Book Reviews

Getting By is a fine young adult coming of age story centered on Carver Goodman, an African American student who has just turned seventeen, and dreams of becoming a photographer. Carver’s decisions and options on the cusp of adulthood create a compelling, uplifting, realistic story of a potentially successful young man and introvert who faces pressures and influences beyond those usually wound into African American coming of age stories. Getting By is an exceptional, thought-provoking read.

An engrossing and contemplative YA contemporary… Sims makes his debut with this poignant YA which tells the story of 17-year-old Carver Goodman as he struggles to come to terms with his sexuality while grappling with questions of self-doubt and identity issues. Carver is a gentle teenager who is trying to score good grades in his junior year while ignoring relentless bullying at the hand of a pair of school bullies.

Sims pens a wonderful, coming of age story in Getting By. I haven’t read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. Carver is the main character, and he is not only worried about regular teenage or high school things, but his sexuality.

Getting By is an intelligently plotted story that is character-driven, filled with drama and insightful moments. The prose is crisp and the author writes characters that are real, immersing them in social dynamics that resonate powerfully with readers. This is a remarkable story with strong emotional and psychological impact.

What People Are Saying

Don’t Just Take My Word For It

Getting By illuminates the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and ability and contributes a unique voice to the landscape of YA literature in need of queer Black male protagonists. There are far too many young readers whose lives aren’t reflected in the journeys of characters who resemble themselves. In Getting By, Carver, recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, struggles to accept and embrace his sexuality as he navigates the lower tiers of the high school social hierarchy and the bullying that accompanies the denunciation of unspoken rules prescribed for the socially acceptable performance of Black masculinity.

Trudi K. Peterson PhD

Professor, Chair, Communications Studies Coordinator Women’s Studies Program – Monmouth College

Getting By creates a familiar and believable world of high school as many of us will remember it. Jaire’s main character, Carver, is developed with a richness and empathy that makes the reader want to root for him to succeed in overcoming the obstacles created by those who don’t understand his inherent value. As Carver learns to cope with being different from the typical adolescent male, he navigates the complexities of high school, makes friends, confronts serious challenges and engages a social world that is difficult and strange to him. I recommend this book to any young reader who is interested in seeing high school through a different set of eyes.

Lee McGaan

Professor Emeritus Department of Communication Studies – Monmouth College

A wonderful, brutally frank, and moving young adult novel. Very few first time authors are able to dig as deeply as Jaire Sims has dug into his unusually challenging youth as a Black man different from most others. Reminded me of the 2016 Oscar-winning film Moonlight.

Michael R. French

Award-Winning Young Adult Novelist, Author of Anyone Can Run, She Said

Sims delicately paints a portrait of his character, Carver, a young man who seems just as normal as any other kid in a crowded high school hallway. As Carver encounters the love and hatred of youth, Sims invites his readers to discover a deeply sensitive and complex character’s inner world. Getting By reminds us to pause and look closer at the intersection of our identities to discover who we truly are.

Cara Boardman

Educator, Trainer, Developer Wiley Education Services

Sims breathes life into a complex figure who is both refreshingly unique yet intimately familiar, managing to deftly and artistically capture both the innocent vitality of youth and also the strains and struggle of coming of age as a minority. The character invites us to empathize and connect; essential qualities that are especially relevant in an age of division.

Steven Millard

MAT, CME Manager, Center for Continuing Medical Education, The University of Chicago Biological Sciences & The Pritzker School of Medicine