SuitabookFin & Rye & Fireflies
Harry Cook
- Reading
- Discuss the difference between genuine support and attempts to control identity. You might pause after the conversion-therapy material, then return to how friendship, family responses and romance are portrayed.
- Themes
- Queer identity and acceptance: Fin’s outing leads to rejection and relocation, while friends and an older brother support him. His parents struggle with accepting him as he is. The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
- Conversion therapy and harm: Fin is sent to Re-Souled after his parents hope he will become straight; friends and family then attempt to get him out. The book takes a critical view of this.
- Friendship and romance: Fin meets Poppy and Rye after moving, develops feelings for Rye, and shares affectionate moments while Rye has an existing boyfriend. The book presents this favourably.
- Worth knowing
- The conversion-therapy section may be especially upsetting, while the book’s treatment of it has been criticised as rushed and implausible. Consider reading alongside a trusted adult if this subject feels personally close.