Reviews with content warning for Violence - Symptoms of Being Human

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.

Content Warnings

brookey8888's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow. What a important story. It is very hard to read at times, but there are a lot of light moments as well. I really loved Riley as our character. They were just very relatable in many ways like being awkward. I thought the friendships and the family relationships were so important. I learned a lot and think other people will as well. Definitely look up trigger warnings.

Content Warnings

kshertz's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I definitely loved this books. I have never read a book about anyone gender fluid and I’m exceedingly grateful for this book. I learned a lot. I think it’s going to be a lifeline for so many. I found so much empathy and a new level of understanding. An amazing book.

Content Warnings

dunollie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Quick-paced and we’ll written story of a gender-fluid teen struggling with how to be themself in the judgemental and unforgiving world of high school.

Overall an enjoyable read about a queer teen finding their voice and place in the world.

Spoiler

my only criticism is that it’s one more story about an LGBTQ character who faces severe mental health issues, violence and sexual assault - these are the sad reality for a lot of queer teens but at this point it almost seems cliched or formulaic to frame the character with these traits and experiences

Content Warnings

ratmooseman's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It's alright. Reading that the author is cis after finishing it makes a lot more sense. As a trans person, I certainly related more to the anxiety portions than the actual trans stuff. It's Paper Towns meets Love, Simon, it's 2015 Tumblr, it's the story my questioning middle school self would've loved

Content Warnings

leethegoldfish's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

asourceoffiction's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Oh this book will really stick with me. It's clear how well researched and sensitively handled the subject is, and it makes for very difficult reading at times. It feels like just as Riley is taking control of a difficult situation, that control is ripped away; the prejudice and the unfairness of it all is palpable.

That said, when the lows are so low, the highs feel so much higher too. There was real joy in some of these beautiful characters and the way they accept Riley instantly. The trio of Riley, Solo and Bec is utterly beautiful.

This is much more than Riley's mental health journey, but it forms the backbone of the story and brilliantly highlights the issues facing non-binary adolescents today. It especially shows how easily predetermined notions of gender creep into even Riley's initial opinions on people's gender identity. And how much work we all still need to do to educate ourselves.

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