'Outside the Lines' is the story of Alex, a young college student who is doing his internship at a shelter for homeless LGBTQ kids and Socks the young gender fluid teen who enters his life.

I liked the character of Trin, and liked how Alex and Trin negotiate what gender might mean in their relationship ... but there were a few other things plot-wise that kept me from fully committing to the story.

I will be upfront and honest – I picked this book up simply because the blurb caught my attention. Especially in regards to Socks (Trin) and how they are referred to as “they”. I just had to read this because I wanted to find out about the “they” aspect of the story.

Needless to say – I was blown away by the story. Once I started reading this book, it went from a simple curiosity about Socks (Trin) to a need to know more about what was going to happen between them and Alex. I had to find out why Alex rejected them, and how the story was going to progress.

The twists and turns that Trin had thrown into the story was great. It really kept me wanting to read more, and to fully understand what was going on with Trin, and why they were the way that they were.

One major thing that I loved about this book was that Trin and Alex didn’t rush into anything. Trin set the pace and Alex was completely okay with going at that pace. Which is great because usually in books the couple just jumps straight into a sexual relationship – that wasn’t the case with this book. Both Alex and Trin grew into their relationship naturally.

Overall – this is a great read and I just couldn’t put it down.

I was provided a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am having trouble rating this book, and that's mostly because I wasn't able to connect with the characters. The blurb doesn't explain what this book is about, and I TOTALLY misread it the first time and when I read it back I was like, oooooh. The blurb still isn't going to help you though so let me give you a better picture:

Alex volunteers at a shelter called Trinity House. It's for LGBT kids and they are allowed to stay at Trinity until they are 18, but they are not just kicked out and left to fend for themselves. They are allowed to live with some of the workers, if they want. One day Alex finds "Socks" next to a dumpster and convinces the kid to go to Trinity House. "Socks" does not identify as either gender, and does not use he/him or her/she. Instead "they" or "them" is used, which completely confused me at the very beginning of the story. The blurb really should have mentioned this fact. Anyway, Socks lives at Trinity House until they are 18, and then asks to live with Alex. Alex says no, so Socks goes to live with Kim, one of the workers of the house. Socks goes on to college and becomes a therapist for at risk kids, and now goes by the name Trin. Trin is now 24 and has always wondered why Alex wouldn't let "Socks" live with him. So Trin goes back to Trinity House to talk with Alex. And this is the bulk of the story, them reconnecting and finding they love each other.

The story itself is well written, it was just an odd story. It was also short and there wasn't enough time to really delve deep into their relationship. Once they decide they love each other and want to be together, things move really fast. I will say I learned a lot from reading this story. To my knowledge I've never been faced with someone who didn't identify with either gender, so this was a true education for me, and I liked that part. And at the same time it felt more like an educational story than a romance. I wouldn't call this a romance, exactly. They are in love and have romance between them, but I got the impression the real focus on this story was a way to educate people.

I'm not going to say people should or should not read this. That's going to be for everyone to decide on their own, based on their preferences. I guess I give it 3 stars since I hate to not leave any rating. When I was done reading this book I was left with the feeling of "what did I just read," and "huh, ok then."

This was a very short book ,( 75 pages long), but still difficult to finish.

As I was reading because, the references to Trin as "they" & "them" confused me before I came to the realization that they were genderless/agender .

If I'm being honest, I thought this was an MM book when I requested for it but, even though it wasn't, it made me understand certain concepts that I wasn't really familiar with.

With that said, the writing didn't do anything for me. It didn't flow, the pacing was difficult to grasp and the characters were bland. I didn't care for either Alex or Trin or any other person in the story for that matter. I didn't believe in their connection and how they ended up seemed extremely rushed and a bit unbelievable ESPECIALLY given the sort of person Trin was. Trin, who wouldn't even allow Alex, the man they claim to love into their apartment on the first date, SUDDENLY agrees to move in with him the VERY NEXT DAY. And not only is Trin moving in with Alex alone but insists on coming along with a roommate and a little girl who she hasn't even adopted in tow.What does Alex say to this? No problem! Come One, Come All! Ugh. Totally. Un-freaking-believable.

Had it not been 75 pages, I would have DNF'd it. I just kept pushing myself to finish because I requested for it and also because I hoped that either a side character would surprise me with some liveliness or a plot twist would improve the tedious reading experience.

Unfortunately , none of that happened.

“I didn’t understand how someone didn’t have a gender but I didn’t question it either”

We take so much for granted in our everyday lives, be it gender, a home, warmth and even our name. This is a great story to tell to make you appreciate the things you do have, and not focus on what you don’t. Chances are that you still have a lot more than a lot of people. I loved this message.

What I didn’t love was that the author felt like she needed to treat us like we were stupid and remind us of that fact every few pages. In the beginning of the book it was ok, it had a purpose, but still going at it after 70% - too much.

Overall the story and message was good, but it lacked in execution.

I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review