An inspiring MG/YA novel about finding your identity, celebrating LGBTQ history, and fighting for your right to exist, thrive and love as a young queer person in the long shadow of Section 28.

Hagger-Holt's novels are a staple in my school library Pride collection. They are perfect for KS3 readers; both young people who want to explore their own identity, and those who want to understand how to be a good ally.

At the centre of The Fights That Make Us is Jesse, a non-binary student who, together with their best friend, is undertaking a history project after discovering that their estranged late cousin was gay and involved in anti-clause28 protests in the 80s.

I particularly enjoyed the queer Bookshop/cafe that features in this novel. It's called Over The Rainbow and I can't help but wonder if it's inspired by the Portal bookshop in York (one of my favourites!).

This book has already joined my favourites shelf at work and I can't wait to hear what my students think of it.

“everything we do has an impact, but you don’t know what it’s going to be till much later. Maybe never. So how do you know the right thing to do?”

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Jesse has recently come out as non-binary. Thirty five years earlier, Lisa is falling for her best friend.

This book is full of hope, blending educational history into modern circumstances with youthful joy. Following Jesse along as they learn is an insightful glimpse into what it means to be a young member of the LBGTQ+ community.

I enjoyed Jesse and Lisa as narrators, both of which had strong voices. Their relationships were all well established and make for an interesting read.

“Each one of those “what if”s makes ripples that spread further than I can imagine […] I guess that’s what being a historian is — trying to understand where those ripples start and the difference it makes when they melt and merge and collide with each other. Doing anything at all feels like too much responsibility, too much risk. But being a person means more than just watching from the outside. It means getting involved too”

I really enjoyed this beautiful story of love, family, and pride, Jesse, a non-binary child, discovers a diary belonging to a cousin who lived through Section 28, and reads about how Lisa began to discover feelings for her friend Nicky, in a time where talking about LGBT+ issues wasn’t allowed, and homophobia was rife. I loved the parallel narratives of Jesse and Lisa, and the way they both fought for what they believed in, and I think this was beautifully and sensitively written, in a way which makes Section 28 education accessible to a younger audience who may not understand how devastating this was for the LGBT+ community at the time, and even after. It was an amazing story and I would recommend this for all ages!

A book that celebrates diversity, understands the fragility of many young people finding their identity, champions the right be yourself and encourages the bravery needed to do just that.

This is really well written and brilliantly structured. It will be relatable to everyone touched by an element of the LGBTQ+ community and movement, whether it is because how they are themselves or because they know people who are. The hope too is that as well as providing encouragement and reassurance to those who are LGBTQ+ or wondering if they are, it also educates people who are not; showing them how their acceptance and non-judgement is important and needed as well as making them realise how inconsiderate remarks and judgmental comments can deeply injure another person, whether deliberate or not.

Jesse is non-binary and their best friend Simran relates as being pansexual. Whilst the parents of both are accepting and do their best to understand what this means in both practical and emotional terms, the two still meet with prejudice and Jesse for example is in an almost constant state of anxiety as they never quite know when things will shatter.

Their new history teacher suggests a special project where pupils decide on a moment of history to investigate. Jesse and Simran are looking for inspiration and find it when they go to Jesse’s mother’s cousin Lisa’s funeral and Jesse finds a dusty old box full of Lisa’s things in the attic. Inside they find Lisa’s diary and other memorabilia and as they go reading and investigating, they are thrust into the world of the gay rights environment in the 80s. Whilst today we still see a lot of prejudice and misunderstanding, compared to the 1980s there has been a huge amount of progress. What Jesse sees happening to Lisa and her friends outrages her and they are determined to tell their story. When the school history project is cancelled by the narrow minded, misogynist substitute history teacher, they are determined that somewhere, somehow the exhibition will still go ahead. This it does at the ’Over the Rainbow’ indie bookshop/café, a place where Jesse and Simran feel comfortable and thus their favourite haunt.

This is an important topic to discuss and this book is an excellent means of doing so. I like the vulnerabilities and honesty shown and also the fact that the parents in this case are doing their best; but it is for them still unknown territory, so one can feel their concern and appreciate their efforts. For many people and especially older people, non-binary pronouns don’t come naturally as they have not been a part of our vocabulary growing up. Some elements of LGBTQ+ have been visual for a long time, but other elements such as non-binary and trans seem relatively new as they are not topics that have been discussed.

