Publication Date: February
2, 2016
Hardcover, 352 pages, Balzer
+ Bray
Genres: YA, Contemporary, LGBT
The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a
boy, or am I a girl?
Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And
gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The
thing is…Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and
having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange
County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called
“normal” life.
On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to
vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a
gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even
developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an
unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley
must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends,
a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.
My Review
First
off, this book is a touching story. There’s no doubt about it. It’s also an
incredible piece of literature when it comes to analyzing why we as human
beings care about other people’s desires, lives, looks, etc. so freakin’ much.
Garvin has managed to create a story that should have every reader questioning
his/her thoughts, hopefully, for the better.
This
book is told from Riley Cavanaugh’s point of view. As the description says,
Riley is gender fluid, some days Riley identifies as a boy, sometimes a girl.
While I know there are plenty of people in the world who struggle with the
binary gender system society has forced upon them, I have never read a book in
a character’s head who has this dilemma. And, honestly, reading about Riley and
the struggles happening within Riley’s family had me seriously questioning my
own actions.
I’ve
always thought of myself as an accepting person. People can wear what they
want, be who they want, etc., with the only limitation being that someone’s
actions can’t interfere with another person’s rights. This book had me truly
second-guessing how progressive I actually was, simply because I kept wanting
to know Riley’s sex. I would have to remind myself that Riley’s body didn’t
matter to the storyline. Only Riley’s heart and voice ability were what
mattered. And I hope that’s what Garvin was trying to get at by writing this
story: that no matter if you have questions about someone else’s lifestyle
choices, you should always recognize that the only thing that truly matters is
what’s on the inside.
While
this book had a fantastic message, there were a couple of problems I had with
it. Mostly these problems just dealt with the pacing and convenience of some of
the happenings in the plot. Oftentimes, events just happened way too quickly
when they should have been flushed out a little more. Also, towards the end,
Riley’s journey took a very monumental turn that came out of nowhere and wasn’t
as delved into as deeply as I feel would have been realistic. Even Riley’s blog
gets a little too popular a little too quickly to be 100% lifelike.
All
in all, this book is a great story about not being defined by what’s on the
outside, and I commend Garvin for writing Riley’s voice so well.
*Note: I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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