Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Illuminating look at puberty, love through eyes of teen boy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
When Elio Solis meets Camelia, he sees the world around him in outrageous ULTRAVIOLET colors. Elio's in love for the very first time. The only problem is, he's afraid of girls. He's a science kid with giraffe-like legs who codes, graphs, and is doing a wildlife project about the duck-billed platypus. Camelia is an independent "artsy-fartsy" girl who doesn't totally trust boys after a disturbing online encounter. But the two soon bond over a love of the same comics and hip-hop musicals, and they become a couple. Now he just needs to confront his irrational fear of kissing a girl, which Camelia takes care of when she kisses him first. While having a girlfriend is exciting, Elio finds puberty downright scary as his "down there extra bits" take on a life of their own at the most embarrassing times. His father is determined that Elio will escape the toxic masculinity and macho culture of his own childhood, so they join Brothers Rising, a support group of fathers and sons formed by his best friend Paco's father. They talk openly and honestly about puberty, the meaning of consent, balancing emotions, and embarrassing subjects like self touching. But when Camelia breaks up with him and begins dating a boy who treats her with disrespect, Elio lets anger overtake him and finds himself using his fists to defend her.
Is It Any Good?
This sweet often humorous story of first love is intertwined with a candid and thoughtful look at puberty and finding a new definition of what it means to be a man. Ultraviolet may be a boy's story, but it can be equally as insightful and engaging for girl readers. While boys can easily see themselves in the experiences of Aida Salazar's Elio and his friends, the story offers girls a window into the struggles boys have as their bodies and emotions change in new and unexpected ways.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the honest and open way puberty was discussed in Ultraviolet. Were you embarrassed by anything or did you feel it was exactly right?
Elio's father wants him to be part of a "new wave of macho," to learn the importance of qualities like integrity and self-control and that being a man is all about courage and strength on the inside. How do you define masculinity?
The students at Elio's school want their sex-education classes to be equal, shame-free, and for all genders. Do you think that's a good idea or would you rather be in an all boys or all girls class? What do you think you'd learn in an all genders class you might not in a single gender class?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Character Strengths : Integrity , Self-control
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Press
- Publication date : April 2, 2024
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 11 - 14
- Number of pages : 304
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : Common Sense Selection , Pura Belpré Awards and Honors
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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