocked me. Also, girls in STEM! Love to see it.

I recommend this for YA contemporary readers.

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

We talk a lot about how YA often tends to read too old for the target audience, which I think is a fair conversation to have. What stood out to me the most about this book, is that it feels like a book that would really appeal to a teen audience.

The main reason for that is the main character. She's believably messy and flawed, and she goes through a lot of character development, that often isn't linear. She's grown up in difficult circumstances and her biggest support - her best friend - is someone who doesn't actually have her best interests in mind. This is something she comes to realize throughout the story, but it's not linear, because this person has at the same time also felt really important to her throughout the years and has come to feel like family.

Meeting Aamani, the love interest, and her STEM group slowly opens Lex up to a wider world view, which means the start of her character development. I absolutely loved this friend group, and I especially liked Aamani!

I do want to note that I found the autism rep - Matthew, one person from the STEM group, is autistic - to be quite stereotypical. I do however appreciate the author's note at the front of the book, and while the rep read stereotypical to me, I did feel like it was handled respectfully. In other words, it's not the best rep I've read, and I'd urge you to read books by autistic authors as well, but I don't feel like it's harmful.

One issue I did have with this book was that there was a sex scene in which the characters had sex while someone else was sleeping close by them. I found this inappropriate, and it took away from my enjoyment a little.

[charlotte, · Rating 2 out of 5]

On my blog.

Rep: Black bi mc, Indian American lesbian li, autistic side character, (East?) Asian side character

CWs: Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, gun violence, drug addiction, kicking out

Galley provided by publisher

Every Variable of Us is a book that probably suffers from my strict usage of the Goodreads rating system. It was okay, thus it gets 2 stars. It isn’t a bad book. But it’s a book I only ever felt was alright, and nothing more.

I think part of this was the “I’m not like other girls” vibe the mc had going on. I mean, firstly, the book itself opens with an entire paragraph about how she isn’t like other girls. If it had then gone onto interrogate her thought processes on that, it’d have been fine, but it doesn’t. Granted, I’m pretty sure that the whole idea doesn’t come back in the book, but it still was not a great start.

Another part was all the pop culture references. This is a personal one, I will cop to that. I cannot deal with this many of them. One or two is fine, but when multiple conversations revolve around pop culture? That’s where I draw a line. (Especially when it’s Marvel films related because, c’mon, can we not do better?)

One of the bigger problems for me here was the way the autistic character was presented. I get that the author has said he aimed to present with sensitivity and not try to co-opt a story that’s not his to tell, but. I did feel like Matthew was somewhat of a stereotype. Robotic speech? Poor social skills? For all that he was, how to put this?, presented sensitively, he felt too much of a stereotype to consider the overall portrayal sensitive.

The other issue was that this book is almost relentlessly shitting on its mc. It felt like Alexis went through so much without a huge amount of hope in between. Yes, the STEM team moments are meant as some respite, but—and I don’t know if this is just a me problem—they never really felt like that. You, and Alexis, couldn’t really forget everything else for the time, it was always hovering in the background (which is accurate, I suppose, even though it makes for a slog of a read).

Let me end on a couple of positive notes, though. I enjoyed Alexis’ journey across the course of the book, even if I felt she could have used a bit more positivity in there. For example, I’d have liked her to maybe meet another Black LGBT person in real life, perhaps. Instead of just looking them up on the internet. I think that would have had a bit more impact. But. I did like the journey she went on, and I liked that there was a positive ending.

On the whole, then, this is a book that didn’t work for me, but may easily work for anyone else. Basically, what I’m saying is, as ever, don’t let this rating put you off the book.

[Charles A. Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello, readers! We are only a month from release, and I cannot wait for you to read the book and become part of the Hargrove STEM team.

For those of you who have read it, I have a little review for you. Yes, I know. A review from the author? Let the eye rolling ensue. But, I mean, if Obama can vote for himself, then surely I can support my own book, no? Like, if I don’t believe in myself, who will? Anyway, now that that little disclaimer is out of the way, what do I think of EVERY VARIABLE OF US? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s one of the greatest pieces of literature ever! Like, it goes GIOVANNI’S ROOM, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, EVERY VARIABLE OF US. No, I’m only kidding. I wish I had even an ounce of those authors’ talent. I very much do not. But I don’t have to tell you this. You just read the book (thank you for that, by the way! You’re a legend for doing so! I am truly honored and humbled by anyone who reads my work. No cap, you’re a legend!). But I do stand by the quality of the book.

