Today we speak with Mia Siegert, author of Somebody Told Me – an #OwnVoices tale about bigender teen Aleks/Alexis who learns to overcome trauma by helping others.
About Somebody Told Me
A novel of trauma, identity, and survival.
After an assault, bigender seventeen-year-old Aleks/Alexis is looking for a fresh start—so they voluntarily move in with their uncle, a Catholic priest. In their new bedroom, Aleks/Alexis discovers they can overhear parishioners in the church confessional. Moved by the struggles of these "sinners," Aleks/Alexis decides to anonymously help them, finding solace in their secret identity: a guardian angel instead of a victim.
But then Aleks/Alexis overhears a confession of another priest admitting to sexually abusing a parishioner. As they try to uncover the priest's identity before he hurts anyone again, Aleks/Alexis is also forced to confront their own abuser and come to terms with their past trauma.
Praise for Somebody Told Me
Siegert's blunt and honest prose brings together a compelling narrative layered with intersections of gender, sexuality, and spirituality, which will be sure to provide teen audiences with much food for thought."—Booklist
"Aleks/Alexis' frequent ruminations on their relationship to gender and presentation ring resoundingly true."—Kirkus Reviews
Highly recommended, especially where #OwnVoices books are in demand."—School Library Journal
Links
Watch the book trailer on YouTube! The voice actors are Katelyn Clarke (Twitter @katelynclarkevo) and Zeno Robinson (Twitter @childishgamzeno).
Listen to the Spotify playlist Mia created for the book, with artists ranging from Fiona Apple to Gregorian chant covers of contemporary music.
If you think of any songs that you’d add to the playlist after reading the book, let us know in the Reader Q&A on Goodreads!
Additional information about Cardinal Pell can be found at the Australian Broadcast Corporation site here and here.
Find Mia Siegert online at:
Website: http://www.miasiegert.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/authormiasiegert
Twitter: http://twitter.com/miasiegert
Instagram: http://instagram.com/miasiegert
A transcript of this episode is available here.
Music credits
"Farm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/