A review by whpltab
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The main character of The Pants Project is a closeted trans boy called Liv. He’d known he was trans for a while, but was scared to come out to his family or his best friend, Marcie. Having just started middle school, Liv has to deal with the cruelty of children, especially Jade, a stereotypical mean girl who has turned most of the grade against Liv, including his former best friend. Other than Jacob, one of the most popular boys in his grade, and one of the kindest, Liv has basically no-one at school. Jade makes fun of Liv for being boyish, and for having two moms, making jabs about how everyone has a dad except her.

But, one of the worst parts of middle school, for Liv, is that girls are only allowed to wear skirts. Liv hates skirts. They make him feel weird, and anxious. Unfortunately, other than Liv, no one really cares about the dress code, especially not the principal, who claims to understand her, but won’t even look at changing the dress code because there are, “more important things to worry about.”

Faced with these obstacles, Liv, Jacob, Jacob’s friends, and a shy girl in their class named Marion stage a protest at their school, calling in Jacob’s dad, who is a photographer, and a bunch of reporters to their school to watch and record the school’s reaction to the girls wearing pants and the boys wearing skirts.

I really enjoyed how Cat Clarke showed that even in middle school, kids can struggle with being themselves, and making friends.

Marcie was so desperate to fit in, that she left her best friend for the bullies, and went along with almost every taunt and insult they threw at Liv, and at Liv’s moms, despite the fact that Liv’s moms had treated Marcie like family. It wasn’t entirely her fault, because the pressure of fitting in had gotten to her, and in the end, she chose the right side, but the struggle is still shown.

I also liked how Liv isn’t perfect. He has a temper, and has to remind himself not to punch Jade in the face many times. Marion is another outcast in Liv’s class, but unlike Liv, she appears to have no friends, always sitting alone, and eating alone. Despite Marion being Jade’s other punching bag,

Liv avoids Marion, thinking that she’s weird. He basically did the same thing that everyone else was doing to Marion, despite knowing how it felt. Liv finally realizes what he’s doing, and apologizes to Marion, who is more than willing to aid Liv and Jacob with the Pants Project.

In the end, the Pants Project is a story about accepting yourself, even if others don’t.