chibiloki's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
As a genderfluid person, it was only a matter of time before I got around to reading this book. Riley's experience of gender is a bit different to my own, but their blog entries were so relatable that I was hooked from the first one.
This is a difficult read peppered with bullying, transphobia, and homophobia. It deals with anxiety, panic attacks, gender dysphoria, and sexual assault. But under it all, there is an undertone of hopefulness, a focus on friendship, finding support and community, growth, self-confidence, and finding the courage to use our voices and our platforms to speak up for others.
The author made an interesting choice in never bringing up Riley's sex assigned at birth and avoiding pronouns for them altogether. I'm divided on that decision, because while on the one hand it doesn't matter, in the still very binary world we live in, it matters to most people. Most of us living beyond the binary don't have the advantage of looking so androgynous everyone wonders if we are a boy or a girl. We are instantly read as our sex assigned at birth and misgendered on a daily basis no matter now we present ourselves. Most of us have traditional gendered names, and changing that, even as a nickname, provokes unwelcome questions when we are still closeted. This approach by the author may be an attempt to make Riley more broadly relatable, but it fails to deal with these real issues. That said, given how the author handled the genderqueer character at the Q, calling them "he or she" I assume gender neutral pronouns were something he had no knowledge of when writing this book. Clearly, he needed to do more research.
Despite these issues, I do think there is good to be gleaned from this book. I would recommend looking at reviews and trigger warnings first though, because to say that this book isn't for everyone is putting it lightly.
This is a difficult read peppered with bullying, transphobia, and homophobia. It deals with anxiety, panic attacks, gender dysphoria, and sexual assault. But under it all, there is an undertone of hopefulness, a focus on friendship, finding support and community, growth, self-confidence, and finding the courage to use our voices and our platforms to speak up for others.
The author made an interesting choice in never bringing up Riley's sex assigned at birth and avoiding pronouns for them altogether. I'm divided on that decision, because while on the one hand it doesn't matter, in the still very binary world we live in, it matters to most people. Most of us living beyond the binary don't have the advantage of looking so androgynous everyone wonders if we are a boy or a girl. We are instantly read as our sex assigned at birth and misgendered on a daily basis no matter now we present ourselves. Most of us have traditional gendered names, and changing that, even as a nickname, provokes unwelcome questions when we are still closeted. This approach by the author may be an attempt to make Riley more broadly relatable, but it fails to deal with these real issues. That said, given how the author handled the genderqueer character at the Q, calling them "he or she" I assume gender neutral pronouns were something he had no knowledge of when writing this book. Clearly, he needed to do more research.
Despite these issues, I do think there is good to be gleaned from this book. I would recommend looking at reviews and trigger warnings first though, because to say that this book isn't for everyone is putting it lightly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Rape, and Stalking
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
spoupysoupy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
sydneya312's review
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
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