Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Riley is a gender fluid teen living with anxiety. They're at a new school just trying to fit in when they start a blog under the name Alix. They write about what their gender means to them and the blog quickly gains popularity. However, everything starts crashing down on Riley when someone starts sending them anonymous messages threatening to out their true identity.

I temporarily received an ARC of this book and while a review isn't mandatory, I'm sharing my thoughts anyway.

Wow. This was really powerful–I know I'll be thinking about it for a while, and there were many moments that brought me close to tears. Still have to sort out my feelings, but this is an important book and I'm so glad Riley's story is being told. We need it.

The story of a genderfluid kid's coming to terms with themself as well as the world around them. It alternates between seeming very real and seeming very fictional, if that makes sense. Riley's (the main character) emotions and feelings definitely come across as authentic, but you're going to need some gloves to make your way through the kitchen sink of plotting.

I enjoyed this book and its' message, not that I know any better (if it is accurate emotionally or factually)

A solid 3.5 stars. As with any YA, the MC was a tad annoying at some points BUT when the MC is not annoying I see a lot of people saying the voice was not young enough. So basically, there is no perfect way to write a YA protagonist and make everyone happy haha.

Overall, I thought this book was very readable (which is super important for me right now, as there is so much on my mind) and informative. I liked how the parents were presented and many of the side characters were well-written and important as well.

Jeff Garvin has a new book out now as well that I just put on hold at the library. I look forward to reading that one too!