Reviews with content warning for Outing - Obie Is Man Enough

middle grade contemporary featuring a korean american trans boy MC! there is a light romance with a cis latina girl
i guess i’m not sure how to talk about mg books? i’m so used to adult romance lol
i really enjoyed this — scarfed it down in a day
obie deals with a whole lot throughout this book, so it was hard to read in some places, but the support he has was also beautiful to see!
recommended for anyone who needs to read about an example of trans experience — the author shows us clearly how to support a trans boy

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maple_dove's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

3.75

I'm just having trouble with a friend. I think it's getting better. I just . . I guess I'm just worried being transgender is always going to affect my relationships.

I get that. And sometimes it will. But then those are not people you want to have around in the first place. Sometimes people need time, and I've had some folks really struggle when I first came out. But I have them their space (and set up the right boundaries) and we've grown so much closer. Some people still haven't budged, so I've had to leave them where they were.
If anyone makes you feel like you don't belong, that is on them. It is not on you. (Pg. 273)

LOVEEE THE INCLUSITIVITY!

This book also helped me deal with some internalized transphobia. It also got me thinking about dating in middle school. I guess in middle school, it's not really about age, it's about the people involved (ex. Are they ready for a relationship?).

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foreverinastory's review

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challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

The author reads the audiobook and Schuyler did an amazing job! I loved his narrator and this book so much. The author notes at the end really got me too.

Rep: Half Korean, half white trans male MC, cishet Latine female love interest, white trans male side character, cishet Korean male side character.

CWs: Transphobia/transmisia, bullying, deadnaming, misgendering, homophobia/homomisia, f-slur, violence, outing. Moderate: past mentions of suicidal thoughts, death, death of grandparent, mentions of war, toxic friendship, injury/injury detail, medical content (stitches), racism, dysphoria, grief. Minor: lesbophobia/lesbomisia, ableism, panic attacks.

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1979lwt's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.75

I LOVED IT and the little note at the end from the author to trans kids reading the book was AMAZING i mena the whole book i was questioning if i was “trans enough” because i had it different from Obie but omg the note helped so much

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cowboyrogue's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

schuyler bailar did a beautiful job writing this book. all of the characters felt extremely real. i often was able to feel my own hurt in obie's, and all of the struggles about loving his identity that he faced were ones i also found myself heavily relating to. this is a beautiful novel about identity, coming to terms with yourself, friendship, and learning to be confident. absolutely stunning. bailar's endnotes to his transgender readers hit home, and his note to cis readers was equally as important. hoping many cisgender people learn from this book and many trans people see themselves in it. i thoroughly enjoyed it.

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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fifireads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No

4.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Books for an advanced copy of this to review! I saw it on NetGalley and it definitely caught my eye. One of my goals is to read more middle grade LGBTQ books, and this fit that bill. And I’m happy to say I really enjoyed this one!

At the start, the writing feels a little rocky, since it’s a debut. But Bailar hits his stride about halfway through the book and Obie’s voice really shines through. In fact, Bailar nails Obie’s voice in this book. Part of this story is Obie finding his voice, gaining confidence and learning that he truly does have an amazing support system in place. It was great seeing a school that takes such swift action against bullying, becuase you don’t always see that in fiction.

While there is a lot of transphobia and bullying in this book (which is noted with a content warning in the beginning), it’s balanced well with Obie’s friends, parents, and teachers. They want to do what’s best for Obie, and I loved seeing that. His new friends on his new swim team absolutely have his back. There are so many of these great relationships in this book, and I would absolutely read this just for those. Plus, Obie learns to find his voice in writing, and this balances out the swimming really well in this book.

Obie is also part Korean, and his scenes with his grandma are so heartwarming. They make kimchi and talk about Korea, and these scenes are beautiful. There’s so much to love about this book, honestly!

The only reason this isn’t getting a full five stars is because the writing is shaky in a few places. But you can definitely see potential! I can’t wait to see what else Bailar comes out with, because this is a voice that needs to be heard in middle grade books.

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This had a bit of a rocky start, but by the end I was absolutely hooked by Obie's voice. Stay tuned for a full review tomorrow!

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