I wrote it for all the queer Black kids like me who grow up in the hood, scared to come out because they think it makes them less than . . . who think they aren’t smart enough to excel in math or science because that’s not what “Black” kids do. The goal was to write a story that portrayed those themes and reach as many of those teens as possible. To let them know they’re not less than. To quote Aamani, “You’re a supernova!” In this regard, I truly believe the novel vastly succeeds. It shows that as marginalized people, we can be and do anything, despite what our background or society has to say about it. I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy going on this journey with Alexis and the rest of the STEM team. Thus, I proudly give EVERY VARIABLE OF US 5 out of 5 giant Blue Stars (if you know, you know).

[Jungian.Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to #pridebooktours for making this book available to me.

Where do I start with this book, the characters were interesting, the plot was fascinating but I enjoyed the writing a lot more. It really took on the tone of each character and I really loved that. We follow Alexis whose dream is to be a big time basketball player and in most part she is on her way to become one. Just has she is about to achieve this dream (at least in part), she is shot during a gang related violence and she is not longer able to play. This means no basketball dream and no scholarship.

She now has to turn to her school STEM team who are definitely very different from what she imagined. She makes quick friends with Aamani (an Indian student, whose parents shop she and her friend had tried to steal pizza from), who helps her see herself and her community in a different light. She has to distance herself from friends that would make her new dream unachievable and most importantly the imposter syndrome that she now has.

This is a story of the back and forth that we humans have (especially alexis who need a good wake up call), redemption, revival of dreams, self-love and development.

[Nicole (Bookiesandtea) · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, going into the story, I really did not know what to expect. I've been planning to read it for a while now and am glad I finally did!

What I loved about this one is how real and relatable it was. I can see how a teen could pick this book up and be seen through the pages!

As the author mentions, this book is for all the queer Black teens who grow up in the hood, scared to come out because of the notion of it being frown upon and not expected of them based on their surroundings. Also to the ones who think they are not smart enough to excel in math and science because it's not something that is normalized in their communities. This book is for them!

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Every Variable of Us in exchange for an honest review.

Hehehehehe I loved this book so much. It's occasionally a tad in your face with its teen speak but I genuinely did not care because imperfect sapphic leads being imperfect sapphic leads. Every Variable of Us switches from queer rom-com to heart breaking social commentary and back again every few chapters and the contrast between the two make the sweetest and saddest moments feel even more impactful. I'm OBSESSED.

[MossyMorels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: The writing style was great and easy to read, I was able to read this whole book in a day.
Great conversations on racism, ableism, and classism and how they intersect.

Cons: I really couldnt with the relationship with this book, the relationship started with the MC calling her slurs and ended with the MC aiming a gun at her and getting her involved with murder. And yet at the end they had a big romantic gesture ending in saying I love you.
I really hated the implied sex scene which happened while they were sharing a bed with an un-consenting third party present and asleep. I do not find that cute or romantic at all and wish it wasnt included.
There is an overwhelming amount of pop culture references that took me out of the story. I get the author was trying to convey a nerdy friend group but the way they talked and made everything a reference was unrealistic and annoying

Rep: Black, Hindu, Sapphic, disability
CW: racism, slurs, homophobia, ableism, hate crime, death, drug abuse, physical abuse, implied sexual content, gun violence

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 5% because if the extreme fatphobia

Okay so the beginning of this book starts with two Black teenagers in a corner store who are actively stealing things and in walks a "fat ass" white cop who goes straight for the donuts and coffee because of course a fat person would go to the food. Then they start calling the cop "Tubs" in their head because he's fat so obviously we can make a fat joke. So when the cop does what cops do and is an asshole and blatantly racially profiles them he ends up chasing them but because he's fat he fumbles a lot and is really slow and can't really run it all making him even more incompetent.

I literally had to stop because I get that this book is probably really important and is going to be liked by a lot of people, but I cannot read a book that is so fatphobic right from the start. I don't know if this will be the only fat character in the book. I don't know if this is the only villain in the book. I do know that the author made a conscious decision to take a character that people already will dislike because he's a cop and make him this fumbling large food obsessed fat person and play into every stereotype of fatness. Not only is he more obsessed with food than he is his job but he also can't do his job correctly because he's fat.

