Olga Bukhina reviews Daria Wilke's "Playing a Part"

Russian scholar and translator Olga Bukhina has written a smart and thoughtful review my translation of Daria Wilke's Playing a Part in Worlds of Words. In particular, I'm very grateful for how she contextualizes the gay theme that was so newsworthy when the book first came out in Russian:

"This is a first book for young readers in Russia which openly involves gay characters, and may be the last because of the new Russian law that prohibits mentioning a gay theme in books for readers under 18. The designated age is to be displayed on the cover of all books. . . . In this coming of age novel, the focus on being gay stands for the many choices adolescents need to make. First of all, is freedom of choice, any choice, not only of sexual orientation. It is also about the need to stand against the peer pressure and to search for one's individual way."