This is a difficult book to give feedback on, because while there were things I really loved about it, there were also several things I had issues with.
The basic premise of the book is that our main character Aleks/Alexis is a bigender teen who moves in with her Aunt and Uncle to get away from some trauma in their past. However the twist in this particular tale is that her Uncle is a Catholic priest who converted several years ago, and he and his wife do not support or understand Aleks/Alexis since they began living as a bigender queer person. Determined to leave the past behind, Aleks/Alexis agrees to living by their strict rules , but when they happen to overhear some of the parishoner's confessions they decide to try and help, until a shocking confession reveals a dark and criminal secret with the power to destroy lives.
First up, the good. I loved the fact that the book has a bigender main character, and that it explains very clearly what it is like to live when that switch is outside your control. Aleks/Alexis is a well developed character, and as their backstory is revealed it poses some interesting questions about gender identity, consent and cyberbullying for the reader to ponder.
Now for the bad. The central idea of having a character overhear the confessions is extremely unlikely, most are still held in sealed confessional boxes with screens to ensure privacy for both the priest and the petitioner. and certainly not in rooms with vents into the living space of the priest. Incidentally most Catholic churches do not have the priest's home attached, its a completely separate building. I also found the lack of growth of Aleks/Alexis to be a problem, they made sweeping assumptions over and over again, and never seemed to learn to step back, slow down and think clearly. I also thought that the conclusion of the book was a little over dramatic, which strained the credibility of the whole thing.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

Somebody told me this book had a non-binary MC, and honestly, that was all I needed to know. The rep was unlike anything I've read before and I loved it. It was a very prominent part of the book as well, because Aleks/Alexis changes gender quite frequently, and they discussed their gender feels a lot, which was amazing to see represented.

I did feel like this book was really slow to start. Halfway into it, I still had no clue what direction the book would take, or what exactly the plot was.

That said, the tone of the book really appealed to me, and I had a really hard time putting it down. So despite the plot being slow to start, it was a very quick and engaging read.

CWs: trauma, pedophilia, murder, abuse, sexual assault, (internalized) transphobia, misgendering, (internalized) homophobia, fetishization, bullying, menstruation

TW: homophobia (internalized as well), transphobia (internalized as well), misgendering, pedophilia (off page, talked about), sexual assault (off page, talked about)

SOMEBODY TOLD ME is more than anything, a story of abuse and survival. Due to events that happened with Aleks/Alexis’ friends, they live with their Catholic aunt and uncle for the summer. Their uncle is aa Catholic priest and Aleks/Alexis soon realizes their room is right next to the confessional booth. They overhear something they weren’t supposed to hear in the Confessional, and after being disappointed with their uncle’s response, they must find the confessor and bring them to justice.

Aleks/Alexis is bigender and queer, an aspect that often comes into conflict with their conservative aunt and uncle. Their trauma is tied to their being trans, which makes their experience with gender very messy, which I appreciate. Nonbinary identities are rarely mentioned in books, and I’m glad this book and show that nonbinary identities aren’t so cut and dry. Their experience with gender is more in depth than one day he’s Aleks and one day she’s Alexis.

More than anything, this book is about trauma and survival, even more so than the confessional booth part. This book is about the trauma the Catholic church has inflicted on people as well as the trauma Alexis/Aleks endured at the hands of their friends. It’s messy, but important, especially as Aleks/Alexis’ trauma is related to convention/cosplay culture, something I feel like often goes unsaid.

My main issue was the book was the pacing felt off in the beginning and the plot regarding the mystery confession hinged on a lot of miscommunication and assumptions. It's just a trope I'm not a fan of, even if I recognize it was a part of Aleks/Alexis' growth.

3.5 stars! I feel like I may end up rereading this in the future, but it was overall enjoyable, even if the subject matter could be hard to handle.

