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saracat's review
4.0
First, I want to thank NetGalley and Second Story Press for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
I greatly enjoyed this story. It is a very character driven story that follows the main character Ciel through the first few weeks of high school. The ending style was not at all what I normally except, especially for books aimed at younger readers, but, I think it was a perfect way to end this particular book. And while the ending doesn't suggest at a sequel, I do hope that Labelle will write about these characters again.
Many of the emotions and types of thoughts Ciel goes through are ones that anyone who is a teenager, or an adult who can remember what it was like to be a teenager, can relate to: how to make and keep friends, how much of your true self do you feel comfortable revealing to others, etc. Though, some of the specific things Ciel deals with are specific to those who identify as nonbinary or transgender.
Sometimes, in books that have a younger main character, they can come across as a child/teenager as imaged by an adult. However, I think Labelle did an excellent job capturing the voice of a teenager. Since Ciel is at that age when all people, even those who aren't exploring or questioning their gender identity, are still trying to learn and understand about themselves and others better, there is a decent amount of Ciel explaining about themselves and their identity. If they were an older character who already understood more about their identity, the time spent exploring Ciel's mind on identity might have made the book feel like it was aimed at a non-LGBTQ audience. But, considering the age group this book is aimed it, it feels more like it is a book that could help those who are trying to better understand their identity know that it's okay to question and that they aren't alone.
I greatly enjoyed this story. It is a very character driven story that follows the main character Ciel through the first few weeks of high school. The ending style was not at all what I normally except, especially for books aimed at younger readers, but, I think it was a perfect way to end this particular book. And while the ending doesn't suggest at a sequel, I do hope that Labelle will write about these characters again.
Many of the emotions and types of thoughts Ciel goes through are ones that anyone who is a teenager, or an adult who can remember what it was like to be a teenager, can relate to: how to make and keep friends, how much of your true self do you feel comfortable revealing to others, etc. Though, some of the specific things Ciel deals with are specific to those who identify as nonbinary or transgender.
Sometimes, in books that have a younger main character, they can come across as a child/teenager as imaged by an adult. However, I think Labelle did an excellent job capturing the voice of a teenager. Since Ciel is at that age when all people, even those who aren't exploring or questioning their gender identity, are still trying to learn and understand about themselves and others better, there is a decent amount of Ciel explaining about themselves and their identity. If they were an older character who already understood more about their identity, the time spent exploring Ciel's mind on identity might have made the book feel like it was aimed at a non-LGBTQ audience. But, considering the age group this book is aimed it, it feels more like it is a book that could help those who are trying to better understand their identity know that it's okay to question and that they aren't alone.
kappareads's review
4.0
Real rating: 3.5 stars
Read this review and others like it on my blog, Kappa Reads!
ARC received from NetGalley.
I've read Sophie Labelle's comics and so when I saw she had a book coming out, I had to grab an ARC.
This is a cute slice-of-life novel about entering high school as a nonbinary teen. I feel like the author really hit the uncertainties of freshman year well, with stress regarding coming out again to teachers, gender presentation, and keeping and making friends.
This book was really comprehensive in it's portrayal of being trans. Ciel, the main character, is half-Brazillain and nonbinary, but doesn't mind being perceived as feminine and will use Alessandra in classes. They're friends with Stephie, a trans girl who wants to go stealth in high school and later means Liam, a trans boy, who swims competitively. They represent a wide array of how people can be trans and I really appreciated that. Also, I think all of these characters are on hormone blockers, so I'm really excited that that was entirely normalized!
One complaint I had was that the secondary characters didn't have very fleshed out storylines and I feel there was more potential for that, especially with Liam and Stephie. Some dialogue and narration felt weirdly worded as well, but not enough to take away my enjoyment of the story.
I rated this book 3.5 stars! This is the middle grade trans book I've been waiting for, and I'm excited there are trans kids who are going to be able to read this!
Read this review and others like it on my blog, Kappa Reads!
ARC received from NetGalley.
I've read Sophie Labelle's comics and so when I saw she had a book coming out, I had to grab an ARC.
This is a cute slice-of-life novel about entering high school as a nonbinary teen. I feel like the author really hit the uncertainties of freshman year well, with stress regarding coming out again to teachers, gender presentation, and keeping and making friends.
This book was really comprehensive in it's portrayal of being trans. Ciel, the main character, is half-Brazillain and nonbinary, but doesn't mind being perceived as feminine and will use Alessandra in classes. They're friends with Stephie, a trans girl who wants to go stealth in high school and later means Liam, a trans boy, who swims competitively. They represent a wide array of how people can be trans and I really appreciated that. Also, I think all of these characters are on hormone blockers, so I'm really excited that that was entirely normalized!
One complaint I had was that the secondary characters didn't have very fleshed out storylines and I feel there was more potential for that, especially with Liam and Stephie. Some dialogue and narration felt weirdly worded as well, but not enough to take away my enjoyment of the story.
I rated this book 3.5 stars! This is the middle grade trans book I've been waiting for, and I'm excited there are trans kids who are going to be able to read this!
crystal_reading's review
4.0
This is a short and slice of life type of book. It’s a book that will be appreciated for the representation with a gender non-conforming trans main character with a close friend who is a trans girl. Ciel has typical jitters about high school and their long distance relationship. It’s a slow paced book that may be helpful for readers who want to see themselves on the pages of books and also for those who are interested in learning a bit more about gender identity. There are a few loose ends so the book seems a little less polished than I would hope, but It’s still a good book to have for middle grade readers. Though it’s about high school students, it felt like Ciel was younger.
msvenner's review
4.0
This is a lovely middle grade book with great representation for the trans and non-binary community. The book explores some of this issues trans and non-binary kids face without being preachy. I’ll definitely recommend this to students.
one_crazy_eliott's review
I didn't like the author's style and the mc was very defensive over nothing. They seemed to think the reader was automatically against them when I wasn't, it was weird.
mayormccheese's review against another edition
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? No
3.5
betweenworlds_she's review
- 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