Cops are pieces of shit and we all know this and this was a conscious decision to make the cop fat. No one is going to like the cop in the book, okay. He is always going to be the villain and it is increasingly frustrating to see this happen where the unlikable character is defined solely by their weight instead of by their actual unlikeable characteristics, like being a fucking cop. There's also a joke about how she thinks he'll probably have a heart attack because he has to run and he's fat.

I feel like it also says a lot about how the author views fatness and fat phobia in relation to other types of discrimination. Our main character is talking about a Muslim girl in the store and makes comments about how she really needs to find a different way to describe her because it's not really appropriate to say that yet at the same time is spewing all this fat phobic shit. I get that racial discrimination and fatphobia are not the same but they're also inherently linked and it is ignorant to believe that fatphobia and anti-Blackness are not connected.

[thtBlkLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Impressions: we are presented with a flawed character who seems to care about the decisions she makes and how they could jeopardize her future yet still she continues as to not seem soft to the people in her hood.

Alexis is on her way to a basketball scholarship out of her neighborhood surrounded by drug use and violence. Until she gets caught up in a drive by that changes all of that. Now she's surrounded by self proclaimed nerds trying to compete to win a STEM bowl, academic trivia competition. Alexis doesn’t wanna get clowned on by her friends on the block for studying and putting effort into school to get better at the STEM bowl but the nerds all grow on her and she’s taught what real friendship encompasses. She also deals with internalized homophobia, because she doesn’t want another target on her back. She grows immensely by the end of the book & its a happy ending despite all the sadness that came before it.

This is a great book to explain generational poverty and systemic oppression. It also shows how often the only visual social mobility for poor Black people sadly tends to boil down to become an athlete or drug dealer. Resulting in this “only way out” mentality that is extremely difficult to escape, as we see for our MC Alexis. It also tackles how queerness & Blackness is perceived and how internalized homophobia presents itself.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Every Variable of Us

Author: Charles A. Bush

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Black Bisexual MC, Indian American Lesbian love interest, Autistic character, Asian character, Physically disabled background characters

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, 2SLGBT+, romance

Publication Date: March 1, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary

Age Relevance: 16+ (violence, gore, gang related activity, poverty, romance, Islamaphobia, homophobia, transphobia, abelism, drugs, drug addiction, parental abandonment)

Explanation of Above: The book shows the MC getting shot in a gang-related incident and her injuries afterwards. The book goes into detail about the MC’s life, which includes living in poverty along with many other characters. The book has a romance in it, which is very sweetly done. There are incidences of islamaphobia, homophobia, transphobia, and abelism in the book. There are drugs and drug addiction shown in the book. There is also an incident of a character getting kicked out.

Publisher: North Star Editions

Pages: 400

Synopsis: After Philly teenager Alexis Duncan is injured in a gang shooting, her dreams of a college scholarship and pro basketball career vanish in an instant. To avoid becoming another Black teen trapped in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, she shifts her focus to the school's STEM team, a group of nerds seeking their own college scholarships. Academics have never been her thing, but Alexis is freshly motivated by Aamani Chakrabarti, the new Indian student who becomes her mentor (and crush?). Alexis begins to see herself as so much more than an athlete. But just as her future starts to reform, Alexis’s own doubts and old loyalties pull her back into harm’s way.

Review: I really enjoyed this book! The book was so well written and while I hated Alexis’ struggle I loved seeing how she handled it. The book did well with having so many diverse characters and the character development for each of them was well done. The book also had a sensitivity reader for the autistic community go through the book, which I highly appreciate. The book was honest and unashamed in how it displayed the story, which I appreciated greatly, and I also loved how well the world building was described.

The only issue I had is that the book got a bit slow in the middle and some of the pacing was a bit off, but other than that I loved the book.

Verdict: Highly recommend!

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The squeak of her sneakers as she ran across the court filled her ears as melodic music would fill a musician’s soul. The ball felt like home in her hands and she bounced it on the floor, feeling one with its mass. She gathered it, jumped up, shot, and heard that glorious swish as it hit nothing but net. She couldn’t help the grin that exploded across her face as she set up to run the drill again. But then a sweat broke across her brow and her heart began to race inside her chest… she sat up in a panic, greeted by nothing but darkness and a searing pain in her leg… it was all over. Her dream was shattered.