I was excited to receive an ARC copy via NetGalley for my honest review. I really wanted to like this book, from learning what it means to be bi-gender, a new term for me, as well as characters dealing with trauma. One thing I couldn't get past was the biggest inaccuracy which sort of ruins a part of the big plot. Let me explain. Alexis/Aleks goes to live with his aunt and uncle after suffering some type of assault. They give you pieces of that assault throughout the book. Their uncle is now a Catholic priest after converting from Episcopalian, which is how the uncle is married. Alexis/Aleks's bedroom in the rectory shares a wall with the confessional and they are able to overhear confessions. This is where I struggled. Being Catholic, I know this would not be possible. Confessionals are ventless and soundproof so that type of thing CANNOT happen. It would have been believable to have been able to overhear counseling sessions from their uncle's office or something , but not a confessional. If this part of the story could be edited, I think it would be a more valuable story to share - otherwise I feel like if I discuss the book, I have to make the disclaimer, that that critical piece of the story could never happen.

Now that my biggest issue with the book is explained, overall I appreciated learning about Alexis/Alek and what is means to be bi-gender. Students struggling with their identities would appreciate another perspective. I also like how they worked to help others and in doing so helped themselves understand their own tragedy and themselves. Alexis/Alek's parents were extremely supportive, and although their aunt & uncle were not, I saw value in that transformation throughout the book.

SPOILER ALERT

I do think the resolution to the murder/kidnapping as a result of the sex abuse by the pastor was rushed to finish the book. I would have preferred another chapter or two to give more insight and allow for a slower pace in tying up all the storylines.

Overall a decent story, but wouldn't recommend unless the inaccuracies are fixed regarding confessionals which is disappointing because we need more quality LGBTQ+ stories for our teens.

I really enjoyed this book right from the beginning. I don't read a lot of novels that feature trans teens so it was an interesting chance of pace from what I'm used to. One of the things that I really enjoyed was how supportive Alex/Alexis' mother was in their transition, and how fiercely she stood up for her child against anyone even her own family. This gave it another nice change since I"m used to trans teens being oppressed in the few stories I read with them. This book starts off with a huge problem of Alex/Alexis dealing with their persistent and unexpected changes between genders, not being accepted by their family as well as them being sent to spend the summer with their aunt and uncle. While they are with their relatives they realize that their bedroom is right next to the priests' confessional and they are able to hear all of the people confessing their sins. Alex/Alexis decides that it is up to them to try their best to help the people who's confessions they
have unintentionally overheard. There were many things discussed in this book that really connected to me on a human level and made the characters really seem real not just an image from someone's brain. While the story was nice and light at parts it also covered on lots of dark subjects such as abuse, homophobia, and murder. This made it very different but a must read. I"m very glad that I got the chance to check out this book I would highly suggest it to anyone. I loved all of the twists in this book. Right when I thought I knew everything that was going to happen and was just trying to figure out what the author was going to talk about for the rest of the book I was thrown a huge curve ball that made me more invested and more confused about what was actually going on. Great read, so much better than I expected!

