Reasons to Pick up a Copy:
- Brie’s favourite pastime is watching soap operas with her mother and it’s the cutest
- Catholic school girl falls for other Catholic school girl sounds like a tagline from fanfiction and it is gloriously executed
- You will want to hug Brie’s dad when you hear of the sacrifices he makes for his daughter
- Parker, Brie’s best friend, is a supportive honeybee and deserves all the awards – who said thirteen-year-olds can’t have wing women?
Review:
“I like girls, Ms. Santos,” Brie blurted. It seemed like in the movies or on TV, anytime a girl realized she liked girls, or a boy realized he liked boys, they had one big moment. One moment when they said the words and came out, and that was that, full stop. Brie felt like she had barely come out to herself yet, and still, her moment was happening at least once a week. Would this be her life now? Having to come out again and again and again?
In the vein of the soap operas Brie is obsessed with, In the Role of Brie Hutchens packs a punch with loads of plot twists, heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes, a bit of drama, and a whole load of laugh-out-loud moments as the reader learns about Brie’s shenanigans.
My favourite part of the book was the relationship Brie had with her mother – for years the two of them would sit down together after Brie got home from school and before her mother left for work and watch their favourite soap opera together. It is something they bonded over and that features into their relationship quite a bit.
Beyond being just a really cool trait to have a young girl be enamoured with soap operas and the dramatics that go into it and giving Brie the idea to pursue acting, It also opened up the discussion of how soap operas are often ridiculed in popular culture even though they have a lot to offer and how they have become more progressive, introducing LGBTQ+ characters and storylines to their narrative. It definitely mirrored and enriched Brie’s own experience with her mother and the issues the church and those attending it still have with being open-minded.
In that, this book also explores the ways in which acceptance of family factors into how young individuals cope with struggles surrounding their sexuality at a very important age. Brie knows that she only likes girls but she also knows that her mother, a devout Catholic, will have issues with it to the point where she wonders if her mother would even still love her if she came out. It’s a heartbreaking path both Brie and her mother find themselves on that only drives home the fact that love should be unconditional.
On top of that, Brie’s relationship with her father was unexpectedly comforting. Outlining the struggles of being ashamed of your parents when you’re with your peers paired with the effort they put into everything to make your life as easy as possible was a lovely addition to the plot.
Brie’s love interest Kennedy is everything Brie isn’t – studious, seemingly devout, demure, and overall perfect. But Brie soon learns that appearances can fool you. I loved how the story went back and forth as Brie questioned if she wanted to be like Kennedy or be with Kennedy. That is such a common struggle when it comes to figuring out your identity and it felt very true to how Brie sees herself as not as good of a student and not measuring up but also simply just having other priorities.
Overall, this was a heartwarming and enlightening read with unique characters that burrow themselves into your heart and make you want to stay home and watch General Hospital with your mother. A well-crafted story about a girl who likes a girl and who just wants that to be okay with the world – and who deserves a happily ever after…with a touch of drama on the way to getting it.
In the Role of Brie Hutchens is out now! You can find a copy on Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be picking up In the Role of Brie Hutchens? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera super fan, aspiring actor, and so-so student at her small Catholic school. Brie has big plans for eighth grade. She’s going to be the star of the school play and convince her parents to let her go to the performing arts high school. But when Brie’s mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie panics and blurts out that she’s been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her school’s May Crowning ceremony. Brie’s mom is distracted with pride—but Brie’s in big trouble: she has not been chosen. No one has. Worse, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student.
Desperate to make her lie become truth, Brie turns to Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. But sometimes just looking at Kennedy gives Brie butterflies. Juggling her confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, not to mention her hilarious non-star turn in the school play, Brie navigates truth and lies, expectations and identity, and how to—finally—make her mother really see her as she is.
