cass_ward's review against another edition
5.0
Such an honest representation of the struggle with a queer identity. I absolutely loved the way this book has sincere confusion and pain wrapped up in joy and hope and how no emotion takes away from the rest of them. Beautiful.
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
Riley is a complicated teen, whose parents seem well meaning but not-yet-clued in, and whose school life is stress-filled and anxiety-producing. Riley is beginning to identify as gender-fluid, feeling more or less like a girl or a boy depending on the day or an hour. Riley is nonbinary, sometimes neither, sometimes both. And while this is definitely one of those "problem novels" propelled entirely by the coming out/anxiety stories, it feels important and relevant. A few parts of the writing are a little awkward*, but I don't think they'll be noticed by the majority of teens (and others) who could benefit from reading about gender differences.
*Such as: why were gender pronouns never discussed by Riley or anyone else? Why did nobody at the Q Center say "...and my preferred pronouns are..."? Big oversight.
*Such as: why were gender pronouns never discussed by Riley or anyone else? Why did nobody at the Q Center say "...and my preferred pronouns are..."? Big oversight.
leepetterson0's review against another edition
3.0
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin is an emotional, raw, and heartbreaking novel. It follows the main character, Riley Cavanaugh, a genderfluid teen dealing with a multitude of things ranging from mental health, gender identity, and closeting all while being a new student at a new school. Riley takes a therapist’s advice and starts expressing their feelings by starting an online blog that focuses mainly on being genderfluid and the issues that arise from it.
I first read this book in middle school after one of my close internet friends came out to me as trans. Being the curious little bookworm I was, I took to it to the books and started educating myself. This book hit me hard the first time I read it. I remember wanting to just keep reading it and reading it and never stop.
This is not the case this time around. I was not as encaptured in the story as I was previously. I’ve read a lot of good queer books since reading this for the first time, and what I’ve learned is that if a straight, white, cis man is going to write a queer book, the intention must be good and must be present throughout the story. In this case, it was clear that this topic means a lot to Garvin as he included resources in the back of the book, but consistently throughout the book, they/them pronouns were not used when in reference to someone who’s pronouns or gender were clear. Part of this is due to Riley’s mental space and conditioned ability to label people. However, Riley was very much connected to the community and was clearly educated on this topic, but chose to think using “he or she was sitting next to me”
There also seems to be no plot. The whole time I was just thinking like What’s the point? What am I reading for? The whole time, Riley doesn’t plan on coming out, this isn’t a “coming out” book perse but at the same time, it is. This book isn’t about the bullying and harassment of LGBT youth, but it is.
But, this book is not merely for entertainment but more for informing. If you are new to the whole genderfluidity and gender thing in general, this book does an amazing job of introducing the topic and the issues that a genderfluid person faces.
Besides that, I have no complaints! This book has stuck with me since the first read and has just encouraged me to keep learning and keep an open mind. I relate to Riley in ways that are unexplainable. I am not gender fluid but they made me realize how much others expect from you. I’ve never been a super feminine person in general, I grew up around a ton of boys and just have always been more of a tomboy if you’d like to put it that way. But I grew up with the societal pressure to just present more feminine and just always stuck out like a sore thumb, especially growing up in a small town. As I grew up and started becoming more aware of what society expects from people. I learned that there are always going to be people who don’t enjoy fitting into those expectations and just genuinely got more confident.
I also admire Garvin for never revealing to the reader Riley’s assigned sex or pronouns, which I respect. It adds to the experience of being totally absorbed into Riley’s story. I feel that if Garvin did include that, it would give the sense that he is not totally informed on this topic, almost like an outsider to the trans community.
Overall, a solid 3.5 stars :)
I first read this book in middle school after one of my close internet friends came out to me as trans. Being the curious little bookworm I was, I took to it to the books and started educating myself. This book hit me hard the first time I read it. I remember wanting to just keep reading it and reading it and never stop.
This is not the case this time around. I was not as encaptured in the story as I was previously. I’ve read a lot of good queer books since reading this for the first time, and what I’ve learned is that if a straight, white, cis man is going to write a queer book, the intention must be good and must be present throughout the story. In this case, it was clear that this topic means a lot to Garvin as he included resources in the back of the book, but consistently throughout the book, they/them pronouns were not used when in reference to someone who’s pronouns or gender were clear. Part of this is due to Riley’s mental space and conditioned ability to label people. However, Riley was very much connected to the community and was clearly educated on this topic, but chose to think using “he or she was sitting next to me”
There also seems to be no plot. The whole time I was just thinking like What’s the point? What am I reading for? The whole time, Riley doesn’t plan on coming out, this isn’t a “coming out” book perse but at the same time, it is. This book isn’t about the bullying and harassment of LGBT youth, but it is.
But, this book is not merely for entertainment but more for informing. If you are new to the whole genderfluidity and gender thing in general, this book does an amazing job of introducing the topic and the issues that a genderfluid person faces.
