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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I thought this was a heavy but precious read about an 18-year-old senior year student who comes out to their parents as nonbinary. Mason explains that they needed this story when they were younger & I hope that young readers who may be questioning the road ahead in coming out to those they love find some hope and comfort in this book.
Are there challenging and heartbreaking parts of Benji’s journey? Absolutely, and I’m sure there’s still more to come as they grow up beyond the epilogue of this book (of what I’d imagine haha) but I really enjoyed this coming-of-age and reunited sibling story so much. I appreciated the representation of going to talk therapy, and normalizing medication, rather than demonizing and stigmatizing it.
Thank you for a lovely read and sweet characters who are trying their best, Mason!
I thought this was a heavy but precious read about an 18-year-old senior year student who comes out to their parents as nonbinary. Mason explains that they needed this story when they were younger & I hope that young readers who may be questioning the road ahead in coming out to those they love find some hope and comfort in this book.
Are there challenging and heartbreaking parts of Benji’s journey? Absolutely, and I’m sure there’s still more to come as they grow up beyond the epilogue of this book (of what I’d imagine haha) but I really enjoyed this coming-of-age and reunited sibling story so much. I appreciated the representation of going to talk therapy, and normalizing medication, rather than demonizing and stigmatizing it.
Thank you for a lovely read and sweet characters who are trying their best, Mason!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Transphobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
roxanned'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
4.25
Ben De Backer's story is necessary and important. It is also emotional and beautiful.
In this book important topicslike identity, sexuality, family, therapy, anxiety and how to recover from a terrible event are addressed respectfully and in a way everyone can understand them. It is about what it means to be nonbinary, people being different than expected and different types of love (among other things) .
I'm not nonbinary so it's not my place to say something about the quality of Ben's representation. The intentional imperfect portrait of their support system seems realistic though. Hannah, Thomas and Nathan are trying their best but also make mistakeswith pronouns and other gendered words . It is one of the possible situations that could happen in real life.
Deaver calls attention to things that make Ben uncomfortablelike gendered clothing, gendered toiletries, coming out , which shouldn't be an issue in modern society but they still are. Thus, the book invites reflection and discussion.
Overall a cute and meaningful story, that isn't romance heavy but has a lot to do with love.
In this book important topics
I'm not nonbinary so it's not my place to say something about the quality of Ben's representation. The intentional imperfect portrait of their support system seems realistic though. Hannah, Thomas and Nathan are trying their best but also make mistakes
Deaver calls attention to things that make Ben uncomfortable
Overall a cute and meaningful story, that isn't romance heavy but has a lot to do with love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, and Outing
lotoblanco's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
non binary-phobiapotion96's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Abandonment
megb64's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
nniamhh's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Abandonment
pineappleliquid's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
I really related to the book, and it was written in a way that made it understandable and relatable. It was also realistic, because event though not everyone gets thrown out for being queer, we cant forget about those that do. And to be able to have a story where this happens and to show the real struggles that we often face, its important.
The one thing i disliked a little bit is like how some of the conversations was written. Like, it sometimes felt awkward and unnatural.
The one thing i disliked a little bit is like how some of the conversations was written. Like, it sometimes felt awkward and unnatural.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Transphobia and Dysphoria
axel_p's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really like it at first, but after a while it got boring to hear the main character complain so much.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Vomit, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol
danielle2121's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? No
4.75
This was exactly what I needed right now, and I loved every second of it.
Me and probably 90% of my friends all fall into the lgbtqia+ spectrum somewhere so, sooo much of this book was extremely relatable in many ways, but also very educational too! I love learning new things about this beautiful community I’m in and I will never say no to a queer book about a non binary character written by a non binary author too! You could really tell the authenticity of every word written, it was wonderful to read.
Ben and Nathan please get in my pocket so I can protect you and let you be happy for the rest of eternity. I adore them both.
Me and probably 90% of my friends all fall into the lgbtqia+ spectrum somewhere so, sooo much of this book was extremely relatable in many ways, but also very educational too! I love learning new things about this beautiful community I’m in and I will never say no to a queer book about a non binary character written by a non binary author too! You could really tell the authenticity of every word written, it was wonderful to read.
Ben and Nathan please get in my pocket so I can protect you and let you be happy for the rest of eternity. I adore them both.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.25
this was heartbreaking but also it put my heart back together so nicely. i cried a lot while reading, especially the scenes between ben and their parents. their parents are absolute TRASH, and it hurt to see them mistreat ben. there is a romance subplot (and it made my heart very happy!!), but it’s not the main focus.
⚠️: transphobia, panic attacks/disorders, homophobia, emotional abuse, abandonment, child abuse, religious bigotry, disordered eating, grief, mental illness, dysphoria, suicidal thoughts
⚠️: transphobia, panic attacks/disorders, homophobia, emotional abuse, abandonment, child abuse, religious bigotry, disordered eating, grief, mental illness, dysphoria, suicidal thoughts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Dysphoria