Ciel in All Directions

In Ciel, readers were introduced to Ciel Sousa, a gender nonconforming seventh grader starting off their first year in high school. They are uncertain of their own gender identity, leading to anxiety and tumultuous relationships with friends and their now ex-boyfriend Eiríkur. Now, in Ciel in All Directions, Ciel is feeling more comfortable in their body and in their high school. But, just as things are finally calming down somewhat, a meeting of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance starts off a chain of events, leading Ciel and a friend to run for leadership roles in the Alliance. Ciel’s YouTube channel is taking off again after some positive publicity from a well-known drag queen, so they start on a new project to try and bring more pizzaz to their videos, including bringing in their brother Virgil—and his drag persona, Dolores von Tragic—more often. And to top it off, Ciel is pretty sure they are developing a crush on their friend Liam. Ciel certainly is getting pulled in all directions!

Labelle’s novel, along with being a delightful slice-of-life narrative, is a commentary on trans acceptance and resilience, as well as a critique of queer systems that build themselves up on the exclusion and oppression of others. Jérôme-Lou, president of the GSA, routinely makes comments that are transphobic or denies the realities of resistance to trans and nonbinary people within the school. As with the first novel, Ciel, I am glad to see these lessons being introduced and examined to some degree, but follow-through is lacking, leaving opportunities for deeper conversation incomplete. Younger readers, however, will likely have questions after reading the novel, questions which can lead to more nuanced conversations with parents, teachers, or other people within the LGBTQ+ community.

What I love about this novel, as with the first, is that there is such a variety of representation, including nonbinary, trans, bisexual, and queer young people, and even a trans parent. One thing I want to mention, however, relates to Samira—one of Ciel’s friends—and her parent who is a trans woman. She uses she/her pronouns for herself, but Samira still refers to her using “dad.” While this may be okay within their individual family context, and likely reflects the reality of some parent/child interactions in the real world, there is potential for confusion if young readers are already unsure of pronouns and identity labels.

It is also an important book in that it shows some of the different dynamics of going through school and life in Quebec, dynamics which are not often shown in other English language books. As such, I am grateful for these translations and hope they find their way into the hands of young readers. It should be noted that some of the translations are quite direct and don’t reflect some of the nuance that is likely in the French version of the text, and some of the phrases might read as awkward or overly formal in English.

Ciel in All Directions is even better than the first novel in the “Ciel” series, and I look forward to reading more about this entertaining and endearing cast of characters and their adventures in high school. An entertaining yet educational middle grade novel that represents a plethora of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences that many young people will be able to identify with regardless of their own gender and sexuality.