A review by kori_krc
Tradition by Brendan Kiely

4.0

TW// sexual assault, homophobia I really liked this book. I was skeptical of picking up a book about this subject matter written from a male author, however, Brandan Kiely did a wonderful job handling it. I loved James' character so much simply because it was a teenage boy who took the time to understand his female friends and align himself with their fight - whether that be normalizing tampon use or being there for his friends who have been assaulted. He understood his own demons and worked through them. He also had no tolerance for his teammates being sexist and disgusting toward his female peers. I was just really happy to see the allyship. I also was very pleased with how open the story was about the privilege these kids had. The characters were aware of it, and while some used it to their advantage, others tried to use their privilege to fight against the disgusting "traditions" of this private boarding school. Points on race, LGBTQ+, sexual assault, and sexism were all hit in this book and done very, very well. I only really took off a star for the ending. I really wanted more justice for both Jules, Javi, and Aileen. Overall, very good read.