Always the Almost

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ rounded down

This was such a cute romance with a newly out trans MC and a fantastic book boyfriend, centered around a piano competition. It's a truly YA read with its awkward characters, and the mess they get themselves into.

This was SO sweet, emotional, and inspiring. I really enjoyed getting to know Miles and Eric. This is a story about trans and queer joy, about reinventing yourself and trusting that radical acceptance of your true self will lead to joyfulness, even if the path is full of hurdles. I really appreciated that this story didn't shy away from some of the negative experiences trans kids have to go through both with friends, the institutions they navigate, and family dynamics, even as it was trying to keep itself a positive story. The use of music as a tool through which to reflect that journey of self discovery and introspection was really effective and moving. This book made me sad at times, but mostly it made me very very happy.

Strong YA “own voices” debut novel about 16 year old Miles, who is struggling to find his identity as a transmasculine boy one month after coming out publicly. He still pines for his former boyfriend, a football jock who dumped Miles when he stopped identifying as a girl. But he is drawn to the new boy in school who is unapologetically queer. All of this takes place as Miles is preparing for an annual classical piano competition, which he has consistently lost to “the biggest tool on the planet.”

Other than the Love Interest having no apparent flaws and a quickly abandoned “fake dating” trope, the novel feels very realistic, especially the internal changes and questions that Miles experiences after his external transition. His new piano teacher, a tiny Russian terror who pretty much steals the book, provides the only helpful adult advice, as his parents are nominally supportive but in reality ambivalent. Miles' struggles sometimes make him more self-absorbed than the average teen, but he gets his head out of his ass in time to make amends to his friends and the LI. The final piano competition is a note-perfect encapsulation of everything Miles has learned, musically and otherwise. Always the Almost is an excellent book for the #Trans Rights Readathon of March 2023, or for anytime you are looking for a queer book that is lifts up moments of joy.