Get Curious is wonderful. Rev is a worthy protagonist for this story. The world Rachel Gold created is vibrant as Rev navigates her first year of college life as a lesbian/ACE. The 30-year-old mystery about a lawsuit that centered on a small group of gay students that Rev finds in a stack of moldy boxes in the HVAC corridors under the college powers the book. The absolute best part of Get Curious is the utter normality of the LGBTQ+ characters in the book, both from 30 years ago and today; the way they show up for each other, the way they support each other, the way they create safe space that Rev can sink into all while they work to unravel the mystery, and bring to light the boxes for the Library Archives. The sections around the Medical Anthropology class that Rev takes, regarding interviewing someone (without our biases interfering), is important in ways that could change the world around us if we could all learn to set our biases aside and try to see from another person’s point of view. This book will stay with me for a long time, in the very best of ways. IMO it should be required reading in high school, with plenty of in-class discussion time.

Get Curious is the perfect title for a story about the power of following your curiosity to make a difference both personally and in the world around you. Rev Dwyer, a first-year college student is seeking to find her place in the world. However, when it comes to her own issues she just battles on as best she can. I was fascinated by the dichotomy that is seen in terms of her curiosity. Having been raised in a cult-like community during her early years, and with a mother who is anti everything modern medicine, Rev struggles to manage her significant gut health issues, regularly finding herself crippled by pain. Due to her upbringing, she has never been curious enough to investigate whether there is a better way to manage her symptoms. At the same time, while she may not be curious enough to find a solution to her personal struggles, the opposite is true for struggles that affect the world around her. In this respect, Rev is an explorer at heart with an unbounding curiosity to poke around in hidden places just to see what she can find; the kind of curiosity that can get you in to trouble, or in this case, reveal a hidden injustice. It instantly brought to mind the social justice activism that is commonly seen on university campus. This dichotomy proves to be the heart of the story. When Rev’s explorations take her to hidden tunnels below her college campus, she discovers a box of documents relating to a lawsuit from 30 years ago that sought justice for LGBTQ students in the days prior to the introduction of civil rights. The documents also show evidence of a decades old love story which piques Rev’s curiosity further. When the box goes missing before Rev can dig deeper into its contents it is the call to action that is required for her to band together with a group of queer friends to uncover the mystery and bring to light the long-hidden secrets. At the same time, Rev is working on a university assignment focusing on different approaches to understanding and managing health. Combined with the unfailing support of her best friend, Char, this starts to fuel an internal curiosity about other ways to manage her own health. I was drawn in by the quirky storytelling but it was the book’s underlying message of protecting history from those who try to erase it (which is still a vital message in today’s world) that really resonated with me. It is a reminder that community can be powerful and necessary when facing challenges and pushing for positive change. It is also a reminder that there is real value in getting curious about your own internal struggles, not just those of the world around you. If you enjoy stories with heart, intrigue, and a meaningful call to action Get Curious is worth a read. I am grateful to Rachel Gold and Bella Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is different from the vast majority of books I have read this year. It follows a new student at college who likes to explore campus – like an urban explorer – getting into places that are usually not seen by members of the public. When they do this and wander around – they find boxes of files. They obviously have a look through them – as you do, and then want to know more. They appear to be files from a legal case from about 30 years ago concerning the college and some students. They have just started college and are forming a new group of friends – they try and find out as much as they can about the case and the participants. The most worrying thing about this is that the 1990s was 30 years ago!! It’s a nice story that addresses a number of issues around gay equality, relationships, trans issues, harassment and privilege. And probably more. There’s also some really interesting stuff about medical anthropology, how different people and cultures address sickness and wellbeing, and how we are conditioned by our parent/guardian’s ideas and behaviours about illness when growing up. It was a really interesting read – at times it felt as thought it was a bit too educational about gender issues and attitudes but very interesting reading. Thank you to Bella Books for the ARC – in exchange for a voluntary review.