A review by leepetterson0
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
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 :)