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random_being's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Outing
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, and Hate crime
c_dmckinney's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
The only reason I am not giving this a five star rating is because I absolutely hated how the original owner of Chewbarka was made out to be cruel for taking a senior dog with a deteriorating quality of life and fairly involved special needs to be put to sleep. He was wrong for lying to his family about what happened to Chewbarka, but I have a lot of sympathy for someone who cannot for whatever reason provide the right kind of ongoing care to an aging dog. Euthanasia is not always cruel or wrong.
That said this book was absolutely beautiful and I wish everyone with queer young people in their lives would read it. Honestly I would recommend it to everyone, maybe especially people who don't have (or don't think they have any) genderqueer people in their lives.
I found the author's exploration of understanding one's gender and gender roles very considerate and sincere. It was raw and tender and not too neat. It was compassionate to a perspective that I have never previously seen explored well at all much less in middle grade fiction.
This was a very sweet young romance set in the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of middle school where identity and fitting in is perhaps the hardest in any young person's life.
Also this is somewhat unrelated but I can tell the author spends A LOT of time in various online communities. There's a lot of language that is definitely not used offline. I found it terribly endearing, but that is because I also use online lingo offline sometimes.
That said this book was absolutely beautiful and I wish everyone with queer young people in their lives would read it. Honestly I would recommend it to everyone, maybe especially people who don't have (or don't think they have any) genderqueer people in their lives.
I found the author's exploration of understanding one's gender and gender roles very considerate and sincere. It was raw and tender and not too neat. It was compassionate to a perspective that I have never previously seen explored well at all much less in middle grade fiction.
This was a very sweet young romance set in the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of middle school where identity and fitting in is perhaps the hardest in any young person's life.
Also this is somewhat unrelated but I can tell the author spends A LOT of time in various online communities. There's a lot of language that is definitely not used offline. I found it terribly endearing, but that is because I also use online lingo offline sometimes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death, Misogyny, Outing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Animal death, Bullying, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail
alexutzu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
I am glad that I decided to pick this up. It was an enjoyable but emotional book that hit in many ways, covering a growing-up story of the two main characters. I really liked the support that the two provided for each other and the realisations that they both found out about. The friendship/romance part was cute and the story was wholesome and built in a nicely paced way. Many topics were intertwined, from the love for dogs to music, photography and synesthesia, from gender-related aspects to social expectations and diversity.
The novel had also some relevant and informative takes on parenting and self-development, which made me feel like it would be more interesting for young adults rather than for kids. I also felt that the art elements scattered throughout the book made the reading experience more immersive.
The novel had also some relevant and informative takes on parenting and self-development, which made me feel like it would be more interesting for young adults rather than for kids. I also felt that the art elements scattered throughout the book made the reading experience more immersive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Outing
blackberryjambaby's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Sexism, Abandonment, Violence, Misogyny, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Classism
citrus_seasalt's review against another edition
4.0
I can write a review now, I’m not in horrifying pain! Finally!! (I finished this while in the trenches of healing from my wisdom teeth surgery.)
I wish so badly I got to have this book as a middle schooler!! Ash connected with me so deeply. Like them, I was openly genderfluid in middle school, it took me very long to feel comfortable with the label “trans” because I wasn’t sure if that was actually me if I still felt comfortable being feminine part-time(spoilers: I use “trans” and “nonbinary” labels in the present day!), we both went through our own crisis of experiencing gender differently depending on the day but not being a label such as bi or pan so…how on earth would we address ourselves, and also, both of us perceive sound in a funky way!! (Ash clearly has synesthesia, I have no clue if I do, but sometimes I’ll be hit with colors mid-song, or flavor mid-feeling). Although I was a bit turned off by how long it took for Ash to not fit their different switches and forms of expression into different gender roles, half of that was justified by the attitudes towards their gender they’ve been shown(not saying it was right, there’s just a narrative reason for it), and thankfully, that was resolved by the end.
I also really enjoyed the character development! Ash and Daniel both mature as the story progresses, which is evident in the evolution of how they understand themselves, and how they can move on from their past. (With Ash, it’s their trauma, with Daniel, it’s taking responsibility.) I especially loved how Daniel’s emotional vulnerability/intelligence was handled, he sends a good message towards the readers of this book: recognize your emotions and feel them without ridicule, but don’t only consider your own feelings when others are involved. In the plot department, there’s not much going on, but Chewbarka was a good character to bring them together, and was very endearing, too.
My only other gripes with this story are that I felt pretty dysphoric reading Daniel’s POV for most of the book, he (unintentionally) frequently misgenders Ash as they try to make themselves more girly for him and it’s painful to read. I was scared for his reaction for when Ash came out, and thought I had some of that fear justified but I’m glad that his disappointment and anger didn’t come from Ash being genderfluid(..mostly), but from them hiding an important part of themself from him. For a middle grade, ”Both Can Be True” has a lot of heavy subject matter, which isn’t a problem but might make it harder to digest for its target demographic.
I wish so badly I got to have this book as a middle schooler!! Ash connected with me so deeply. Like them, I was openly genderfluid in middle school, it took me very long to feel comfortable with the label “trans” because I wasn’t sure if that was actually me if I still felt comfortable being feminine part-time(spoilers: I use “trans” and “nonbinary” labels in the present day!), we both went through our own crisis of experiencing gender differently depending on the day but not being a label such as bi or pan so…how on earth would we address ourselves, and also, both of us perceive sound in a funky way!! (Ash clearly has synesthesia, I have no clue if I do, but sometimes I’ll be hit with colors mid-song, or flavor mid-feeling). Although I was a bit turned off by how long it took for Ash to not fit their different switches and forms of expression into different gender roles, half of that was justified by the attitudes towards their gender they’ve been shown(not saying it was right, there’s just a narrative reason for it), and thankfully, that was resolved by the end.
I also really enjoyed the character development! Ash and Daniel both mature as the story progresses, which is evident in the evolution of how they understand themselves, and how they can move on from their past. (With Ash, it’s their trauma, with Daniel, it’s taking responsibility.) I especially loved how Daniel’s emotional vulnerability/intelligence was handled, he sends a good message towards the readers of this book: recognize your emotions and feel them without ridicule, but don’t only consider your own feelings when others are involved. In the plot department, there’s not much going on, but Chewbarka was a good character to bring them together, and was very endearing, too.
My only other gripes with this story are that I felt pretty dysphoric reading Daniel’s POV for most of the book, he (unintentionally) frequently misgenders Ash as they try to make themselves more girly for him and it’s painful to read. I was scared for his reaction for when Ash came out, and thought I had some of that fear justified but I’m glad that his disappointment and anger didn’t come from Ash being genderfluid(..mostly), but from them hiding an important part of themself from him. For a middle grade, ”Both Can Be True” has a lot of heavy subject matter, which isn’t a problem but might make it harder to digest for its target demographic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Deadnaming
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Transphobia, Animal death, Bullying, Dysphoria, and Outing
Moderate: Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Abandonment, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Re: animal death cw a big part of the plot revolves around a dog saved from euthanasia and whether or not they'll be able to successfully keep it from being found out. The dog does end up ok though! I was stressed not knowing so thought it might be helpful for others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Outing, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
aus10england's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
This was really sweet, I’ve never read a book with a gender fluid main character! I did feel that not all the characters felt flushed out, also TW for animal cruelty, made it REALLY hard to like one of the main characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Excrement, and Emotional abuse
sarahna's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Sexism, Animal death, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Transphobia
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, and Bullying
Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Outing, Animal death, Classism, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Grief