Can't Take That Away
- Downloads：9782
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-10 11:51:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Steven Salvatore
- ISBN：1547605308
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
An empowering and emotional debut about a genderqueer teen who finds the courage to stand up and speak out for equality when they are discriminated against by their high school administration。
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva， and bringing the house down with song。 They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits。 But despite their talent， emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice。
Then Carey meets Cris， a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life。 With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship， Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba， the Wicked Witch of the West， in the school musical， setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey's tormentor and others in the school。 It's up to Carey， Cris， and their friends to defend their rights--and they refuse to be silenced。
Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns， debut author Steven Salvatore's Can't Take That Away conducts a powerful， uplifting anthem， a swoony romance， and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us。
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva， and bringing the house down with song。 They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits。 But despite their talent， emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice。
Then Carey meets Cris， a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life。 With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship， Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba， the Wicked Witch of the West， in the school musical， setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey's tormentor and others in the school。 It's up to Carey， Cris， and their friends to defend their rights--and they refuse to be silenced。
Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns， debut author Steven Salvatore's Can't Take That Away conducts a powerful， uplifting anthem， a swoony romance， and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us。
Reviews
Jessica
，
I just finished reading can’t take that away， and honestly it is such an empowering， emotional， raw， vulnerable， powerful amazing story and I loved every page of it！ Carey’s journey， their strength， their pain， their push to love themselves and to say I am enough Is truly a story that so many and I know me especially relates to and feels deep inside！ This story spoke to me in so many amazing ways and I will never ever forget Carey and the journey you helped make for them and for everyone of your I just finished reading can’t take that away， and honestly it is such an empowering， emotional， raw， vulnerable， powerful amazing story and I loved every page of it！ Carey’s journey， their strength， their pain， their push to love themselves and to say I am enough Is truly a story that so many and I know me especially relates to and feels deep inside！ This story spoke to me in so many amazing ways and I will never ever forget Carey and the journey you helped make for them and for everyone of your readers， I cannot thank you enough for Creating this， for sharing this， with the world and with me， I don’t even know how to put into words how much Carey’s story has moved me， has brought tears to my eyes， thank you so much for creating this story so that these queer stories exist not just for us but future Generations too！ I live in Australia and I grew up in a small rural town， I was too scared to come out to anyone except my school therapist who just shot me down straight away and so I dealt with a lot of mental health issues， I didn’t get to come out until I was in my 20’s， So for me to read this story， it gives me hope that if it was around when I was in school maybe I could’ve come out earlier， and I know of more people from my home town who are younger than me and are nonbinary and that gives me hope So In short thank you so much for creating this and sharing this it really means the world to me 💖💖💖💖💖 。。。more
iam
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I enjoyed this story about a genderqueer teen fighting for their dreams。Read the full review on the blog！Content warnings include: bullying through peers and authority figures， queerphobia， discrimination， off-page assault， suspicions of cheating， dementia， death of family member。I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily。 I enjoyed this story about a genderqueer teen fighting for their dreams。Read the full review on the blog！Content warnings include: bullying through peers and authority figures， queerphobia， discrimination， off-page assault， suspicions of cheating， dementia， death of family member。I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily。 。。。more
Hannah J
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I really enjoy this book， but I definitely wish I would have checked on content warnings before reading。
Tasha
