Really, four and a half stars, but I round up. This was a delightful read. Will it break any new ground in the literary scene, no, but it will be an entertaining read to a bunch of people.

The bulk of the book deals with transgender issues so when I saw that my mind went on high alert. Luckily, all of this was written from a sympathetic heart. There were only a few scenes that I had to suspend my disbelief further than normal, but that’s what fiction is, right?

Overall, I would recommend this book. Especially for anyone who is pre-transition and is hesitant. This book is honest, and that’s why I hold it so highly. Sadly, a lot of trans related books I’ve read have either a good or bad aspect to them. By that I mean they are trying to argue one side without giving the other a chance. This book balances both. This is a really good book and a pleasant read.

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As an American though, I was a little lost on some of the references. But that’s my folly. :P

As a transgender young man I am very familiar with the concept and was disappointed on the use of wording in this book. The story was good but there were mistakes within the writing and familiarity of the term transgender.

One of the things that I disliked the most was the use of the word "want" when refering to gender identity. The reason it had such a negative connotation was because being transgender isn't a choice. You don't "want" to be the gender you "are" the gender inside.

It made it seem like the characters wanted to be the other gender but it wasn't their identity and who they were. If us trans people could choose and it was based on choice and wanting something then it wouldn't cause issues with mental health and gender dysphoria etc.

Hope that this review is seen and in future other books about being transgender as a teen has less ignorance and is better established.

I was surprised about Leo.
But it was a really sweet story, i could really empathize with the characters and enjoyed reading from both perspectives.
I do wish they had ended up together though, they would've been so cute (:

It was a decent enough story about a couple of transgender teens. I’m not convinced by the author’s understanding, however.

The information at the end recommends where to find out more and get advice regarding trans issues.

I really liked Leo's character, but the majority of the plot felt like it was clearly written by a cis author, for a cis audience, as other reviewers have written about more succinctly. I could've done without the very last person who showed up at Leo's door---it felt forced.

If any trans person was spoken to while this book was being written I’ll be extremely surprised. The trans girl is misgendered and deadnamed throughout the book even by people that she’s out to and most notably by a trans boy who she confides in. The trans boy she comes out to uses her identity as something he can ignore when he’s angry at her, reverting back to calling her her deadname when he feels like it.

Leo being transgender is used as a plot twist which only furthers my belief that no trans person was spoken to while this was being written. Being trans isn’t something you can or should use as a kind of ‘gotcha’ moment and doing so only contributes to the harmful rhetoric that trans people are trying to trick or deceive people, especially romantic partners.

The author also doesn’t seem to be aware that London isn’t the only place with Gender Identity Clinics, there is in fact more than just The Tavistock Centre. I couldn’t help but have a little chuckle at Kate saying that she should be able to get her first appointment in a few months, try a few years if you’re lucky.

This is the first book in my "read what my kids are reading in their classes" project. My son picked up this book one afternoon before classes even started because it was the first book his class was scheduled to read. He read the whole thing that day. I completely understand how that happened, and would have find the same if I lived the kind of life that had a few hours free in any one day... Or week.

I really felt for David, the main character, and Leo, another "not normal" kid as they tried to get along at the fringes of the school culture. I thought the representation of their environment was dead on, as sad as that is.

Overall: excellent book, and on a topic where it would be very easy to offend someone. Nicely written, while at the same time having a really good plot.

This book was very good from a story point of view, it was a bit predictable but overall charming and pretty okay. However, the worst part about this book is its use of language. The use of terms like 'wanting to be a girl' to refer to Kate (the trans female) sounded wrong from my nonbinary point of view. The thing that also confused me was the use of pronouns and names (referring to Kate again). I don't think it's reasonable she wouldn't use she/her pronouns with Essie and Felix, I know everyone's experience is different the language just put me off. All in all, though it was one of my first explicitly LGBTQ books and it was pretty alright.