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A review by aclopez6
Both Can Be True by Jules Machias
5.0
(review also posted on Netgalley)
4.5/5 Stars
In my middle grade classroom (I am a teacher), the only nonbinary character representation we had was through George by Alex Gino--which students loved, but also felt a bit young at times (it features a 4th grade protagonist). I was excited to see this book available on Netgalley!
The representation in this book is strong--our main character, Ash (Asher/Ashley -- our 13 year old genderfluid main character) is very honest and direct about his/her feelings towards his/her gender, and how they feel their gender presentation and innate feeling alternates, with their not having any real control over it. Ash has a fairly realistic family--Mom is supportive to the extent of advocating for puberty-blocking medication, while struggling with how to verbalize Ash's struggles (there is a passage were Mom talks about "taking time to decide", which felt a bit cringey, but added to the characters feeling honest and flawed).
We also have Daniel, another 13 year old, who is learning how to navigate his feelings, while feeling as though he is too emotional--despite his friends validating him and seeing his truth. This definitely opens up the opportunity to talk about how to navigate emotions, and how some genders are permitted more range and opportunity with how to express themselves. While this sounds more heavy, there is also an elderly dog named Chewbarka that our characters are seeking to take care of. All in all, I would recommend this be in all middle grade classrooms, and potentially 9th grade rooms. The writing was a bit choppy and disjointed for my preference (although it did support character development, so I am rounding up to 5 stars), so I am not sure I would want to teach this text, but I would certainly recommend to students for independent or book club reading.
4.5/5 Stars
In my middle grade classroom (I am a teacher), the only nonbinary character representation we had was through George by Alex Gino--which students loved, but also felt a bit young at times (it features a 4th grade protagonist). I was excited to see this book available on Netgalley!
The representation in this book is strong--our main character, Ash (Asher/Ashley -- our 13 year old genderfluid main character) is very honest and direct about his/her feelings towards his/her gender, and how they feel their gender presentation and innate feeling alternates, with their not having any real control over it. Ash has a fairly realistic family--Mom is supportive to the extent of advocating for puberty-blocking medication, while struggling with how to verbalize Ash's struggles (there is a passage were Mom talks about "taking time to decide", which felt a bit cringey, but added to the characters feeling honest and flawed).
We also have Daniel, another 13 year old, who is learning how to navigate his feelings, while feeling as though he is too emotional--despite his friends validating him and seeing his truth. This definitely opens up the opportunity to talk about how to navigate emotions, and how some genders are permitted more range and opportunity with how to express themselves. While this sounds more heavy, there is also an elderly dog named Chewbarka that our characters are seeking to take care of. All in all, I would recommend this be in all middle grade classrooms, and potentially 9th grade rooms. The writing was a bit choppy and disjointed for my preference (although it did support character development, so I am rounding up to 5 stars), so I am not sure I would want to teach this text, but I would certainly recommend to students for independent or book club reading.