Besides that, I have no complaints! This book has stuck with me since the first read and has just encouraged me to keep learning and keep an open mind. I relate to Riley in ways that are unexplainable. I am not gender fluid but they made me realize how much others expect from you. I’ve never been a super feminine person in general, I grew up around a ton of boys and just have always been more of a tomboy if you’d like to put it that way. But I grew up with the societal pressure to just present more feminine and just always stuck out like a sore thumb, especially growing up in a small town. As I grew up and started becoming more aware of what society expects from people. I learned that there are always going to be people who don’t enjoy fitting into those expectations and just genuinely got more confident.
I also admire Garvin for never revealing to the reader Riley’s assigned sex or pronouns, which I respect. It adds to the experience of being totally absorbed into Riley’s story. I feel that if Garvin did include that, it would give the sense that he is not totally informed on this topic, almost like an outsider to the trans community.
Overall, a solid 3.5 stars :)
pumpkinspice_25's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautifully written book that educates and gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a genderqueer person withput being boring or stuffy. I highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with or is curious about gender. *To my LGBTQ+ friends: This IS a coming out story in case you don't like those*
zackarinareads's review against another edition
4.0
(There is no way I'm writing a review in German, I don't even know a German word for gender fluid!)
This book positively surprised me. I didn't really know what to expect from it. I didn't know what being gender fluid might feel like and I had my doubts when it came to representing it correctly but Rileys thoughts felt very real and understandable to me. (Of course I can't tell whether their experience is actually described realistically.)
I also really liked the whole high school stuff but what made the book special for me (apart from having a gender fluid protagonist) was Riley writing a blog. The book played very well with anonymity and fame and Riley's varying reactions.
This book positively surprised me. I didn't really know what to expect from it. I didn't know what being gender fluid might feel like and I had my doubts when it came to representing it correctly but Rileys thoughts felt very real and understandable to me. (Of course I can't tell whether their experience is actually described realistically.)
I also really liked the whole high school stuff but what made the book special for me (apart from having a gender fluid protagonist) was Riley writing a blog. The book played very well with anonymity and fame and Riley's varying reactions.
tuvix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.0
kaylakaotik's review against another edition
5.0
Squee! I loved this book so very much. This is definitely my favorite book of 2016 so far (hey, it's still really early).
Like other readers, I also speculated whether Riley was a girl or a boy. Yes, it's human nature to be curious. Maybe society has tried to ingrain in me that a person is either a boy or a girl and there is no in between. I didn't need Symptoms of Being Human to know that a binary system for gender doesn't work. Humans aren't that easy. My point here is: what difference does it make? Whether Riley is a boy or girl is irrelevant to the story... actually, it's pretty irrelevant to anything at all. A person is who they are no matter their gender.
I appreciate that Jeff Garvin didn't reveal Riley's birth gender. I feel like it was a subtle way to deliver the powerful message that being a girl or boy doesn't define you.
Symptoms of Being Human was a fantastic book. I feel like there's so much more I could say, but other reviewers have said it better. I know this isn't much of a review at all, but I wanted to bring just a little more attention to this book. So many people need it and it deserves all the attention it can get.
Like other readers, I also speculated whether Riley was a girl or a boy. Yes, it's human nature to be curious. Maybe society has tried to ingrain in me that a person is either a boy or a girl and there is no in between. I didn't need Symptoms of Being Human to know that a binary system for gender doesn't work. Humans aren't that easy. My point here is: what difference does it make? Whether Riley is a boy or girl is irrelevant to the story... actually, it's pretty irrelevant to anything at all. A person is who they are no matter their gender.
I appreciate that Jeff Garvin didn't reveal Riley's birth gender. I feel like it was a subtle way to deliver the powerful message that being a girl or boy doesn't define you.
Symptoms of Being Human was a fantastic book. I feel like there's so much more I could say, but other reviewers have said it better. I know this isn't much of a review at all, but I wanted to bring just a little more attention to this book. So many people need it and it deserves all the attention it can get.
zeeeniiia's review against another edition
4.0
I loved reading a book about a genderfluid character; as I feel that they are always excluded from the majority of the LGBTQ+ community. This book was great and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I wish we had more of a backstory on Bec, but it was still a great read and I'm glad I picked it up!
-Zee
-Zee
jkherz25's review against another edition
5.0
I'm super glad this book exists. It high key hit home, and it gave an understandable and realistic experience of a gender fluid kid. I may or may not have cried. I also found it really powerful that we never found out Riley's assigned gender at birth. That being said, I had two main issues with the book: there was a lack of an overarching plot to hold together the book, and never, in an entire book about not fitting the gender binary, was there any mention of any character who used they/them pronouns. I understand the importance of there being no gendered pronouns attached to Riley, and I appreciated that, but why was there no mention of the existence of a gender neutral pronoun? Even Riley, when we see them with a minor genderqueer character, thinks of that character with the term "she -- or he." That just didn't make any sense to me, and in some ways I feel like it took something away from the novel. Still an amazing book though, and one that is very much needed.