The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet
By Carrie Kingsley,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Funny, honest story of queer kids with IBS is a bit long.
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What's the Story?
In THE YEAR MY LIFE WENT DOWN THE TOILET, Al thought that getting a diagnosis for her digestive issues would make things easier, but it just makes everyone want to talk to her about something she'd rather ignore. But she can't ignore the bathroom accident in gym class, or the constant trips to the bathroom to poop. Her mom is overprotective and her best friend Leo starts hanging out with his theater friends, so Al decides to join the hospital's support group for kids with digestive diagnoses. In that group she finds more than just ways to navigate life with Crohn's disease; she learns to understand her sexuality and to think differently about bottling up her emotions.
Is It Any Good?
Honesty, emotion, and humor leap off the pages here, putting words to topics many kids are hesitant to discuss and offering a blueprint for how to open -- and sometimes close off -- conversations. The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet is unflinchingly real about the bathroom challenges of being a middle school kid navigating Crohn's disease, and brings raw vulnerability to navigating budding relationships and changing families. Al's evolving understanding of herself as a queer kid and the way that fits into her home life brings many pieces of her life crashing together: her Jewish family (both born and chosen), her medical diagnosis, her friendships new and old, and her anxiety. The support group setting adds an emotionally complex layer, and there's touching communication and compassion there. The middle section of the book meanders a bit, but Al's narration helps pull it together. This book seems written to inspire conversation and introspection in a way that readers of all ages can benefit.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about ways they react when they feel anxious, like Al and her friends in The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet. What feels right to you?
How can you support someone who has a medical condition that people might think is embarrassing?
What do you think it's like to be a queer kid in middle school or high school? How can you be a good ally?
How do the kids in Al's support group communicate? Did it surprise you? Why or why not? What's good about open communication? What can be hard about it?
Book Details
- Author: Jake Maia Arlow
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , Middle School
- Character Strengths: Communication , Compassion
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Dial Books
- Publication date: August 1, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 10 - 14
- Number of pages: 288
- Available on: Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: November 9, 2023
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