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Carey has always been a singer， loving spending time with their grandmother belting out songs together。 But being attacked by a homophobic bully made Carey quit voice lessons。 Plus as their grandmother’s dementia worsens， Carey doesn’t have much reason to sing。 Luckily， Carey has a very supportive mother and a good therapist to help them navigate being genderqueer in a binary world。 Carey also knows that they messed up big time with one of their best friends， half of a pair of twins who have bee Carey has always been a singer， loving spending time with their grandmother belting out songs together。 But being attacked by a homophobic bully made Carey quit voice lessons。 Plus as their grandmother’s dementia worsens， Carey doesn’t have much reason to sing。 Luckily， Carey has a very supportive mother and a good therapist to help them navigate being genderqueer in a binary world。 Carey also knows that they messed up big time with one of their best friends， half of a pair of twins who have been friends forever。 As Carey continues to face bigoted hatred from a teacher at school and a classmate， they also meet Cris， a boy who is very interested in Carey， their voice and becoming more than friends。 Cris convinces Carey to try out for the school musical and to audition to be Elphaba in Wicked。 As Carey grows in confidence， the voices of hate around them get louder and more intense， forcing them to find a way through the hatred to a place of self empowerment where Carey is allowed to sing and to fully be themselves。Salvatore， who identifies as genderqueer themselves， has written a gripping story of homophobia and the power and activism it takes to regain control of our schools and communities from bigots。 Added in are marvelous depictions of first love with all of the feels on the page。 There are also strong depictions of what an ally looks like， how to be a great friend， and the importance of giving people a chance to change。Throughout this entire novel， Carey is in the spotlight。 Their emotions around being genderqueer， being targeted by hate， and also being in love are captured with care and real empathy。 They are on a journey to self-acceptance even as they seek out the spotlight for their voice。 It’s a fascinating look at performance， theater and the performer themselves。This one will have you righteously angry and applauding by turns。 Appropriate for ages 14-18。 。。。more
Kaye
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I had a hard time with this one。 It took me a while to get into it and there were some parts of it that drew me out of the story。 The teens in this book sometimes speak like adults and sometimes the things they say are too perfect。 And I honestly hated the central crisis between Cris and Carey。 Usually I like a dash of "bad communication = drama" in my stories， but this was way too much imo。 It made me hate their relationship lolAll that being said， I love that this book exists。 I love Carey。 An I had a hard time with this one。 It took me a while to get into it and there were some parts of it that drew me out of the story。 The teens in this book sometimes speak like adults and sometimes the things they say are too perfect。 And I honestly hated the central crisis between Cris and Carey。 Usually I like a dash of "bad communication = drama" in my stories， but this was way too much imo。 It made me hate their relationship lolAll that being said， I love that this book exists。 I love Carey。 And I love how the book resolves。 I love the message the author had for us and especially for the LGBTQ youths who may read it。 And I'm happy my preorder got me some cute pride bracelets to wear！ 。。。more
BookBagDC
，
This is a book about voice， identity， and love。 Carey Parker is a genderqueer teen in high school， with a passion for Mariah Carey。 Carey has some terrific friends， a supportive teacher， and an amazing voice -- but also faces a homophobic classmate， a discriminatory teacher， and a school administration that seems not to care。 When Carey meets Cris， an amazing singer in his own right， and the two embark on the early stages of a new relationship， Carey feels confident enough to audition for the This is a book about voice， identity， and love。 Carey Parker is a genderqueer teen in high school， with a passion for Mariah Carey。 Carey has some terrific friends， a supportive teacher， and an amazing voice -- but also faces a homophobic classmate， a discriminatory teacher， and a school administration that seems not to care。 When Carey meets Cris， an amazing singer in his own right， and the two embark on the early stages of a new relationship， Carey feels confident enough to audition for the role of Elphaba， the Wicked Witch of the West， in the school's production of Wicked and achieve their dream， and conquer their fear， of owning the stage while embodying their full identity。 But Carey's casting in this role sets off a series of events that makes Carey and their friends question whether they will be able to overcome the prejudice in their school -- and whether they can， and will， become activists for the equality they know they deserve。This book is just terrific。 The characters all felt authentic and multi-dimensional， which make their journeys all the more compelling。 The reader is left clearly understanding the trauma that Carey endures from overt discrimination as well as microaggressions， and sees both Carey's struggles and triumphs as they determine， on their terms， how to navigate it。 Although this is an empowering story， the reader is left with the strong sense that there is nothing easy or obvious about getting to the ultimate resolution -- and how easily things could have gone in another direction and how fragile progress can be on both an individual and societal level。 I also appreciated that the author addresses mental health in a very sensitive way without downplaying it。 The Mariah Carey theme， it must be said， was a delight。Highly recommended！ 。。。more
anya
，
This book was so sweet and warm and honest， and I loved that so much！！！ 4。25 stars， because I felt the dialogue was a bit chunky or odd at times， but that is a personal preference :）
Meghan Macko
，