My entire childhood was spent as an active parishioner of the Catholic church. My grandfather went to seminary to become a Pallottine Father. He and my grandmother passed down the importance of faith, service, and ritual. I attended a Catholic school from kindergarten up through graduation. My weekends were spent in CCD (which my grandmother often taught). With her, I fundraised for the March of Dimes, gathered donations for the food pantry, prepared and studied to receive four of the seven major sacraments. When she died, so did my faith. I entered adulthood blind and agnostic. 
I requested Somebody Told Me because while I knew it would address the abuse that festered in some of our churches, I was interested to see an outsider's view of our faith. And like a protective older sibling, I had a reaction while reading. 
I'm sure every review will hash out the technicalities: that priests and clergymen live in rectories that are near the main church, but never attached. That confessionals are separate, non-ventilated boxes where confidentiality is key. In fact, it's most likely you'd never know which priest is hearing your confessions. That deacons (like Alexis/ks' uncle) are not allowed to hear confessions. That confession--or Rite of Penance, which it's never called in the book--is one of the major sacraments that all Catholic youth train for months to participate in, and follows a strict ritual that isn't an ad hoc event, but rather a scheduled service that includes steps: Confession, Penance, Contrition, Absolution. Alexis/ks overhears her uncle give ill-advised commentary and judgement, like a scolding, when Penance is really designed for the parishioner to lean in and be absolved of sin through prayer. 
I was disappointed that the main character didn't seem to respect the services, prayers or rituals. While the church seemed to accept her pretty quickly (albeit as Alexis), Alexis/ks' responses to their lives was flippant and entitled, while barely skimming the surface of Catholicism, and lumping all Catholic belief systems into a stereotypical box. I'd hoped for an internal arc that aimed to see beyond the surface of the Catholic church, and even if the main character decided that religion wasn't for them, that at least a newfound respect was found for those within the church who do lead with dignity. Not having secondary characters, Bernadette or Deacon Jameson, in this place was a huge miss.
As for those secondary characters, Deacon Jameson, Dmetry, and Bernadette's identities were reduced to their romantic storylines, rather than a more nuanced look at the origins of their faith: why or what they studied, took vows, and dedicated themselves to the church.
I'd say, overall, it felt like the main character was self-absorbed and had a major issue with privacy and respect, something I'd hoped they would have learned. And I'd hoped that the issue of pedophilia would have been explored while not reducing the Catholic church down to its ugliest corner.
I will not use the "Not all Catholics" line, but this felt unfair, especially in a time that diversity is finally having it's moment in young adult literature. If a book had been written like this about a marginalized religion, I would have faith that publishing would not have supported it. 
As a former Catholic, to say this book hurt me is inconsequential, as I'm an adult and have my own personal reasons I turned away from my church. I also know reading is subjective and not every experience is not going to be like my own. But as I reflect back on the good my grandmother, a devote Catholic, helped bring to my community, this book made me sad that the main character never experienced that. I have no problem with the main character addressing and fighting against the issue at hand, but in order to have a satisfying character arc, other viewpoints need to be brought in to challenge that fight. 
Sometimes, religion is less about cannon and more about the altruistic outlets and family it provides. It's a shame Alexis/ks' didn't see that.

I first found this book thanks to Dahlia at LGBTQReads shouting about it as the first YA novel with bigender rep. The way this rep was handled was definitely my favourite part, but ultimately the plot of the novel felt confusing and I didn't click with the writing style.

Aleks/Alexis has moved in with their strict Catholic Aunt and Uncle, to escape their old life after an assault. Choosing to present only as Alexis, they find solace in a new identity, Raziel. After discovering they can overhear confessionals from their room, as Raziel, they try to help others. But when they overhear a Priest confessing to assaulting an alterboy, they end up confronting their own assault as well as that of the priest.

I want to first talk about the bigender rep in this book, because I found it absolutely wonderful and you could really feel how honest and true the author was being to their identity. I think this book will really help a lot of teens in providing such great representation of a marginalisation not commonly talked about. I really appreciated the honesty of this portrayal and in addition, I have such appreciation for the portrayal of Aleks/Alexis parents as well, to really show how easy and effective it is to support someone's identity.

However, as much as I wish I loved this book, I just don't think it was my cup of tea. I initially really liked the stream of consciousness style of writing as it gave a really great, detailed look at who our main character is, and I felt I connected with them much quicker than usual thanks to this style. However it did get really repetitive and by the end of the book, I wasn't clicking with it at all. I also think the pacing was a little off. Until about 70% through, it's the repetitive stream of consciousness thoughts, very focused on who Aleks/Alexis is and how they feel, and then suddenly it's a thriller novel?? It was quite confusing and I didn't think it flowed well.

However despite that, I do want to raise my support for this novel because the bigender rep is fantastic and I am happy to finally see the less spoken about queer identities finally getting their chance to shine in YA!!

Aleks/Alexis is a troubled and complex character who is dealing with their own trauma while also trying to help other people after overhearing confessions. At first, they try to help people who are struggling, but by the end of the book they are trying to bring down someone who committed and awful crime that was being covered up by the church. Their inner turmoil throughout the book was a big deal and they had a lot to overcome, I think the topics of gender and trauma were dealt with delicately. I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book, just because 'enjoyed' doesn't feel like the right word considering the heavy topics, but it's an important story and I'm glad I read it. I would also recommend it to others.

AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH.
This book gave me all the feels and maybe the first book hangover I’ve had in a while.
I self identify as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, being bi/pan, so I am always looking for more books which tell stories about the community. Years ago, a couple of LGBTQIA+ members of a D&D group I was a part of were vocal about the need for there to be more books about Queer poeple, that weren’t soley Coming Out stories. That stuck with me, and I am so glad that it has started to filter through and become more commonplace in YA Lit.
This story was more of the second type; our main character Aleks/Alexis (him/him - she/her respectively) knows that they are Bi-gender, are out as Bi-gender to their family and friends. It’s not a coming out story. Aleks/Alexis moves in with their Catholic Aunt and Uncle - the latter of which is actually a Priest - following a traumatic incident which led them to cut off a significant part of their life. Spending a year away from the DRAMA; away from the people who were meant to be their “friends”; away from cosplay; and away from Aleks, seems to be the only way. Aleks/Alexis’ aunt and uncle are aware that they are bi-gender, but choose to misgender and misname them throughout the book, referring to them only as “Alexis” and our “niece” (the gender they presented at birth. Aleks/Alexis decides to pull back, to present as Alexis despite who they wake up as, in an effort to make the year simple and get through it. This obviously causes internal stress for them, which was at times heartbreaking to read.
I know the author's note should be at the end, but I’m going to drop some of it here, because it’s important.
Author’s Note: I wanted to write a book about the ongoing problems in the Catholic Church without attacking Catholics for their faith. I didn’t want to tarnish something that’s sacred for many people. At the same time, as a child safety advocate, I knew I needed to write something. I believe that if a person knows about a crime and does nothing, they are as culpable as the perpetrator.
Seriously, ow. This book in my opinion (not a Catholic but with a religious family and background), did a really good job of this. There were times where Aleks/Alexis did stand up for themselves and for other characters who identify as LGBTQIA+, and maybe they did ‘blame’ Christanity for some of the beliefs, but they also tried hard to make the choice to not judge people just because of their faith. The author did a really good job of making them huma; having them make snap judgements and realising (sometimes) that they were wrong and needed to be fixed. In regards to the Catholic Priest child abuse side of things - I agree with the author. It should NEVER matter what one’s Religion, sexuality or history is when it comes to abuse. That the Catholic Church can absolve people of sins such as these while not reporting them to the authorities is dead wrong.
This book was great. Basic Plot: Aleks/Alexis found that they could overhear confessionals from their bedroom. Hearing the Priest reprimand a woman for stealing to feed her children, while not offering to help her in any other way, Aleks/Alexis takes it upon themself to help - by finding her details online, making a CV and applying for jobs for her. Time goes on and they hear more sins, more things that they believe they have some ability to fix. Then things get dark. Aleks/Alexis overhears a Priest confessing to abusing a young teen, and their uncle basically says ‘you’re forgiven, try not to do it again.’ And all the sh*t hits all the fans.
I learned a lot in this book. There is a mention in the back of the book that the author wondered if featuring a bigender protagonist was the right way to go, if “people [would] be interested in reading about someone who identifies as me? And I felt the same fear that Aleks/Alexis experiences: what if I’m the only one?” While no one person can speak to the whole experience, own voices lit is so important, especially in YA.
This story isn’t simple, we don’t instantly fall in love with our main character. We can see their flaws before they do, and it was hard at points to not scream at them “LIKE DUH??!! WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS??? SAJVGDBwghku!!!!!!!!”
But that’s what life is about, what life is like, and how we grow. No-one can force us to make a change if we aren’t ready. We can’t always see our abusers until it’s gone too far; can’t see the addiction til we are at the bottom of the glass. It’s called growth and it’s important.