I know already that we will have some people embrace this book and others shy away from it, but that is all part of the process. It is one we will stock and I hope that is contributes to the education of and conversation about people’s rights and especially those of the LGBTQ+ community.

A heart warming and powerful read combining the importance of identity alongside LGBTQIA+ history that will appeal to readers across the age ranges.

I love this YA novel about non-binary tween, Jesse, so much. I also love old diaries, so The Fights That Make Us immediately appealed to me.

With a focus on the historic Section 28 in the UK, TFTMU addresses the importance of a shared queer history, putting into focus the value of mentorship of a new generation of queer young people, by the older generations of queer persons.

Featured are fantastic allies, supportive parents, and a #GOALS queer cafe/bookshop! Of course, there are a few nasty people, but TFTMU is overarchingly a story of hope and triumph. (It also features a playlist, which is another thing I love in books.)

🌈 The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt 🌈

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This book had both rage and joy coursing through my veins. An important read for young people who may never have heard of Section 28 nor be aware of its impact. Eye-opening maybe for those who do not realise that this fight still continues for those of us who identify as LGBTQ+.

Jesse’s passion for their exhibition is inspiring and the only real downside for me is that I can’t see it for myself! Jesse’s parents are brilliant and their friendship with Simran really warmed my heart.

I particularly enjoyed how this flirted back and forth between Jesse and Lisa’s timelines which really allowed the reader to draw comparisons and similarities between their stories.

“Change only happens if you do something to make it happen”

An inspiring, thought-provoking read that I’ll want to throw into the hands of all the young people I teach.

Thank you to Usborne, Sarah Hagger-Holt and NetGalley for my early review copy in exchange of a fair and honest review.

What a lovely, lovely book.
Sarah Hagger-Holt deftly links queer history and attitudes then to the still prevalent negative attitudes rife today, teaching young people about the still present effects of Section 28.
A heart-warming, sweet, and important read for young people, I will definitely be buying a copy for my library.

Another great book from Sarah Hagger-Holt that I know will be a great hit in my school library. I really enjoyed the way this book is told through two different timelines. It is so sad reading about the way Jesse's cousin Lisa was. treated by her parents. Jesse receives so much support from their parents. It is great to see the difference in their attitudes compared to Lisa's. However, Jesse's peers and teachers don't show the same understanding. One teacher in particular makes Jesse's life a misery and also by default gives some of their classmates tacit consent to do the same. Through reading Lisa's diary and getting to understand the battles she went through, Jesse finds the courage to stand up to their bullies and to fight for the respect they deserve (and should receive without having to fight). This book is great because it will spark conversations and challenge stereotypes but also because it's really well written and has characters you really care about.

I absolutely loved this book - I think it's such a needed book in that it's exposing more people to queer history. I love that this makes the history of section 28 accessible through MG fiction - like what a wonderful starting point for queer children and adults alike.

I thought Jesse was an absolutely fantastic main character. They were so compelling and engaging (as well as, for me, relatable) with their passion for their history project and creating their exhibition. The use of Lisa's diary in Jesse's exploration of queer history was so clever - it also was such an amazing vessel to show the reader how far we've come in terms of queer rights whilst also showing that there's still a way to go through how the cover teacher reacted to/disrespected Jesse's pronouns.

Also, the way the community was portrayed was also so good. I loved the relationships amongst peers shown through Jesse's friendship with Simran, as well as Lisa's with Andy. I also really enjoyed the inter-generational friendships and support that were shown from how Maz and Leo gave Jesse and Simran a place for the exhibition (and just generally provided a safe space in Over the Rainbow) to how teachers like Ms Grant (for Jesse) and the teacher Lisa, Nicky and Andy saw after the Section 28 protest,

Just, the book was everything I wanted it to be and I loved every second of it. I'd highly recommend.

Fantastic story making section 28 acceptable to a new generation.
The characters are very realistic and Fantastic to see a book with non binary characters for this age group.
It looked at hard and emotive topics with sensitivity without shying away from the realities of the issues.

This is all kinds of important. It’s history and family and LGBTQIA+ stories that matter. It’s understanding how Section 28 changed the lives of so many. It’s understanding the past and doing things to change the present and future. These characters were so lovely. As a queer person, as a teacher, as a human, this just spoke to my soul.