Every Variable of Us had all the ingredients of a beautiful YA novel. I can’t believe this was Charles’ first book! A debut story that deserves every ounce of praise as you journey along with Alexis in her strive to get out of the broken neighborhood she is caught up in. With the help of the most unlikely people and circumstances that change her life’s path completely, you will get a story that will settle in your heart and make a home within your soul. Heart-breaking, raw, real to the core, Every Variable of Us is a MUST READ.

If you’re a YA fan, love comeback stories, enjoy Marvel references, and love to read stories about characters finding themselves and discovering their identity… then you can’t miss out on this gem.
I can not recommend this book enough.

TW: Child Abuse, Physical Assault/Abuse, Drug Abuse/Addiction, Gun Violence, Murder, Racism/Racial Slurs, Homophobia.

*I received a gifted copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.

[Carolina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a really interesting blurb, which was what made me request a copy to read but unfortunately it ended up not meeting my expectations.

I couldn't feel any sympathy for Lex, the main character, even given all that she went through because she was such a horrible person. She was ignorant, homophobic and xenophobic throughout the majority of the book which made me really not care about what little character growth she had. When I thought she was becoming a better version of herself, despite all the hate she had engrained, for two steps forward she did something that sent her thirty steps back.

I honestly don't have a single clue for what made the love character interested in her. She was so disrespectful to her it made me want to put the book down and not pick it up again multiple times. She even disrespected her parents when she came to defend Aamani towards the end of the book. It was a nice thought, but done so poorly. I don't care if you love my daughter, you better have some respect when you talk to me. For someone who didn't like people labeling her, she sure did a lot of labeling herself. And Aamani just kept coming back for some reason I'm yet to discover.

Change comes with the realization of the mistakes we made and our wanting to be better and do things differently. But I don't think I have ever seen Lex apologize to other people for the horrible things she has done and/or said, apart from the few times she apologized to Aamani.

This book features drug use, drug abuse, violence, homophobia, xenophobia and probably other things I'm forgetting to mention so take that in consideration when you think about reading it.

Again, I think the concept is very good and I'm curious to see where future works by the author take us.

I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Flux and Netgalley!

[Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, the story was meh at best. I didn`t find Lex that interesting and all that slang and what not, threw me off. I didn`t enjoy it. But suddenly...i dont know how many pages in...i started to like Lex. When Aamani entered the scene, Lex slowly became a better person, she grew and i liked her even more. Aamani i can connect with because she likes avengers, gaming, comic books and is a geek without wanting to hide it from the world, without feeling shame. I enjoy that. Because that is me. i`m not ashamed of my geekyness. I loathed Lex`s familiy, and gnittered my teeth when we had to read about them. Aamani`s familiy, well some of them were okay but i hated the fact that they named being lesbian and loving a girl a sickness. Just ugh. I wanted to rip my hair out on that one. The STEM group aka Brian, Lindsay, Matthew , Aamani and lex was hilarous, awkward but so funny! They were so interesting, funny, akward and wierd. Just like i like them. What pulled down was the first part, and how the chapters were written sometimes, sometimes they stopped randomly. For me at least.

I got this eARC form netgalley.

[Helenah Comia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really loved the STEM team. All of those characters were really great and I like that they were very fleshed out and didn’t just feel like side characters. Obviously I loved Aamani, she’s definitely the highlight of this book. I think Alexis was a great narrator but im not sure I loved her as a character. She definitely had growth but she just wasn’t my favorite out of everyone we met.

My biggest gripes with the book were all of the pop culture references (way too many, too often) and the length. I felt the pace of this book was really slow, but that feels fitting for Alexis as a person, so I can tolerate it but I don’t love it.

I think I may be outgrowing my ability to read YA novels/hs set books, but this was still a good read.
Thanks for lending me the book Maddie :3

[kelly {BookCrushin} · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a local (to me) author, who throws down shade on Delco! 🤣I laugh cause most of delco is seriously just like Philly, the rich parts feel like a whole different world to me, who was born & raised here as well. But seriously this book deals with a lot of important topics, especially for inner city youth, race, poverty, and class, as well as drugs, and gun violence. Check trigger warnings please.

