Lukoff, Kyle. World Worth Saving, A. Penguin Random House/Dial, 02/2025. 337pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-5936-1898-1. GRADES 5–9. OUTSTANDING.
Trans fourteen-year-old A Izenson has been isolated since the beginning of COVID and is all too aware of his parents’ and the world’s transphobia. However, it isn’t until he is approached by a golem, a Jewish protector spirit, that he realizes this transphobia is driven by otherworldly beings more nefarious than he could have known. Thus begins an adventure, heavily based on Jewish mysticism, to defeat the evil that has latched on to the trans community. A is a white, Jewish, trans man who is joined on his quest by a crew of queer and trans marginally-housed youth. While A is featured as the main character, the friendships he forms help him unlearn socialized individualism. Though complex, the story remains riveting and fast-paced, with moments of lightness and humor. The writing is imbued with a strong sense of poetic spirituality, and tenderness for the story’s characters and real-world trans kids is extremely evident. A’s story addresses suicidality, transphobia, homelessness, and anti-Semitism yet remains hopeful, returning to the idea that “one in the process of becoming is imbued with holiness.”
Sicilia Smith—Alameda Free Library