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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
autumnruth's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Outing, and Transphobia
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
jaredt's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
"...You gotta use your grief or your anger or whatever to make things better. Got me?"
The cover signaled to me, so I picked it up to give it a go. I was very pleased with it. This story has well rounded characters, believable and engaging both with the kids and the adults.
I loved the dynamic between Ash and Daniel. Ash's own internal struggle with not just their own gender, but others who weren't quite lined up with the binary expectations was a neat struggle. I also loved that Ash also has synthesia, and how that shapes how Ash reads and interacts with the world.
Daniel is also a wonderful kid, and I loved the focus of his emotional journey, between his own sense of self worth and trying to juggle the expectations of his family.
Ash's mom is my favorite adult, and I really like how Tina's character is handled as well.
Overall, this was a sweet book, with nice introspection and dialogue between all the different characters (except Ash's dad I hate him). It does a good job at building the tension, and has well put together ending.
The cover signaled to me, so I picked it up to give it a go. I was very pleased with it. This story has well rounded characters, believable and engaging both with the kids and the adults.
I loved the dynamic between Ash and Daniel. Ash's own internal struggle with not just their own gender, but others who weren't quite lined up with the binary expectations was a neat struggle. I also loved that Ash also has synthesia, and how that shapes how Ash reads and interacts with the world.
Daniel is also a wonderful kid, and I loved the focus of his emotional journey, between his own sense of self worth and trying to juggle the expectations of his family.
Ash's mom is my favorite adult, and I really like how Tina's character is handled as well.
Overall, this was a sweet book, with nice introspection and dialogue between all the different characters (except Ash's dad I hate him). It does a good job at building the tension, and has well put together ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Outing, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Excrement, and Dysphoria
Excrement is in relation to the dog whotinytrashqueen'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
chibiloki's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
As a genderfluid musician who loves animals, I was naturally drawn to this book. While it's written for a middle school audience, it was still an enjoyable read as an adult. Ash, the genderfluid/nonbinary main character doesn't feel the need to lable themself, which is cool. Their assigned sex at birth is never brought up, something that worked well in this story. As they are in middle school and on puberty blockers, secondary sex characteristics don't leave everyone putting them into a box quite so readily as the world does to most of us. The ideas of misgendering and deadnaming were dealt with in an age appropriate way. Ash spends most of the story with some pretty black and white thinking about what it means to be a girl or a boy, from the clothes they wear to the words they use to what music they listen to. A lot of these ideas come from adults, especially their dad. Their revelation that both can be true is beautiful.
The other main character, Daniel, is a boy with a big heart who is constantly told he is too emotional. He and his twin brother have a lot to process, including their parents being on trial separation, and they handle it differently. Daniel and Ash bond over an elderly dog he recues. Their friendship and romance are heartwarming.
Overall a sweet, hopeful story about two teens helping a dog and learning to accept themselves.
The other main character, Daniel, is a boy with a big heart who is constantly told he is too emotional. He and his twin brother have a lot to process, including their parents being on trial separation, and they handle it differently. Daniel and Ash bond over an elderly dog he recues. Their friendship and romance are heartwarming.
Overall a sweet, hopeful story about two teens helping a dog and learning to accept themselves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Outing, and Transphobia