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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
I absolutely loved this! Throughout, we see Ana struggling with identity and unsure what to do about it. Not only is this an authentic story about learning your gender identity, the way ice skating is represented is done really well. Overall, this is a strong middle grade novel and one that I would definitely recommend to people of all ages!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming
chaotic_abi's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I loved that it was about figuring yourself out and that it wasn't only about that. I already really enjoy figure skating so that was the cherry on top for this book. I was so happy to see Ana working on herself, not only in terms of her gender, but also as a person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
perpetualpages's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
CWs: Misgendering, misnaming, allusions to transphobia and bullying, and contains multiple coming out scenes
Rep: Ana is non-binary, Chinese-American (with possibly some Hawaiian heritage as well), and Jewish
I'm so glad this book exists. It's overwhelming to think about how this story is going to affirm so many things for so many young readers, in ways we can't even imagine.
(First of all, Ana is trying out multiple pronouns by the end of this story, she/her being some of them, and those are what I'll be using to refer to her in this review.)
This is a masterfully told story of self-discovery on and off the ice. Ana's questioning of her gender is shown so organically, whether it be the mental double-take she does when her mom full-names her, or the way she hates wearing skirts during practice, or how she's intimidated by other skaters' ease in showcasing their femininity. She doesn't have the vocabulary to describe it, she doesn't know about labels or inclusive terminology, she doesn't know where to begin questioning it, but she knows enough to know that femininity doesn't quite fit.
There's also a nuanced distinction about how Ana doesn't "hate" femininity, she just doesn't claim femininity for herself. It doesn't mean "girly" things are bad or that they're not a part of her in some ways, it just means they don't define her. Ana is realizing that, yes, there are boys who like to sew and craft just like there are girls who love sports and video games. So why do we all put so much stock in "boy things" versus "girl things" when there are literally no rules?
These questions occur naturally in the story, which makes sense for a character so strongly questioning their gender. When Ana meets Hayden and realizes that it's possible for people to change their names and pronouns, she become fascinated by the implications of that and begins making space for herself to experiment with different expressions. When she realizes that her body and her personhood doesn't tell the story she always thought it would, that's huge for her.
Another aspect I love about the story is how it parallels skating performance against gender performance. There's this idea that when you get on the ice, you're "portraying a character," and then the more you lean into that role, the higher points you receive. And that's exactly how gender works as well. So Ana is wondering if she can disassociate from her performance in that way, but also questioning where to draw the line between acting and expressing, both on and off the ice.
My only note, if anything, is that I wish Ana got to take all those deeply internal thoughts about gender and put them into conversation outside of the coming out scenes. Most people, especially parents, have absolutely no knowledge of what non-binary even MEANS, which naturally leads to a lot of questions. (Keep in mind, I say this from my own experience.) But we don't really get to see that side of the conversation. Part of me is glad it's that way because I wouldn't want readers to conflate Ana's non-binary experience with "THE Non-Binary Experience" (whatever that is). But the other part of me sees it as ever so slightly idealistic.
There's just so much to love about this story. It's incredibly rich and layered, and Ana's character progression is so well done. A.J. Sass does such a good job of building a safe, supportive environment for Ana to explore herself and express herself, and even though we don't get all the answers, we are given every reason to hope for her.
Very eager for this one to come out in the fall and I highly recommend it for readers of all ages!
Rep: Ana is non-binary, Chinese-American (with possibly some Hawaiian heritage as well), and Jewish
I'm so glad this book exists. It's overwhelming to think about how this story is going to affirm so many things for so many young readers, in ways we can't even imagine.
(First of all, Ana is trying out multiple pronouns by the end of this story, she/her being some of them, and those are what I'll be using to refer to her in this review.)
This is a masterfully told story of self-discovery on and off the ice. Ana's questioning of her gender is shown so organically, whether it be the mental double-take she does when her mom full-names her, or the way she hates wearing skirts during practice, or how she's intimidated by other skaters' ease in showcasing their femininity. She doesn't have the vocabulary to describe it, she doesn't know about labels or inclusive terminology, she doesn't know where to begin questioning it, but she knows enough to know that femininity doesn't quite fit.
There's also a nuanced distinction about how Ana doesn't "hate" femininity, she just doesn't claim femininity for herself. It doesn't mean "girly" things are bad or that they're not a part of her in some ways, it just means they don't define her. Ana is realizing that, yes, there are boys who like to sew and craft just like there are girls who love sports and video games. So why do we all put so much stock in "boy things" versus "girl things" when there are literally no rules?
These questions occur naturally in the story, which makes sense for a character so strongly questioning their gender. When Ana meets Hayden and realizes that it's possible for people to change their names and pronouns, she become fascinated by the implications of that and begins making space for herself to experiment with different expressions. When she realizes that her body and her personhood doesn't tell the story she always thought it would, that's huge for her.
Another aspect I love about the story is how it parallels skating performance against gender performance. There's this idea that when you get on the ice, you're "portraying a character," and then the more you lean into that role, the higher points you receive. And that's exactly how gender works as well. So Ana is wondering if she can disassociate from her performance in that way, but also questioning where to draw the line between acting and expressing, both on and off the ice.
My only note, if anything, is that I wish Ana got to take all those deeply internal thoughts about gender and put them into conversation outside of the coming out scenes. Most people, especially parents, have absolutely no knowledge of what non-binary even MEANS, which naturally leads to a lot of questions. (Keep in mind, I say this from my own experience.) But we don't really get to see that side of the conversation. Part of me is glad it's that way because I wouldn't want readers to conflate Ana's non-binary experience with "THE Non-Binary Experience" (whatever that is). But the other part of me sees it as ever so slightly idealistic.
There's just so much to love about this story. It's incredibly rich and layered, and Ana's character progression is so well done. A.J. Sass does such a good job of building a safe, supportive environment for Ana to explore herself and express herself, and even though we don't get all the answers, we are given every reason to hope for her.
Very eager for this one to come out in the fall and I highly recommend it for readers of all ages!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
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