Genderqueer teen Carey tries out for Elphaba in the school production of Wicked。 Carey and their friends must find the courage to fight for equality when a homophobic teacher gets involved。 The story largely revolves around the activism， and the romance element takes a backseat for most of the book。 As much as I loved this book， I was so frustrated by Carey and Cris！ But then I think back to high school and remember that no one really knows what the hell they are doing at that age， and both kids Genderqueer teen Carey tries out for Elphaba in the school production of Wicked。 Carey and their friends must find the courage to fight for equality when a homophobic teacher gets involved。 The story largely revolves around the activism， and the romance element takes a backseat for most of the book。 As much as I loved this book， I was so frustrated by Carey and Cris！ But then I think back to high school and remember that no one really knows what the hell they are doing at that age， and both kids had a lot going on and were unable to give the relationship the brainspace they needed to work out their issues。 While this book has a lot of stressful and sad moments， it’s ultimately uplifting and has a very happy ending。 I felt that Carey and their friends were a great group of kids and I was definitely rooting for them！ Can’t Take That Away is must read if you are a fan of YA。 。。。more
Naomi van Beek
，
this book made me cry it was so powerful。
Tracey
，
teen fiction （LGBTQAI+ interest， social justice/protesting school rules - genderqueer androsexual protagonist who dreams of being a diva and struggles with depression/suicidal ideation， gender dysphoria， and getting people to recognize and respect who they/he/she is every single day）SO good！ This is exactly the story that so many kids/people need to read （queer or questioning or not）; I appreciate how complicated and messy Carey's relationships get， and the layering of multiple issues over one a teen fiction （LGBTQAI+ interest， social justice/protesting school rules - genderqueer androsexual protagonist who dreams of being a diva and struggles with depression/suicidal ideation， gender dysphoria， and getting people to recognize and respect who they/he/she is every single day）SO good！ This is exactly the story that so many kids/people need to read （queer or questioning or not）; I appreciate how complicated and messy Carey's relationships get， and the layering of multiple issues over one another。 Looking forward to more from this talented #ownvoices author。 。。。more
Em（ily） Ann ♡︎♡︎♡︎ - theglitterybookworm_
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TW: severe homophobia
Julia Sanchez
，
you wish there was no ending。 Great read！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or
TJ
，
DNF @ 25%Okay， I did the audiobook version of this， and I just to say— it’s one of the worst audiobooks I’ve ever listened to。 The narrator is so monotone and expressionless， to the point that I’m under the impression they were recording locked in their home’s personal closet trying to remain quiet so as not to disturb other housemates。 The mic is fuzzy and the editing has random long pauses。 And lastly， I’m pretty sure I heard an engine revving in the background for like 30 seconds straight。 I DNF @ 25%Okay， I did the audiobook version of this， and I just to say— it’s one of the worst audiobooks I’ve ever listened to。 The narrator is so monotone and expressionless， to the point that I’m under the impression they were recording locked in their home’s personal closet trying to remain quiet so as not to disturb other housemates。 The mic is fuzzy and the editing has random long pauses。 And lastly， I’m pretty sure I heard an engine revving in the background for like 30 seconds straight。 I get that audiobooks are probably harder to create during quarantine times， but y’all— don’t waste your money on this production。 I went out of my way to listen to another audio from the narrator （Felix Ever After）， and it sounded way more professional and expressive， so that’s what led to my theory above。 But that doesn’t excuse charging for a subpar production。 Okay， audiobook rant over！ As for the book itself and the writing， it’s basically like most other YA contemporary debuts。 If you like those， you’ll probably enjoy this for what it is。 But I’ve read so many of them at this point that unless the writing is stellar or there’s something grabbing in the plot or character， I just find myself mostly apathetic。 I love the representation in this book， and I’m glad it exists。 I hope lots of people see themselves in it。 But the writing left a lot to be desired for me。 The romance in particular was really forgettable and basic。 But again， if you’re just looking for some queer/NB rep and a fast contemporary to breeze through， you might find something to enjoy here。 Sadly， like many queer YA books lately， the cover art is the best part about this one。。。 2。5/5， rounding up to be generous。 。。。more
mana in the sky
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this book was pretty good but too dramatic for my taste but since most of the reviews are positive i guess its just me
Gerald
，
"Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC）http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors;hardy@novelstar。topjoye@novelstar。toplena@novelstar。top "Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC）http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors;hardy@novelstar。topjoye@novelstar。toplena@novelstar。top 。。。more
Riley Wang
，
Hi！ You might want to publish this in a mobile app so a lot of readers can see your lovely work。 Check on the NovelStar app and see how other writers earn by pursuing their passion in writing。 You can also check out their Facebook page to meet other writers。t
Lin :）
，
2。75⭐
Dries Boudewijns
，
This book felt like a comforting hug I needed as a part of the LGBTQ+ community。
Libraryofink
，
Rating: 4。75 ☆☆☆☆
do
，
😭
GavShire
，
The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Akiva
，
Like a ballad by a pop diva: the highest highs， the lowest lows， everything turned up to 11。 You're either in the mood for it or you aren't。I spent half the book waiting for Joey to come out as transmasc。 Oh well， there's always college！ Like a ballad by a pop diva: the highest highs， the lowest lows， everything turned up to 11。 You're either in the mood for it or you aren't。I spent half the book waiting for Joey to come out as transmasc。 Oh well， there's always college！ 。。。more
Mad Wallace
，
OHMYGOD OHMYGODThis book was absolutely FANTASTIC。 Read it。 Read it now。
