Somebody Told Me

Author: Mia Siegert

A novel of trauma, identity, and survival.

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PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

A novel of trauma, identity, and survival.

Description

"A compelling narrative layered with intersections of gender, sexuality, and spirituality."—Booklist

After an assault, bigender seventeen-year-old Aleks/Alexis is looking for a fresh start—so they voluntarily move in with their uncle, a Catholic priest. In their new bedroom, Aleks/Alexis discovers they can overhear parishioners in the church confessional. Moved by the struggles of these "sinners," Aleks/Alexis decides to anonymously help them, finding solace in their secret identity: a guardian angel instead of a victim.

But then Aleks/Alexis overhears a confession of another priest admitting to sexually abusing a parishioner. As they try to uncover the priest's identity before he hurts anyone again, Aleks/Alexis is also forced to confront their own abuser and come to terms with their past trauma.

Critic Reviews

“"When they start to feel unsafe after an assault, bigender teen Alexis/Aleks makes the difficult decision to go stay with their uncle, a Catholic priest, for the summer. Once there, Alexis/Aleks plans to cut off all ties to their former cosplay communities and to be as invisible as possible. The rectory's spare room shares a vent with the church confessional, and Alexis/Aleks keeps overhearing confessions. After listening to a particularly heartbreaking one, they decide to use their newfound invisibility to secretly help parishioners, growing in confidence along the way. But after hearing their uncle absolve another priest for a heinous criminal act, Alexis/Aleks cannot stay invisible any longer. Siegert's book maintains interest throughout with a fast-paced mystery, a relatable main character, and compassionate explorations of several tough topics. The deep, thorny issues of religion, sexual assault, and guilt are covered unflinchingly and with compassion. Relatably imperfect Alexis/Aleks must overcome their own assumptions and anxiety in order to help an innocent victim, and makes mistakes with tragic consequences along the way. Readers are also forced to face their own assumptions throughout the unexpected narrative. It seems especially unlikely at first that a queer teen would choose to stay with conservative family members, especially clergy, but Siegert writes Alexis/Aleks so well that their decision makes complete sense. A diverse and nuanced cast of secondary characters proves that friends and enemies can be found anywhere, and that those who help or hurt us are not always the ones we expect. VERDICT Highly recommended, especially where #OwnVoices books are in demand."--School Library Journal”

" . . . Siegert's blunt and honest prose brings together a compelling narrative layered with intersections of gender, sexuality, and spirituality, which will be sure to provide teen audiences with much food for thought."—Booklist

About the Author

Mia Siegert is an author and costume designer from New Jersey. Their costumes have appeared on Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and several stage productions of CATS. They are also the author of the YA novel Jerkbait.