[June Freifelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to rate this book because in many ways it checks so many boxes for me (sports, coming of age, Philly, LGBTQ+) but I felt like the plot and pacing were choppy! Hoping for more Philly-based YA from Charles Bush in the future and absolutely loved the cover jacket by Kah Yangni!

[Areadinghuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book

Key words : contemporary fiction, young adult, queer, violence, romance

I saw this book for the first time on Gregslibrary’s story and, if I remember well, he really enjoyed it. Also the blurb sounded really interesting. So when I saw it was available on Netgalley, I went for it. I did not think I was going to love this book so much, but Charles A. Bush knows how to write an intense and addictive story.

In this book, we follow Alexis (or Lex) who, because she got shot, sees her dream of getting a basketball scholarship fly away. Lex is a very interesting and inspiring character. The story takes place in a poverty-stricken area so we can imagine that her classmates and other inhabitants have to get through a lot too, but the thing with Lex is that, she is determined. She perseveres and work hard to survive and live. I also loved Aamani, a new student who is going to get close to and help Lex. She was so funny and so caring. Also, she loves comic books and that’s definitely a good way to win over my heart.

So overall, I really enjoy this book. I am glad my year started with such a good story. I was completely taken by the story and very invested in the future of our characters. I will for sure by a copy and future books by this author. A bonus for this book is that the title is actually mentioned and explained in the story, and I just love when this happens.

I recommend this book if you’re looking for inspiring characters and a touching romance. Though, be aware, there are some violent scenes.

5/5

Thank you Netgalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest opinion

[Hoarding Books Herding Cats (Anya) · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know how people say “it looked good on paper, but...”? That’s exactly how I would describe the book except for the fact that I read a print copy and well, it *didn’t* look so good on paper.

The sad thing is, I was really looking forward to reading this one! A queer YA contemporary where a black basketball-playing girl falls for a brown book-loving girl? Yes, please! I had such high hopes that even though the book literally started with “I’ve never been one for all the girly shit,” I didn’t think that was an issue. Wow, that’s a lot of internalized misogyny, I thought, but I just assumed that this would make the MC’s character growth that much more impressive and so, I kept reading. I was wrong.

Let’s start with the MC: a bisexual Black teenage girl who lives in poverty, with a messed up mother, but is also an amazing basketball player with hopes of making it to college on a sports scholarship. In short, a perfect YA protagonist. But Alexis Duncan is such an unlikeable character that even the nicest, kindest, most empathetic person in the world wouldn’t root for her. She is selfish, childish, prejudiced beyond bounds, and incredibly abusive. Which brings me to the love interest.

Look, as a nerdy South Asian girl who’s as much into girls as she is into Doctor Who and video games, I thought I would love Aamani. But Aamani is a doormat. From day one, Alexis and her friends have called her every racist Islamophobic slur there is in the world, have tried to rob her, have tried to beat her up, and still, not only does she pretend that none of it is happening she actually ends up falling for, and dating, Alexis? Talk about a toxic, abusive relationship. Just because it’s sapphic doesn’t mean it’s okay!

Also, just because it’s sapphic doesn’t mean it isn’t misogynistic. As I mentioned earlier, I ignored the whole “I’m not like other girls, I don’t like girly things” stuff from the first chapter because I thought that was how the MC was supposed to be feeling at the moment but would later learn better. But nope. While I’m all for girls in STEM (like, I actually have an MSc from Oxford, which I’m only mentioning because the author also went to Oxford), but I am not in support of gatekeeping queerness or intelligence. The fact is, girls can be gay AND girly, feminine AND nerdy, smart AND sexy, and hugely intelligent and successful even if they’re not into STEM. Come on, this is 2022!! Aren’t we over these harmful stereotypes yet?
#menwritingwomen #artsandhumanitiesmatter

Speaking of stereotypes, don’t get me started on the Indian/Indian-American/Hindu stereotypes in this book because that will be another 1500 words of me ranting. Haha, we all reference Gandhi and come from New Jersey, haha, so funny. (No, I’m not talking about how the characters blatantly stereotype Aamani, I’m talking about the stereotyping in the actual writing). Also, I’m pretty sure all desi youth collectively cringe at the mention of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo so I don’t see any teenager willingly singing and dancing to it. Why couldn’t the author, who uses a pop-culture reference in (almost) literally every other sentence, find a more current (or classic) Hindi song for his characters to dance to? (For those who don’t know, PRDP is a Bollywood movie that was released in 2015 in an attempt to revive traditional Bollywood family dramas and was a big flop.)

