I thought that this was super informative and a great resource for understanding gender. There was a lot of information I didn't know and I'm glad I was given this to read and better understand!

Everyone needs to read this. There are no exact words to simplify that.
It’s honest. It’s real and it’s important. I’m grateful to have read this. Thank you penguin teen for the free earc.

I received this book as an ARC from Penguin Teen. All thoughts are my own.

I learned a lot. Not just about the gender binary, but about myself...

"Like if you remove our clothing, our makeup, and our pronouns, underneath the surface we are just mean and women playing dress up."


Have you ever read a book that not only educates you, but also makes you more aware of yourself? This book. It definitely made me aware of the way that my own mind works in terms of the traditional binary standards. I've been very conscious about not assigning specific toys and clothes and activities to fit the roles of gender when dealing with my child, but while reading this I noticed other things that I do that can be potentially harmful. Vaid-Menon made me more aware of how the world is so used to doing things that are considered "socially acceptable" that they don't take into consideration the way in which they are ostracizing other individuals specifically those that identify outside of the gender binary. There were a lot of "ah ha" moments for me in this book and a lot of moments in which I realized that there is no way that I could ever imagine the amount of pain that non-gender conforming individuals experience on a daily basis. To have to work within the confines of a world that doesn't allow you to be yourself is taxing on the soul and of a person. One of the parts that really resonated with was when Vaid-Menon discusses how people have a willingness to tolerate those that identify as non-gender conforming, but can't even do something as simple as defend non-gender conforming people in public. Vaid-Menon uses references to identify how identities have existed outside the binary for centuries and how it's nothing that is new. Overall, I just feel like this book was too short, but it was so powerful. I also wish that resources for further research were included. I would have really enjoyed that as well. I can't wait to check out the rest of the books in this series that Penguin launched.

ALOK (they/them) is a writer, performer, speaker, and fashion icon! I found myself highlighting almost every phrase in their book tbh. Their book is part of the Pocket Change Collective. The #PocketChangeCollective are a really great collection of reads. Each book is short, but loaded with introspective personal stories and important conversations that connect to larger themes/issues.

This is a quick and informative read, a must for those with questions about what it means to be a gender nonconforming person. The author is free with their own experiences which, as a gender nonconforming person myself, really hit home. Thank you for granting me access to this title.