Lua Anne
，
The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Alex
，
rtc
Sana Dinalang
，
Great story！ You can broaden your audience by publishing your story on Novel Star Mobile App。
Valentina Ayala
，
4。5Me encantó， un gran libro， con mucha representación。 Disfruté bastante la historia， pero más importante aún， los personajes。Me encanta leer sobre jóvenes peleando por sus derechos， la cruda realidad a la que Carey y tantos otros se tienen que enfrentar sólo por ser quienes son。 Me encantó todo de ellos， la forma de actuar， de enfrentarse al mundo y el crecimiento de Carey al enfrentarse a las cosas a pesar de tener miedo， luchó a pesar de las circunstancias。Una gran representación y muy educa 4。5Me encantó， un gran libro， con mucha representación。 Disfruté bastante la historia， pero más importante aún， los personajes。Me encanta leer sobre jóvenes peleando por sus derechos， la cruda realidad a la que Carey y tantos otros se tienen que enfrentar sólo por ser quienes son。 Me encantó todo de ellos， la forma de actuar， de enfrentarse al mundo y el crecimiento de Carey al enfrentarse a las cosas a pesar de tener miedo， luchó a pesar de las circunstancias。Una gran representación y muy educativo también sobre el género y la comunidad LGBTIQ+。 。。。more
Wendy
，
To be perfectly honest my rating on this book is bumped up from 3 because adult-me was fairly exhausted by a lot of the angsty romance—though teenage-me would have likely savored most of it。 （But， dang， the MC is pretty consistently so self focused they strain all kinds of relationships）。 That aside， there’s excellent rep here and though there is a lot of misery （bullying， misgendering， queer-phobia， etc。） there is also a healthy dose of fantasy wish fulfillment and hope—both things that the wor To be perfectly honest my rating on this book is bumped up from 3 because adult-me was fairly exhausted by a lot of the angsty romance—though teenage-me would have likely savored most of it。 （But， dang， the MC is pretty consistently so self focused they strain all kinds of relationships）。 That aside， there’s excellent rep here and though there is a lot of misery （bullying， misgendering， queer-phobia， etc。） there is also a healthy dose of fantasy wish fulfillment and hope—both things that the world needs more of。 。。。more
Michelle
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Loved it！
Lena Barsky
，
So， as per the usual， I read this in two batches - the beginning 10% or so one night， and then the rest all in one big go between April 15 and 16。 And let me say that I just。。。 don't。。。 know how to handle this book。 For the first time ever I'm not rating it at present because it's just so OVER-THE-TOP filled with multiple kinds of queer trauma and transphobic/homophobic violence that at points I was like， OH WAIT NOW *THIS* IS HAPPENING？ I understand that Salvatore drew a lot on their own experi So， as per the usual， I read this in two batches - the beginning 10% or so one night， and then the rest all in one big go between April 15 and 16。 And let me say that I just。。。 don't。。。 know how to handle this book。 For the first time ever I'm not rating it at present because it's just so OVER-THE-TOP filled with multiple kinds of queer trauma and transphobic/homophobic violence that at points I was like， OH WAIT NOW *THIS* IS HAPPENING？ I understand that Salvatore drew a lot on their own experience as a genderqueer person growing up and I completely appreciate someone writing through their traumas as a way to cope with them and also show empathy/compassion/sympathy with others who have experienced similar things。BUT WOOF？ It was like， okay Jesus Chreezus， for every good thing that happens there's four-to-five bad things。 And yes， there is a happy ending， but by that point I was emotionally exhausted from the ups and downs of the book。Another thing that had me kind of scratching my head were the racial politics here; it seemed like Salvatore was doing his best to be as sensitive and thoughtful but the Black secondary character （who I did enjoy， a queen honestly） did seem to be lowkey a Magical Black Girl Lesbian BFF for Carey， and then Cris' Filipino heritage isn't touched on all that much despite him saying that it majorly informs who he is as a person。 So I think some sensitivity reading may have helped there？ What's hard is， look， on the one hand， you love to see genderqueer characters existing on the page。 You simply love to！ At a time when nonbinary and genderqueer experiences are kind of being mainstreamed into "The Official Third Gender Option，" having a wealth of depictions in YA of how kids and teens can be nonbinary and genderqueer in all kinds of ways is GREAT。 More of that， please！ But on the other hand I just feel like if I had read this book as a teen I would've been like， wow， holy shit， this is traumatic and I'm stressed。 BECAUSE I FELT THAT WAY AS AN ADULT！ Like genuinely so much so that at one point I was like "now hold up is Ryan Murphy writing this book。" And obviously he isn't， obviously it's by someone under the trans umbrella， but still。 I'd love to hear what my queer and trans friends think if/when they read this， because maybe that could help me better articulate my own thoughts？ It's like。。。 look， I get that not every LGBTQ+ story needs to be sunshine and rainbows， since life doesn't work like that， and ALSO every LGBTQ+ story shouldn't just be the depression trauma sadness zone， since life doesn't work like that either。 This book does seem to try to be having that conversation！ It just， FOR ME， listed so heavily to the side of "yikes a lot of painful events happening quickly" and it was hard to get past that。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Can't Take That Away
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Can't Take That Away&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Can't Take That Away&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0