ALSO: COSPLAY! Yay for cosplay being a thing and not being like “ew, gross, nerd, geek, creepy dude who lives in his Mum’s basement”. I liked that Aleks/Alexis talked about cons and cosplay as if it were just a normal thing like playing baseball - because it is :-).
Content Warnings: hoo boy. dicussions of child abuse and grooming (no on-page explicit), sexual abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia, swearing, murder.
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars

I have never loved a character’s voice more than Alexis/Aleks’s.

Mia Siegert’s protagonist IS an actual teenager, not just the result of an adult’s research and distant memories and that bleeds through the page. Aleks/Alexis reach wrong conclusions, fantasize, have crushes, evolve in their thinking, have their own prejudices, actively try to be a good person, fight with adults when they feel their values and ideas are being crushed by someone else’s, they are insecure, they long for connection, they are unsure about the future, ...they were impossible not to love.

I was not so much a fan of some of the most technical aspects and I did have a huge problem with Alexis/Aleks’s crush who I just plain couldn’t stand and would have rather it hadn’t gone that far but I did really like most of the other secondary characters arcs and would have loved to know more about them.

This might not be the easiest book to read, I feel that there should be some trigger warnings in it for sexual assault, abusive relationships, homophobia, abuse of power and PTSD but I’m glad I read it and I’m really glad I got to learn about Alexis/ Aleks and about being bigender and having a relationship with a God that actually loves you for who you are.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carolrhoda Lab for this DRC.

This was a very stressful book to read. Aleks/Alexis's anxiety and inner voice were incredibly realistic, as was his/her issues with the Catholic Church.

I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it just fell very, very flat for me.

Synopsis:

After an assault, bigender seventeen-year-old Aleks/Alexis is looking for a fresh start. They voluntarily move in with their uncle, a Catholic priest. In their new bedroom, Aleks/Alexis discovers they can overhear parishioners in the church confessional. Moved by the struggles of these "sinners," Aleks/Alexis decides to anonymously help them, finding solace in their secret identity: a guardian angel instead of a victim.But then Aleks/Alexis overhears a confession of another priest admitting to sexually abusing a parishioner. As they try to uncover the priest's identity before he hurts anyone again, Aleks/Alexis is also forced to confront their own abuser and come to terms with their past trauma.

The premise of a bigender main character was actually something I was very excited about. This is the first book I have ever read that included a bigender character in any capacity, much less the main character. The importance of seeing Alexis/Aleks’ internal struggle was not lost on me, but I did find it to be a bit overbearing. The internal monologue going on had a tendency to muddle the storyline, and at times I actually forgot what the real plot was. I found this to be extremely frustrating, to the point where I thought about not finishing the book on several occasions. It felt like I was reading someone’s overly self-deprecating Tumblr diary and not an actual written novel.

There’s also a huge hole in the plot around which the entire book is centered: Alexis/Aleks is overhearing conversations in a confessional through the vent in their room. Realistically, there’s absolutely no way this could happen. Confessional booths, though not always completely soundproof, have no ventilation specifically for this reason. I knew this going into the book and I was able to suspend my disbelief through most of it, but it got more and more tedious as I made my way through the storyline.

Not only that, but after a certain point Alexis/Aleks seems to be purposely eavesdropping on these confessions, not just simply “overhearing” them, which kind of rubbed me the wrong way. A lot of Alexis/Aleks’ internal struggle seems to be with the fact that people are judging them for who they are, but they’re also very quick to judge others based off of things they aren’t even supposed to be hearing, as well. Perhaps there’s a reason behind it? I’m not sure, but hypocritical nuances like that tend to grind my gears.

There are a lot of references in the book to modern jargon (kthxbye? Really?) that I don’t think will help this book age well, as well as an abundance of typos, incomplete and run-on sentences, punctuation and grammar errors, etc. All-in-all I really believe this book could have been better written. *I noticed that my copy did disclaim that it wasn’t the final form of the book, and I really do think it needs another run-through with an editor to fix these issues.*

With all of that being said, I enjoyed the last 20% of the book when we finally got to the nitty-gritty of the plot. Even then, it felt a bit rushed and incomplete, but for me it saved the book and gave me at least something that I liked about it. I really do think this book would do well with a specific audience, but it just wasn’t for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*