Perfect for:
- Fans of Mariah Carey (there is a playlist at the end of the book, we love to see it!)
- Anyone who has ever felt like their voice wasn’t heard
- Musical fans (especially Wicked)
- Anyone who worships Troye Sivan, Sam Smith, and any other queer icon that deserves the world
- Really, if you love music, queer culture and activism, you NEED this book
Review:
It always boggles my mind when I read a book about people creating a social movement in such a short span of time with the exposure to rival new Netflix shows because can you imagine how much harder this must have been before the internet existed? To let people know that there was going to be a protest, to get this sort of thing on the news and get reporters to actually reach out to you and make your fight for equality heard? I just want to bow down to anyone who’s ever fought for our LGBTQIAP+ rights, but also be grateful for the technological advancements we get to have. It’s just one of the reasons I love the internet and the opportunities it has given people around the world to make their voices heard and get the support they need to affect real change in this world, like Carey and their friends do.
And that is really the heart of the story. While there are certain bullies like Mr. Jackson and Carey’s antagonist Max who I want to burn in a dumpster fire, this book focuses primarily on making your voice heard, on doing everything you can to enact change. I loved how this wasn’t just about making the world a better place (which is daunting and almost impossible) but focused on making your part of the world, your space better and thus inspiring others to step up and do the same. To be proud of who you are and not let the bastards get you down. It also showed the kind of change you can affect when you stand together strongly, without glossing over the fact that not everyone gets to have their voices heard because of the systemic discrimination that is still very much alive and kicking. Nevertheless, this book gives hope and encourages the reader to pick a cause and fight for it, with all that you’ve got. Because it’s worth it.
There are, of course, side plots. Carey’s grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s and her fight with the illness was so painful to read about, yet so authentic. It made me tear up to see this wonderful woman who has always done everything to let their grandchild know they are loved wither away. Salvatore took such care in representing the illness that it really spoke to me.
What I loved most about this book was the fantastic genderfluid representation. It was treated so tenderly and though there were many instances where genderfluidity was talked about, but it never sounded preachy. I really enjoyed Mr. Kelly (the best teacher in the universe) and his constant support of Carey as he even gifts Carey three bracelets so they can show how they identify on any given day and that absolutely melted my heart. Every chapter also begins with the pronouns Carey uses at that time of the novel, and I thought it was a really great way of showing readers Carey’s identity. There is also a wide cast of queer characters in this book that I really enjoyed and I loved how we got to see different people interacting with definitions of queerness and the LGBTQ+ community, especially a certain side romance I totally called (yes, I’m bragging, shush).
Really, the only thing I didn’t vibe with in this book is the romance. For an insta-love, this was almost painful in how long it took the two of them to get their (excuse the swear word) shit together. I love some mutual pining, but I just wasn’t on board with the amount of miscommunication and pushing off a simple conversation that occurred in Cris and Carey’s love story. While I’m definitely a Cris x Carey shipper and enjoyed their interactions, I didn’t like the “separating the couple for most of the book” trope. From other reviews I can tell that people loved the romance, though, so take this with a grain of salt from someone who’s read countless early 2000s YA novels and even back then wanted to throw them out the window whenever the couple got separated for like half the book.
Despite that little snag in my enjoyment, I can tell that Can’t Take That Away is going to become a classic in no time. Carey’s journey is all about loss and grief and fear, but it’s also about joy and love and finding the people who will stand by you through anything. It’s about community, and about making your words count. It’s an affirmation of identity and being the best version of yourself that you can be.
A mix of powerful anthem and heartfelt call for equality, Stephen Salvatore’s debut Can’t Take That Away is a celebration of community activism and depicts the messy, difficult yet encouraging reality of growing up queer and how letting your voice be heard can change everything.
Can’t Take That Away is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 9th 2021.
Will you be picking up Can’t Take That Away? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother’s spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.
Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey’s tormentor and others in the school. It’s up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rights–and they refuse to be silenced.
Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns, debut author Steven Salvatore’s Can’t Take That Away conducts a powerful, uplifting anthem, a swoony romance, and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us.