Okay, now back to the book. The plot is formulaic, but mostly coherent if you don’t count the sloppy ending. The writing is okay, but it is marred by an unnecessarily large amount of pop-culture references and homophobic/xenophobic/Islamophobic language that honestly, should have been edited out.

TL;DR: A disappointing and triggering book that is not worth reading even though it addresses some important social issues.

TW/CW: homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia, ableism, racism, police brutality, hate crime, gun violence, drug abuse, death

Disclaimer: I received a finished copy from a book tour company.

SPOILER BELOW:

This is just a small thing but it bothered me so...
At the very end, when Lex (Alexis) says “I love you” to Aamani in Hindi, she gets the grammar wrong. This could’ve been a cute moment for Aamani to correct her, but we all know how bad this relationship is so of course, Aamani wouldn’t and of course, Alexis would self-congratulate for doing the bare minimum. Or the author just didn’t realize that the grammar is wrong and it’s supposed to be “Main tumse pyar karti hoon” (feminine) not “Main tumse pyar karta hoon” (masculine).

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Variable of Us

"...the world I want to be accepted in won't have me because they think I should fit the female stereotype of chasing boys and posting selfie's"

Alexis 'Lex' Duncan is a light skinned Black girl from the 'Grove and has everything set on her basketball scholarship/career getting her the hell outta there. Lex has everything riding on this until she finds herself shot and completely unable to move like she did before.
In walks Aamani. A new student at the school. An Indian, self-proclaimed nerd and part of the STEM group. With Lex' basketball career now shattered, could Aamani help Lex realise she is more than just a Black girl from the hood who's only chance at a better life is through 'ball?

I absolutely loved how we watch Lex progress through this book. Her learning journey into academics, breaking stereotypes and being called out for her own misconceptions. Her journey of unlikely friendships that grow and the ones that fade, and her sexuality and figuring out what her mind and body want and feel. Lex has determination and grit, in addition to being a normal teenage girl who sometimes makes the absolute worst choices for herself. Lex was such an intriguing and relatable character to read..

This book has everything - positive influences and heart-breaking truths and everything in between, all in the most balanced way. It a modern story, that will hit all the right spots for our younger generation. Hashtags on point!!
Some themes in the book are: Queer, LGBTQIA+, communities, street life (drugs, violence, death), homelessness, foster life, blood and family loyalty, racism, academics/STEM and basketball.

A must read.

[Emma Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best way I can describe this book is academic decathlon meets The Hate U Give with a queer twist. And I absolutely loved it. From the commentary on the micro-aggressions across races to the nerdy Avengers of the STEM team, it really covered all of the bases for me. We oscillate between hard-hitting and tender, touching on homelessness and homophobia, ending with a story that leaves you misty-eyed. My favorite part of it all was the found family aspect of the STEM team - from the icy Lindsay to the sweet Matthew, they all form a support network for Lex that felt real. I can't comment on the authenticity of the portrayal of autism in the text, but the foreword from the author on it seemed well-meaning. Give this one a shot if you're in the mood for some feels!

*Thank you to Flux Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors often share their thoughts at the end of contemporary YA novels, explaining why the issues were important to them and the inspiration for their writing. It's interesting that Charles A Bush chose to share those thoughts at the beginning of Every Variable of Us. The reader knows, from the outset, to expect depictions of racism, homophobia, poverty and crime from the onset but they also understand why he wrote this novel.

Every Variable of Us is one of the most gritty novels I've read in years. It goes places The Hate U Give didn't dare to tread and explores the life of a severely underprivileged Philly teenager as she experiences the loss of her future and navigates her sexuality.

Alexis Duncan is a star basketball player on her way to a college scholarship. Rising above her mother's drug addiction and a life in and out of foster homes, Alexis is set to escape the confines of her upbringing and become a superstar. That is until she is shot in a gang shooting. Barely able to walk properly, Alexis needs to explore other options for college admission, and fast, before she becomes another statistic.

Alexis makes the shocking (to her) discovery that sports is not the only way to get college scholarships and she joins the school STEM team as a reserve. Has she got what it takes to go from jock to swot? More importantly, who is the enigmatic Aamani Chakrabarti and why is Alexis developing feelings for her?

