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olliereadabook's review
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? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Outing, Transphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Deadnaming, Bullying, and Abandonment
Minor: Toxic friendship
dlrosebyh'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? Yes
5.0
The current US Juvenile figure skating champion, 12-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, is not a fan of flowery dresses. As a result, Ana quickly begins to distrust the program's princess-themed concept when she hears about it. Ana makes an effort to remain focused on her training and creating a fantastic routine deserving of national triumph.
Ana's ideas about the princess program and gender identity begin to take center stage until she meets Hayden, a transgender boy who is new to the rink. Additionally, Ana doesn't confront Hayden when he misinterprets her for a boy and instead takes solace in her boyish persona while he is there. Ana learns that it might be challenging to balance two distinct identities on one slick sheet of ice as their friendship grows. And when a significant tournament draws near, Ana must choose if jeopardizing years of effort and sacrifice by disclosing the truth is worth it.
I have spent a long time looking for a novel with a protagonist that struggles with dysphoria, and I must say that this one did not dissapoint. This book would be the epitome of comfort, if comfort were a genre. I'm so glad this was written by a non-binary author and not simply someone who has a fetish for the lgbtqia+ community. Unfortunately, my eyes were too weary from reading to finish in one sitting, but despite having to put this down, I couldn't quit thinking about Ana's predicament and what I would do if I were Ana.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, and Deadnaming
studiolindsay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this story, and I loved all of the characters. I'm also so glad this book exists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Abandonment and Deadnaming
overbooked207's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
📖 Ana On The Edge by A.J. Sass Book Review 📖
10th book of January and 10th of the year:
I absolutely loved this queer sports book! The representation and the conversations/information about gender, exploring your own gender, pronouns and neopronouns, and more in it were amazing. I loved the characters, and it was a beautiful coming of age and coming into yourself story! I definitely recommend picking it up! TW for deadnaming, misgendering, dysphoria/social gender dysphoria, paternal abandonment/an absent father, financial worries, and transphobia📖🏳️⚧️⛸
10th book of January and 10th of the year:
I absolutely loved this queer sports book! The representation and the conversations/information about gender, exploring your own gender, pronouns and neopronouns, and more in it were amazing. I loved the characters, and it was a beautiful coming of age and coming into yourself story! I definitely recommend picking it up! TW for deadnaming, misgendering, dysphoria/social gender dysphoria, paternal abandonment/an absent father, financial worries, and transphobia📖🏳️⚧️⛸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Abandonment
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
hopeful
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
5.0
Oh my goodness I loved this adorable book so so much! Ana is working on figure skating, but the traditionally girlie routine, outfit, and music she is given don't fit her. She goes into a journey of self-discovery figuring out who she is and the nonbinary label that ends up working for her.
I really loved this journey. It was so real and emotional and even though it is a middle grade, I feel like it was very mature and dealt with Ana's problems in a very real way. I also really enjoyed the figure skating aspects of this book! I love Ana's friends, coach, mom! Also a gay figure skating coach and a trans friend! Love this one.
I really loved this journey. It was so real and emotional and even though it is a middle grade, I feel like it was very mature and dealt with Ana's problems in a very real way. I also really enjoyed the figure skating aspects of this book! I love Ana's friends, coach, mom! Also a gay figure skating coach and a trans friend! Love this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming and Abandonment
Minor: Sexism
kayladaila's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Abandonment and Deadnaming
Minor: Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
I absolutely loved this! Throughout, we see Ana struggling with identity and unsure what to do about it. Not only is this an authentic story about learning your gender identity, the way ice skating is represented is done really well. Overall, this is a strong middle grade novel and one that I would definitely recommend to people of all ages!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming
perpetualpages's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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
4.5
CWs: Misgendering, misnaming, allusions to transphobia and bullying, and contains multiple coming out scenes
Rep: Ana is non-binary, Chinese-American (with possibly some Hawaiian heritage as well), and Jewish
I'm so glad this book exists. It's overwhelming to think about how this story is going to affirm so many things for so many young readers, in ways we can't even imagine.
(First of all, Ana is trying out multiple pronouns by the end of this story, she/her being some of them, and those are what I'll be using to refer to her in this review.)
This is a masterfully told story of self-discovery on and off the ice. Ana's questioning of her gender is shown so organically, whether it be the mental double-take she does when her mom full-names her, or the way she hates wearing skirts during practice, or how she's intimidated by other skaters' ease in showcasing their femininity. She doesn't have the vocabulary to describe it, she doesn't know about labels or inclusive terminology, she doesn't know where to begin questioning it, but she knows enough to know that femininity doesn't quite fit.
