Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Nick, his birth mother, and Mom's partner Jo deal with problems particular to their situation (bigoted bullies and homophobic teachers) and those not so particular (Jo's alcoholism and Mom's breast cancer). Fourteen-year-old narrator Nick is devastated when his mothers split up in this powerful, moving examination of the relationships we forge within the family we are given.

ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

Fourteen-year-old Nick has two moms who couldn't be more different. His biological mother, Mom, is dependable and careful; Jo, Mom's partner, is irresponsible and impulsive. Nick tells their story in vignettes, including little things, such as the teasing he gets at school, as well as big things, such as Mom's cancer and Jo's alcoholism. Eventually these vignettes turn into a divorce story: Mom finds a new partner; Jo, who has no rights to Nick, struggles on her own; and Nick breaks down after Mom refuses to allow him to see Jo, with whom he wants to live. Nick's incapacitating depression and Mom's refusal to acknowledge it drag on far too long, turning into turgid melodrama. Yet Peters deftly depicts Nick's relationship with his moms and theirs with each other, and the story stays rooted in Nick's sensitive but limited perspective. A novel that will spark discussion.

Kirkus Reviews

After his two mothers' marriage ends in divorce, 14-year-old Nick recalls key moments from his rocky childhood. Age three: screaming in the emergency room, a chin gash bleeding down his shirt, while mother Jo goofs around trying to make him laugh. Kindergarten: being called "Dickless Nicholas" when older kids hear about his lesbian moms. Third grade: Jo sarcastically confronting a homophobic teacher while Mom and Nick, horrified, try to drag her away. Age 13: Jo and Mom splitting up, Jo leaving behind a crushed and desolate Nick. Bitterness spirals into despair—Nick lets his beloved fish die and cuts his knuckles with a knife—until Mom allows him to go live with Jo. The narrative voice doesn't vary with Nick's age. However, Nick's need for Jo is palpable, despite—or because of—their gruff, unorthodox, rough-and-tumble love. An un-romanticized look at divorce and parent-child relationships, as well as an addition to the tiny canon about gay parents. (Fiction. YA)

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Nicholas Nathaniel Thomas Tyler has four first names and two mothers.As the only child in his class with gay parents, he endures the taunts and prejudices of classmates and adults over the years as best he can, drawing reassurance and strength from his parents. Challenges nearly overwhelm him, though, when their relationship ends; Jo moves out, and Nick, now a teenager, is left with Erin, his birth mother. Peters captures the voice of an adolescent sorting through the memories of his childhood in poignant prose that rings with truth. As Nick develops from a boy to a young man, he must address his own sexuality, his ties to his family, and his need to assert his individuality. This novel is a timely exploration of the struggles faced by same-sex couples and their children, and while the issues are significant, the story is never overwhelmed by them. Because Jo lacks biological or legal relationship to Nick, he can be cut off from her with no recourse, which makes his experience slightly different from that of other children of divorcing parents. This coming-of-age novel powerfully portrays the universal pain of a family breakup. It also portrays what is still a "weird" situation to many people (as reflected in the behavior of Nick's babysitter) as totally normal from one young man's point of view.-Beth Gallego, Los Angeles Public Library, North Hollywood Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Nick, 14, tells his story in flashbacks, revealing what it was like growing up with his two moms—and watching their relationship fall apart. Peters's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Luna) novel is much more than a story about a gay family. While Nick and his mothers do deal with discrimination (his third-grade teacher does not hang up the family picture he drew, for example), they have all too normal troubles as well, such as Jo's alcoholism, Erin's breast cancer, and eventually Erin's budding relationship with another woman. The author draws the protagonists as full-blooded characters, and readers will likely find it easy to relate to them. Jo struggles to hold down a job, but rescues animals and ferociously protects Nick (after some fifth-graders tease the then-kindergartner about his family, she stands at the school fence for a week, "posturing like a tough guy"). Erin, meanwhile, resents being the responsible one, yet she still gets drafted into the family's watermelon seed–spitting contest. When Nick learns of their separation, his "heart rips. A black hole opens up." Readers may have trouble believing that Erin, Nick's biological mother, would prevent him from seeing Jo after they split up, but overall, they will touched by this story about the struggles of a realistically flawed family. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Voice of Youth Advocates

Fourteen-year-old Nick introduces himself through flashbacks as he tells the story of his life with his two lesbian mothers. Erin is his biological mother, and Jo is the mother of his heart. Nick finds nothing unusual about being raised by two moms until he enters kindergarten, where two older boys talk about his two pervert moms and call him "Dickless Nicholas." Nick's mothers are good women who love him and each other and get through life as best they can. In elementary school when his teacher refuses to put up Nick's family drawing with those of the other children, Jo confronts the teacher about her refusal and questions his unfair grades. The teacher smiles and uses other ways to make him feel as if he does not exist. Peters again works her writing magic in this perfectly structured and exquisitely written novel. Nick does not hide anything from the reader-not his mother's breast cancer, not Jo's drinking problem, not the harassment at school, nor when Erin looks outside the family for emotional comfort. A child in a family facing divorce hurts-no matter what genders comprise the parent couple. Because of this family makeup, many librarians will self-censor the book, doing what Nick's elementary teacher did with his drawings. But the novel needs to be read. Doing so takes one step toward helping this kind of family feel less invisible; doing so represents one step closer to recognizing and supporting their very real existence.-C. J. Bott.