I related on so many levels to this novel and it might help to explain why. I spent time in care and absolutely thought I had no future after school until I was made aware of the possibility of a scholarship to university which changed my life. The descriptions of poverty, neglect, parental drug abuse, the contradictory experience in care homes, and living on the street were especially authentic in Every Variable of Us and very well researched. The chaos that Alexis experienced on an every day basis is a chaos that is familiar to many children living in poverty.

Bush also explores life in gangs and the allure and often inevitability of gang membership amongst deprived teens. While Every Variable of Us is about Alexis and Aamani, it is also about Britt, Alexis's best friend who shared Alexis's past but not her future.

Every Variable of Us features a diverse range of characters including a Black sports girl protagonist, bisexual and gay teens, a Muslim girl and a neurodivergent boy. I appreciated seeing underprivileged teens on page as books often focus on unattainably privileged and wealthy teens.

It wasn't always easy to read Every Variable of Us and this is why Bush's foreword was especially well placed. With on-page racism and homophobia, including significant slurs, I had to stop and think whether these words were appropriate in this novel. I feel that the depictions were realistic and that characters displayed character growth in moving on from these positions, or moving on from those who continued to hold them.

I give Every Variable of Us a superb five out of five stars and recommend to fans of Angie Thomas, Jewell Parker Rhodes and Brandy Colbert. I cannot wait to see what Bush writes next.

I received an electronic copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me


Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by Flux through NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Every Variable of Us was a fun and surprisingly moving young adult contemporary novel, following protagonist Alexis Duncan after she is wounded in a shooting and unable to pursue her basketball dreams. Instead she joins the STEM team under the guidance of new student Aamani, and they find themselves growing close than they could have ever imagined.
The characters were very well written, I really felt for Alexis and her situation as she struggled between loyalty to her friends and her desire to get out of her circumstances. Her internal conflicts were handled well, she didn’t just magically become a perfect person, she struggled on the STEM team and she found it hard to stop clinging to relationships that were bad for her such as her tumultuous relationship with her mother. I thought she had a lot of depth that really added to the narrative. Aamani was sweet and funny and the perfect counterpart to Alexis but not without flaws of her own. She was never painted as perfect either, she had struggles of her own that were touched on with the right frequency to remind the reader that she was having a hard time of things as well.
I think the relationship between Alexis and Aamani was very well developed, and though the realisation of feelings came quite late, the groundwork had been laid well so it didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere at the last minute. The attitude Alexis has about LGBT people at the beginning of the book did make me a little uncomfortable, but she grows throughout the book and learns to accept herself.
My biggest problem with this book was the tone. As other reviewers have mentioned, I think this book suffered with heavy handed ‘teen-speak’ writing, especially with the excessive amount of Marvel references. As someone who was myself part of the nerdy crowd at school, I can assure you that is not at all how we spoke to each other, and as an eighteen-year-old I felt like they didn’t speak like real teenagers. I did find Aamani’s rambling about space rather endearing I think that demonstrated her nerdiness perfectly. I think talking about her love of comics could have been equally as sweet if it wasn’t mentioned in every other scene, had the references been sprinkled more sparingly I would have enjoyed them significantly more.
On the whole the book was fast paced and made me want to keep reading, but especially nearer the beginning there were some scenes that dragged a little. The set up took far too long before we got to the events mentioned in the synopsis. However the pace definitely picks up by the second half, and by the end it’s absolutely one page-turner of a book!
As a white reviewer, I cannot comment on the accuracy of the representation of characters of colour, but to me they felt like nuanced and well developed portrayals. Though Alexis does stereotype Aamani heavily at the beginning of the book, this is again something that she comes to realise is wrong over the course of the book as she realises how different Aamani is to that strereotypical image she had of her near the start of the book.
Overall, I think this book is a thought-provoking and fun read, if slightly let down by the unrealistic dialogue and ‘teen-speak’.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried so much during this book; my ego won't actually let me admit just how many times. It was so touching yet devastating, so heartbreaking yet heartwarming. I went through an absolute roller coaster of emotions reading this story and it was an experience for which I am extremely grateful.

I think the characters were very realistic and that made it very easy for me to relate to them, even if I didn't have the same life experiences as they did. Those core feelings of not being loved, not being worth the effort, feeling the need to hide a part of yourself, having to fit into some expectation or stereotype for who you are or who people think you are: I think many readers will be able to see a part of themselves in Alexis and Aamani.

