i would describe this book as a large bag of groceries that someone has just dropped in the parking lot. the stunning and instantaneous transformation of the carton of eggs and the bottle of wine from food into mess, while the box of pasta is dented at the corner and the loaf of bread is just laying on the pavement ten feet away, plastic spattered with wine but good as new. a pang of sympathy for the person who's standing bemused in the middle of the it. and a touch of relief that this isn't your mess to clean up.

"uncanny valley" is another way to put it. some things Garvin does really, really well---the particular anxieties of having a blog and communicating with other people online jumped out at me. and then... every time there's an opportunity for Riley's parents to misgender them, they handle it like pros, which is necessary to further the gimmick of never specifying Riley's assigned gender. and the trans support group scenes were truly bizarre, getting it wrong on basically every level possible. they didn't even do a pronoun go-round at the top, for chrissake. (if you're curious about what trans support groups are really like, that scene in [b:Refuse|12685513|Refuse|Elliott DeLine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1368425906l/12685513._SY75_.jpg|15968782], also reprinted as a short story in [b:The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard|15713728|The Collection Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard|Tom Léger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347857275l/15713728._SX50_.jpg|21382135], is painfully on the nose.)

i cannot say i recommend this to anyone. but when someone has just dropped a large bag of groceries on concrete, sometimes you just want to stop and take it all in. ( )

I read this on my granddaughter's strong recommendation. It was an easy read (YA fiction) but the topics were substantive.
Gender dysphoria, transgenderism, empathy, compassion, courage.
I look forward to talking with my GD about the books, its themes, and it' place in her community. ( )

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!! Oh, this was excellent! I feel like I've read a few books recently that have represented an underrepresented point of view but have been annoying or poorly written, but this book was EXCELLENT, a lot of fun to read, a fantastic story with compelling characters and a clear plotline, and it did a superb job of portrarying a genderfluid character, which is a perspective I don't see in many YA books. Oh, I am just so excited about how beautifully this was done. Thank you, Garvin, I'm so excited to read more of your work. ( )

I greatly enjoyed the book. I found Riley to not be the most likable protagonist at the start, but I recognized that a large part of that was where they started and that they would grow, which they did, exceptionally. The one thing I wish I had had some warning about was the assault, which was jarring for me and could be very triggering for some people. I did feel that it was handled with care, however, with the fact that we don't get many details and the story quickly moves on to the aftermath. I would still recommend giving anyone you recommend this book a heads up about it. Overall, I feel that the book gives some great insight into some aspects of life that genderfluid people encounter. ( )

So many things happen when you are a human. No one tells you about how hard it is to walk on a planet where you do not feel like yourself. That is what this book is all about.