Symptoms of Being Human

I was interested in reading a book with a nonbinary (in this case gender fluid) character and chose this as it was in the list of banned books on my library app. In my opinion this book was terrible. I am guessing the author is straight. I am as well, but I think the author should have done more research about the lived experience of gender fluid people because I don't think it was a very accurate portrayal. The book never identifies what Riley's assigned gender was at birth which I found problematic. From people I know, a big part of their lives centers around their assigned gender and their actual gender. You can easily see that in the news with the fighting over what schools should and shouldn't be able to do in regard to lgbtqia+ students. It's a fight some students and their families have daily. I think some of the online harassment was more accurate but all in all, I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a book with a gender fluid protagonist.

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!

I wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. It has it's good and bad.
First, the bad:

The cover doesn't work for me. It reminds me too much of the Guess Who's Back movie poster, so I went into this with that already in my head. Publishers: covers really matter.

I swear “smile not reaching the eyes” is the new “biting her lip”. I'm over it. It appears here.

Riley is very judgemental. For someone looking for acceptance, they are very damning of other people (on sight, btw, because Riley expects everyone to approach them). In addition, Riley seems to feel that everyone either wants to fight or date them. Seriously? How about working on making a lunch friend first?

Riley has waaaaaaay tooo much freedom for a person who is recovering from “the incident” (sorry, my parent instinct is saying this is a no go). The high end private school seems weirdly absent in Riley's life too. Where is guidance?

The blog plot device did not work for me on multiple levels.

Now, the good:

Thank God for Solo. He saved this book. I think the odds of running into an actual Solo in real life at the exact time you need him is highly unlikely, but I was SO glad when Solo took the time to point Riley's self absorption out. The psychologist was also pretty on the ball. The parents were a little more present than most parents in a YA novel.

I appreciated the lesson on gender fluidity. I actually learned something and the book came alive for me a bit when the reader is brought into the community a bit. I wish we had met more characters.

Some of the bullying incidents felt real (notice I did not say ALL of them).

An important, thoroughly engaging read. While some found the protagonist too whiny and self-absorbed, I found Riley was a very believable teen voice. However, the novel is not without its flaws. Bec was too manic pixie dream girl for my tastes. And I think the author lost a big opportunity to introduce gender-neutral pronouns, and discuss in general how improper pronoun use can further harm trans and non-binary individuals.

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

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 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.