Ruth's Reviews > Dinosaur Boy

** spoiler alert ** I can definitely see the draw to this book - dinosaurs, what? But having read it, I have to wonder if the people giving it 5 stars are Jupiterians (ugh).

What could have been an amazing look at social issues, including bullying, trans issues, and several others, fell amazingly short. While the book doesn't specifically mention transgender, it uses a similar language, referring to the unethical use of species reassignment surgery (but of course Sawyer can't change what he is - he is a dinosaur and that's that which implies that a trans person should not have gender reassignment therapy, blech)

The book mainly focuses on bullying, but rather than either side learning lessons, Sawyer ends up saving everyone and it's all just happy go lucky after that.

It also felt like there was too much forced into a single book. Dinosaur genes, aliens, and selling of humans as pets? Pick one antagonist, and deal with the next in another book.

I also thought that it spoke down to its readers a bit. Not just in language but in reveals. At the end, there's a plot twist of a magical cure unavailable on the market. Sawyer's grandfather has taken it and is no longer a dinosaur hybrid - but this doesn't get mentioned for 4 pages of discussion between the two of them.

I could go on, but I think I've ranted enough. I read this book because it was named a Sunshine State Reader for this year, but I honestly don't think it deserves it.