For anyone with anxiety, this book is for you. Like Tricia Levenseller's Blade of Secrets, the main character in Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything has many fears. But despite that, they manage to overcome some of them in order to solve a murder and explore their own gender identity. If this sounds like you, you should take a look.
Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans is about sixteen-year-old Bianca, a raging lesbian birder with a comprehensive and ever-changing list of fears. But when they witness their neighbor's murder, which is then ruled a suicide, Bianca must make a choice: succumb to their fears or, like any teenager with slight stalker tendencies, investigate what happened on their own. With the help of their best friend, Anderson Coleman, and their crush, Elaine Yee, they stumble upon a conspiracy much larger than they imagined. But as the killer catches wind of their investigation, Bianca's #1 fear of public speaking doesn't sound as bad as being silenced for good.
Bianca really is afraid of everything, which is very relatable. In some ways, I saw a lot of myself in them—being afraid of initiating conversation, the future, loss of control, people in positions that grossly abuse power, and spiders. Still, Bianca is much braver than they think they are for investigating a murder. I admired that about them, even though I thought a few things were unrealistic.
For example, Bianca's and Anderon's parents never reacted as I expected. When Bianca began receiving threats, they worried for a moment and talked to the police, and then seemed to move on with their lives. If it had been my parents, they would have kept me in the house at all times and never left me alone. It felt strange to me that they would react so nonchalantly—granted, Bianca was lying to them about ending their investigation. Still, it felt off to me, which drew me out of the story.
Another big part of this novel is Bianca's exploration of their gender. While it was fascinating and relatable for queer teenagers, it didn't fit seamlessly with the main murder plot of the story. Bianca would go from unraveling clues to Googling "nonbinary" and telling their friends they wanted to use "they/them" pronouns. It was obviously important to them, and everyone's journey of self-discovery is different, but it just seemed strange to pause in the middle of a murder investigation to do so.
All that being said, I still enjoyed this novel. The characters are intriguing, the dialogue and inner monologuing have just the right amount of humor, and the mystery is deliciously enticing. I even got excited about birdwatching!
I rate Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans 3/5 stars. While it wasn't my favorite book, it was still entertaining, with a great message about not letting your fears hold you back.
Comments