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A review by caseythecanadianlesbrarian
What Makes You Beautiful by Bridget Liang
4.0
Another hi-lo #YA novel, this one #OwnVoices and set in Toronto, about a trans feminine teen who is going to a new arts high school, one where there are tons of other LGBTQ+ kids. They start off identifying as gay, then move to using they/them pronouns, then to using the name Veronica. (Another great story about a queer youth moving from one identity to another! It's especially nice to see representation for a trans feminine / assigned male at birth character who's exploring a possible non-binary identity. )
They are accepted into a ragtag group of queer kids, who are fierce and adorable as teens who've come out in the Internet age with a plethora of possible identities open to them (one is a bi trans guy and another is asexual and homorantic; another as "local mixed-race, fat, crazy, queer girl"). I felt such affection for these sweet queer teens who are passionate about social justice, supporting each other, and performing arts.
While the characters representing oppression were done a bit heavy-handedly (the music teacher and the main character's dad), I didn't mind much as they didn't take up a ton of narrative space. I was so taken with Veronica and their friends, as well as a super cute romance with Veronica's fellow Asian comic book nerd friend Kyle.
I really appreciated how the book took racism in the gay community to task. It also mentioned quite a few awesome queer creators like Mariko Tamaki and real queer and youth organizations in Toronto. Such a cool introduction for queer teen readers in Toronto and beyond!
My favourite quote from Veronica:
"Kyle breaks the silence. 'So in a battle between Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, who do you think would win?'
'Neither. They'd team up and take down whoever pitted them against each other. Then Captain Marvel would ask out Wonder Woman.'"
Haha, best answer ever!
FYI, the current description on Goodreads is not the one on the back of the book, which does NOT use he pronouns.
They are accepted into a ragtag group of queer kids, who are fierce and adorable as teens who've come out in the Internet age with a plethora of possible identities open to them (one is a bi trans guy and another is asexual and homorantic; another as "local mixed-race, fat, crazy, queer girl"). I felt such affection for these sweet queer teens who are passionate about social justice, supporting each other, and performing arts.
While the characters representing oppression were done a bit heavy-handedly (the music teacher and the main character's dad), I didn't mind much as they didn't take up a ton of narrative space. I was so taken with Veronica and their friends, as well as a super cute romance with Veronica's fellow Asian comic book nerd friend Kyle.
I really appreciated how the book took racism in the gay community to task. It also mentioned quite a few awesome queer creators like Mariko Tamaki and real queer and youth organizations in Toronto. Such a cool introduction for queer teen readers in Toronto and beyond!
My favourite quote from Veronica:
"Kyle breaks the silence. 'So in a battle between Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, who do you think would win?'
'Neither. They'd team up and take down whoever pitted them against each other. Then Captain Marvel would ask out Wonder Woman.'"
Haha, best answer ever!
FYI, the current description on Goodreads is not the one on the back of the book, which does NOT use he pronouns.