What a beautiful story! I love Jesse and Simran, they're so bold and inspirational. Section 28 was repealed when I was 9 years old, but the effects were long-lasting. I never heard anything about LGBTQ+ people throughout high school, it wasn't talked about. I came out not long after I finished school, and since then I've been on a journey. I see a lot of myself in Jesse, but the biggest difference is that I never would have figured out who I am at such a young age. I have done my fair share of campaigning/activism, but in my 20s, not as a pre-teen! Anyway, enough about me.

Jess and Simran have such a wonderful friendship, and I love how supportive Jesse's family are. They have such a brilliant support system. The contrast between Jesse's life now, and his cousin Lisa's life in the 80s is pretty sad. Lisa deserved better.

I love the way this story had Lisa's diary pages intertwined throughout, reading about her life was as enjoyable as it was - at times - devastating. I do wish the author had included a little more about Lisa, especially about what happened when she went to live with her gran. But we don't always get to know how a person's story ends.

This was a really quick and easy read that I will absolutely recommend to others.

Jesse has recently come out as non-binary, and is mostly accepted at school by peers and teachers.
Out of the blue a cousin of their Mum’s dies and, asked to clear her attic, Jesse discovers Lisa’s teenage diary, written 35 years earlier – in the time immediately before Section 28 was introduced in schools. This is a problem to Lisa as she knows she is gay and that she must keep this a secret.
As Jesse reads more and more of the diary they are equally horrified of the past as finding their own life complicated when a change of teacher upends all Jesse has achieved with acceptance at school. Appreciating all people are different has moved on slightly, but this book reminds us that we are not yet there and the LGBTQ+ community - as well as other supporters need to continue to fight hatred and promote respect.

What an absolute joy of a read!

I love Sarah's books and I think this one is my favourite yet.

It follows Jesse who has recently come out as non-binary and comes across some old diaries from a distant relative, Lisa, which chronicle Lisa's struggles as a lesbian in the build up to and aftermath of section 28.

I loved seeing Jesse's current experience as a non binary person alongside the past experiences of Lisa.

This is a brilliant, clever and important book about the importance of being true to yourself and fighting for what's important.

This is a must read for anyone especially if you're a member of the LGBTQIA community or an ally but this is of course, a brilliant read for anyone who enjoys a good story and is interested in a little bit of British LGBTQIA history in regards to the appalling Clause/Section 28 of 1988.

(More information on the act is here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28)

This book appealed to me straight away because I've been a member of the LGBTQIA community since I was a teenager and realised I was bisexual and then as a parent to two transgender children and as nonbinary person. Books like The Fight That Makes Us are a necessity for representation and understanding of who and what we are and where we came from.

The battles that faced many members of the community in Britain during the eighties were horrendous and came at them from all sides. This was the era of headlines filled with lies and stigma as the AIDs virus spread and many men lost their lives. Hatred was rife and cruelty was on every corner, and Sarah Hagger-Holt has shown the difficulties and the fury that was rife; and sadly, that same hate is back now in 2023.

The Fight That Makes Us is about family and of not letting problems and trouble tear you away from your loved ones.

I like how it's two generations of the same family, who are members of the community and have experienced similar situations and doubts about who they are and how they belong. The author writes their lives with kindness and compassion because Hod knows, it's one of the hardest realisations to accept that you're different to the vast amount of people you know along with understanding so many people fear you for no reason whatsoever.

The Fight That Makes Us is fiction but the cruelty of Section 28 was real and now people like Jesse, my children and myself are suffering that same hatred, cruelty and misunderstanding along with vilification that is faced within the book and in the eighties.

I hope this book educates those who don't understand and offers support to those who feel alone and afraid. Above all, we're all human, and we all deserve to be treated properly and, above all, with respect.

After coming out as non-binary, Jesse is finding their own place in their community and wider society. Just how many options they actually have is brought home to them after they discover a diary written by their cousin Lisa, over 3 decades ago. And working on a project about lost histories provides an excellent opportunity to learn from the past.

At the time, their cousin was falling for her best friend, but the growing pushback from the wider elements in Lisa's world was putting pressure on her from all directions. It was a very different time in some ways from the world that Jesse is, thankfully, living in.

But reading through the diary, Jesse becomes aware of just how privileged they are despite their own struggles. And along with those realisations comes the awareness that this time in history must not be forgotten. And that some fights are not only worth fighting, they are what make us who we are.

This is a terrific book that deserves a wide readership. It combines history, struggle and identity in a very relatable way, even if you are not a member of this community, and is worth reading for that reason alone. I give it 3.5 stars.