A review by franuary
Symptoms of Being Human, by Jeff Garvin
4.0
*Update* After a lot of thinking and reading a few other books to calibrate my grading guidelines, this feels more like a 4 than a 4.5 to me.
Riley Cavanaugh is gender fluid. Sometimes Riley feels male, sometimes female, and sometimes somewhere in between (Riley describes this as a dial that can be turned to various settings). Riley isn't out to anyone and isn't comfortable presenting as the currently-felt gender, resulting in body dysmorphia. Combine this with starting at a new school, having zero friends, and pretending to be the perfect child on the Congressional campaign trail and it's no wonder Riley is having severe panic attacks on a daily basis.
On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts writing about these feelings anonymously on an online blog (a fictional version of Tumblr), and is surprised to find that the posts are helping other people. But someone has connected the blog to Riley, and Riley starts receiving hateful anonymous messages that feel increasingly personal. When the messages threaten to out Riley, Riley must decide whether to abandon the blog or be brave and come out on Riley's own terms.
I found Riley to be incredibly believable and sympathetic. Like lots of YA narrators, Riley is angsty as the day is long and has major anxiety issues. Unlike the malaise felt by many YA narrators though, Riley's feelings seem completely warranted given Riley's situation. Riley is going through some real friggin problems, and I loved that Riley's struggle wasn't glossed over or made okay overnight.
The book never reveals whether Riley is biologically male or female, and I thought this was an interesting and important choice by the author. It's also a little clunky in some areas. On one hand, it makes perfect sense that as our narrator, Riley wouldn't reveal a biological gender that Riley doesn't identify with. However, in some cases it feels more like purposeful omission than simple nonconformity. For example, Riley's prescribed campaign trail outfit plays a large role in the plot, but the specifics of the outfit aren't discussed. In general though, I felt the awkward moments didn't significantly detract from the overall message sent by leaving biological gender out of the equation.
I've read a few reviews that criticize this book for being "plotless." While I wouldn't agree with this summation, I would say that it's very character-driven. Riley's struggle with coming out and understanding gender identity is really all this book needs to be riveting; any plot added in along the way (and there IS plot) is just a welcome bonus.
Riley Cavanaugh is gender fluid. Sometimes Riley feels male, sometimes female, and sometimes somewhere in between (Riley describes this as a dial that can be turned to various settings). Riley isn't out to anyone and isn't comfortable presenting as the currently-felt gender, resulting in body dysmorphia. Combine this with starting at a new school, having zero friends, and pretending to be the perfect child on the Congressional campaign trail and it's no wonder Riley is having severe panic attacks on a daily basis.
On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts writing about these feelings anonymously on an online blog (a fictional version of Tumblr), and is surprised to find that the posts are helping other people. But someone has connected the blog to Riley, and Riley starts receiving hateful anonymous messages that feel increasingly personal. When the messages threaten to out Riley, Riley must decide whether to abandon the blog or be brave and come out on Riley's own terms.
I found Riley to be incredibly believable and sympathetic. Like lots of YA narrators, Riley is angsty as the day is long and has major anxiety issues. Unlike the malaise felt by many YA narrators though, Riley's feelings seem completely warranted given Riley's situation. Riley is going through some real friggin problems, and I loved that Riley's struggle wasn't glossed over or made okay overnight.
The book never reveals whether Riley is biologically male or female, and I thought this was an interesting and important choice by the author. It's also a little clunky in some areas. On one hand, it makes perfect sense that as our narrator, Riley wouldn't reveal a biological gender that Riley doesn't identify with. However, in some cases it feels more like purposeful omission than simple nonconformity. For example, Riley's prescribed campaign trail outfit plays a large role in the plot, but the specifics of the outfit aren't discussed. In general though, I felt the awkward moments didn't significantly detract from the overall message sent by leaving biological gender out of the equation.
I've read a few reviews that criticize this book for being "plotless." While I wouldn't agree with this summation, I would say that it's very character-driven. Riley's struggle with coming out and understanding gender identity is really all this book needs to be riveting; any plot added in along the way (and there IS plot) is just a welcome bonus.