We are all made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen is an amazing story about two very different teenagers whose lives are suddenly thrown together when their respective parents move in together.
Right up there with Simon and the Homo-sapiens’ Agenda, this has easily become one of my favourite books! The two main characters, Stewart (an overly academically gifted child) and Ashley (a socialite) are about as different as can be. Ashley’s life is turned upside down when her father comes out as gay, and moves into their guest house in the back yard. Stewart’s life is altered when his mother dies from cancer. As their both still reeling from the loss of their parents, their remaining parents decide to move in together to further their relationship. This means that Stewart has to change schools, where he is bumped up a grade into some of Ashley’s classes. The two do not get along well! However, with Stewart’s perseverance everyone slowly warms up to each other.
There are two more mature scenes, one more graphic than the other, where Ashley is assaulted by a boy from school. The first, she is pinned down against her will, but is quickly rescued by a housekeeper. The second, this boy convinces her to let ‘some friends’ over for a house party that quickly gets out of control; he uses this opportunity to feed her drink after drink on an empty stomach. Then, proceeds to grope her and take pictures of it. Stewart comes to the rescue and stops the scene from progressing any more, however Ashley wakes up with little to no recollection of what happened the previous night.
For these scenes I recommend using this book as a read aloud only, so that you can address these particular scenes upfront with the class. I would hesitate to let kids discover this book on their own in your classroom library, or in literature circles. If you have overly involved parents, I would also suggest sending a note home about the themes discussed in the book JUST IN CASE.
Overall this book gets a glowing 4.5/5 stars from me (only losing half a star because of potential parent backlash!)
Until next time!