There's also a nuanced distinction about how Ana doesn't "hate" femininity, she just doesn't claim femininity for herself. It doesn't mean "girly" things are bad or that they're not a part of her in some ways, it just means they don't define her. Ana is realizing that, yes, there are boys who like to sew and craft just like there are girls who love sports and video games. So why do we all put so much stock in "boy things" versus "girl things" when there are literally no rules?
These questions occur naturally in the story, which makes sense for a character so strongly questioning their gender. When Ana meets Hayden and realizes that it's possible for people to change their names and pronouns, she become fascinated by the implications of that and begins making space for herself to experiment with different expressions. When she realizes that her body and her personhood doesn't tell the story she always thought it would, that's huge for her.
Another aspect I love about the story is how it parallels skating performance against gender performance. There's this idea that when you get on the ice, you're "portraying a character," and then the more you lean into that role, the higher points you receive. And that's exactly how gender works as well. So Ana is wondering if she can disassociate from her performance in that way, but also questioning where to draw the line between acting and expressing, both on and off the ice.
My only note, if anything, is that I wish Ana got to take all those deeply internal thoughts about gender and put them into conversation outside of the coming out scenes. Most people, especially parents, have absolutely no knowledge of what non-binary even MEANS, which naturally leads to a lot of questions. (Keep in mind, I say this from my own experience.) But we don't really get to see that side of the conversation. Part of me is glad it's that way because I wouldn't want readers to conflate Ana's non-binary experience with "THE Non-Binary Experience" (whatever that is). But the other part of me sees it as ever so slightly idealistic.
There's just so much to love about this story. It's incredibly rich and layered, and Ana's character progression is so well done. A.J. Sass does such a good job of building a safe, supportive environment for Ana to explore herself and express herself, and even though we don't get all the answers, we are given every reason to hope for her.
Very eager for this one to come out in the fall and I highly recommend it for readers of all ages!
Rep: Ana is non-binary, Chinese-American (with possibly some Hawaiian heritage as well), and Jewish
I'm so glad this book exists. It's overwhelming to think about how this story is going to affirm so many things for so many young readers, in ways we can't even imagine.
(First of all, Ana is trying out multiple pronouns by the end of this story, she/her being some of them, and those are what I'll be using to refer to her in this review.)
This is a masterfully told story of self-discovery on and off the ice. Ana's questioning of her gender is shown so organically, whether it be the mental double-take she does when her mom full-names her, or the way she hates wearing skirts during practice, or how she's intimidated by other skaters' ease in showcasing their femininity. She doesn't have the vocabulary to describe it, she doesn't know about labels or inclusive terminology, she doesn't know where to begin questioning it, but she knows enough to know that femininity doesn't quite fit.
There's also a nuanced distinction about how Ana doesn't "hate" femininity, she just doesn't claim femininity for herself. It doesn't mean "girly" things are bad or that they're not a part of her in some ways, it just means they don't define her. Ana is realizing that, yes, there are boys who like to sew and craft just like there are girls who love sports and video games. So why do we all put so much stock in "boy things" versus "girl things" when there are literally no rules?
These questions occur naturally in the story, which makes sense for a character so strongly questioning their gender. When Ana meets Hayden and realizes that it's possible for people to change their names and pronouns, she become fascinated by the implications of that and begins making space for herself to experiment with different expressions. When she realizes that her body and her personhood doesn't tell the story she always thought it would, that's huge for her.
Another aspect I love about the story is how it parallels skating performance against gender performance. There's this idea that when you get on the ice, you're "portraying a character," and then the more you lean into that role, the higher points you receive. And that's exactly how gender works as well. So Ana is wondering if she can disassociate from her performance in that way, but also questioning where to draw the line between acting and expressing, both on and off the ice.
My only note, if anything, is that I wish Ana got to take all those deeply internal thoughts about gender and put them into conversation outside of the coming out scenes. Most people, especially parents, have absolutely no knowledge of what non-binary even MEANS, which naturally leads to a lot of questions. (Keep in mind, I say this from my own experience.) But we don't really get to see that side of the conversation. Part of me is glad it's that way because I wouldn't want readers to conflate Ana's non-binary experience with "THE Non-Binary Experience" (whatever that is). But the other part of me sees it as ever so slightly idealistic.
There's just so much to love about this story. It's incredibly rich and layered, and Ana's character progression is so well done. A.J. Sass does such a good job of building a safe, supportive environment for Ana to explore herself and express herself, and even though we don't get all the answers, we are given every reason to hope for her.
Very eager for this one to come out in the fall and I highly recommend it for readers of all ages!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Bullying
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