A review by zefancifulreader
Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition by Maia Kobabe

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

“Some people are born in the mountains, while others are born by the sea. Some people are happy to live in the place they were born, while others must make a journey to reach the climate in which they can flourish and grow.
Between the ocean and the mountains is a wild forest. That is where I want to make my home.”

Wow. Ok. Let’s talk about it.

I read this book knowing only 2 things about it:
1. It was the most banned book in 2022
2. That it was a comic memoir about a genderqueer person

That’s it. So I launched in to see what I would find…
The more I read banned books the more I’m learning that when a book is banned it often means that the book makes the reader reevaluate how to see and/or think about the world. Personally, I think that’s the most cherished, important part of reading. I want to be shook, I want to have my perspective altered, I want to LEARN through someone else’s experiences.

Maia’s story is one of incredible vulnerability. It took me on a journey that I think will resonate with everyone’s awkward teenage years. Growing up is weird and I was so surprised (and ultimately appreciated) that Maia didn’t shy away from the awkward and embarrassing parts of eir story. I’ve NEVER read a book that actually talked about the internal monologues about crushes (or lack there of), the horror of periods, the constant “am I doing this right?”, the awfulness of pap-smears. It was too real at times but honestly, I think we need that. We need to talk about what ACTUALLY goes on in our heads, especially during puberty, instead of turning away and not addressing it.
It might make for a happier world and why would we ever want to stifle that?

As Maia discusses at the end of the comic, “I wonder if any of these kids are trans or non-binary, but don’t have words for it yet? How many of them have never seen a nonbinary adult? Is my silence actually a disservice to all of them?”.
I am so grateful that e shared this memoir with the world.

Side note: I also learned that the e/em/eir pronouns are called Spivak Pronouns. Learn something new everyday!! 
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