I'm usually not all that affected by first person narration, especially if the character narrating is a teenager. Yet, the writing in this novel was so moving, I probably bookmarked half the book. There were so many passages that were deeply raw, beautiful, emotional, I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to get them out of my head.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, especially if you are looking for a story that will crush you until you are but a shell of a person, and then lift you back up bit by bit until you feel like you know what it means to love and to hope again.

Source: NetGalley

[Sejuti Majumdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Variable Of Us by Charles A Bush is a ya novel showing the struggles of people from the non-white community.

Alexis, the main character is a basketball player and not bright in academics,but her an unfortunate incident renders her disabled and she loses her chance of scholarship through basketball. Inspired by her friend Aamani who later becomes something more she joins STEM to earm her scholarship.

There is no doubt I loved Aamani who is an Indian and obviously I related to her the most but I also loved Alexis and felt so deeply about her struggles. I loved the chemistry of these two characters. I loved the growth Alexis had throughout the book.

I usually didn't enjoy ya novels but I am glad this was different and had talk about so many issues that needed light. So I feel those who like YA genre will definitely enjoy. Only I would appreciate lesser use of slangs in the novel.

[klaudia katarzyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles A. Bush brings us into the story of a young, black athlete - Alexis Duncan. she's an amazing basketball player, waiting to finish high school and get a college scholarship. one day she goes to a party and unfortunately, she gets shot in a gang shooting. at this point she knows she won't be able to play her favorite sport anymore and her only chance of getting out of her city.

during that time we also get to know an Indian girl that transferred from new jersey to Philly - aamani chakrabarti. she's the typical "nerd" student - she knows lots of historical stuff, and she loves watching movies (we get lots of lotr and marvel references in the story).

when Alexis' life is almost over, she feels like there's nothing more she could do she gets help from aamani who's a part of the stem team at school. Alexis isn't a good student and at first, she makes jokes about it but with time she gets really good at some topics. during all that Alexis who was straight at first begins to have feelings for aamani.

this book - even though it's fiction - made me feel like it's a real story, we hear how hard it is for black or minority people to live in this modern age, and when you add to it being a female, queer, and disabled it really gets difficult. Alexis and her story is surely an inspiring one for all young people trying to figure out their future or sexuality.

Alexis's story can show us how difficult her life is - living in and out of foster homes, living in a house with her mom who doesn't care about her, then moving into a crackhouse, losing her only (or as she thought at first) way to get out of the town and don't end up like everyone else. she's an incredibly strong person and even for me - she's inspiring.

aamani is also a person who's having a hard time - after 9/11 life for Muslims and as aamani tells us Indian people become complex. she's the typical stereotype: "nerd" who only studies, and loves comic books and fantasy movies. in reality, she's a person who still learns who she is and what she likes. she learns more about her sexuality and comes out to her family who as expected didn't really like it but yet she did it because she wants to be honest with herself and everyone else.

overall, we get a cute sapphic romance with two girls from different backgrounds, quite a few space references (which makes me very happy because I love the moon, stars, and planets!), and lots of inspiring and clever quotes.

thanks to north star editions and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[Chrystopher’s Archive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for School Library Journal.

2/2/2022 UPDATE:

Well, the review is live in print and on the web, so I guess I'm free to share this :)

Grades 9+. Philly teen Alexis is the star of her school’s girls’ basketball team, and dreams of getting a sports scholarship to get her out of her underserved, poverty-stricken community of Hargrove. That all changes when, caught in the middle of a gang conflict, Lex is shot and loses her ability to play ball for good. Friendship with Aamani, a recent transplant from New Jersey to the neighborhood, opens up a new world of possibility for Lex, both academically, and possibly romantically. But just when Lex is beginning to think there might be a future outside of Hargrove after all, tragedy strikes again and threatens to pull her back under once and for all. Excessive similes and an overabundance of hit-or-miss pop culture references weigh down otherwise lively prose and a joyful character voice of great immediacy and empathy.

VERDICT: Language, violence, and sexual content will likely attract bans and challenges but it’s a fight well worth engaging, as Bush’s social realism combined with insightful representation will appeal strongly to teens eager to see themselves and their struggles represented accurately, particularly those teens who may have been steered toward athletics despite academic potential.