Thank you so much to the publisher, Penguin Teen / Dial, for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my favorite read of the month, I LOVE IT!

I loved every second while reading this book. Spencer is such a lovable character who I was rooting for the entirety of the book. I had SO many reactions while reading this book: laughing, smiling, squealing at adorable moments between characters, tearing up at sad parts, leaning on the edge of my seat during intense soccer games and so many more! I fell in love with this story from the first chapter and I already want to go back and reread this amazing story.

The conversations on transgender rights (and basic human rights at that) were interwoven into this story to provide a more serious undertone to the story. It made me so angry and sad to watch Spencer and other characters in the book be treated differently for how they identify which can be applied to LGBTQIA+ people in real life as well which breaks my heart.

I love the support that Spencer's family has for him and his ADORABLE little brother! Those were some of my favorite moments when Spencer was with his family. I was also shocked by how invested I was in the soccer aspect of this book. I'm not someone who likes reading about or watching any kind of sport but I was so invested in the soccer parts of this book, I loved it!

Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is such a good story and one that I will cherish for a lifetime. I simply adore this story and implore everyone to get a copy of it ASAP!

CW: transphobia, homophobia, religious fanaticism, mentions of: past bullying, death threats, school lockdown, addiction, drug overdose, death of child

The Passing Playbook is a heartfelt and emotional young adult novel. There are certainly difficult and gut wrenching moments, but there are also incredible joys and triumphs as well. I especially loved the friendships and family relationships featured in the book and how they supported Spencer as he advocated for himself and others. Isaac Fitzsimons balanced the serious moments very well and I could feel how much care and love went into this story. I appreciated that the romance between Spencer and Justice never overshadowed the overall message of the book and that it showcased how each individual can be at a different stage in their journey and that's OK. How everyday acts of courage can be impactful and inspiring. I really enjoyed this thoughtful feel good novel and its exploration and celebration of transness.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

Isaac Fitzsimons' "The Passing Playbook" is an adorable romance that breaks into more queer spaces with a desperately needed voice: BIPOC transgender characters.

I sped through this book in a day. This book is easy to read, but doesn't shy away from the tough realities of being a transgender kid — even after you've transitioned. All the characters have a vital role to play in the plot. Our main character, Spencer, is such a fascinating character. The reader can see him make mistakes and missteps, not because he's queer, but because he's a kid trying to find his place in the world and figure out things on his own. His romantic interest, Justice, explores what it means to be queer in a deeply religious family, something I related to and felt was accurately depicted.

While this story is beautifully crafted and a great intersection of sports and athletics, I do have a few complaints. Some of the characters, mainly Riley and Theo, feel more like plot devices than their own person. Their purpose in the story is to help Spencer grow, but their personalities feel so boiled down that they could just be described as queer and autistic, respectively. I wish there had been more build-up around these characters because they held so much potential, instead of feeling like Spencer used them for his own development.

Secondly, I wish there had been more exploration into what it meant to be Black and transgender. This was a great opportunity to delve into the unique problems Black transgender kids face, but it all felt very surface-level. It was, I admit, refreshing to read a book where our main character didn't have to worry about their race; but Black transgender people are some of the most targeted people for hate, and it would have been fascinating to delve into that.

But overall, "The Passing Playbook" is a deeply needed voice in queer literary spaces. A beautiful read I can't wait to recommend to people!

An absolutely delightful LGBTQ+ themed book about acceptance, finding your voice, and first love. This story features a trans teen who is figuring out how to be his true self. I loved his supportive family and friend group and you really just want to cheer for Spencer throughout this whole book. Some things were a little too "neatly wrapped up," but overall a joyful story.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this incredible book!

I absolutely loved The Passing Playbook! It is a super sweet contemporary YA novel, in which the main character, Spencer, is a gay trans boy who ultimately has to make a choice about whether to come out as trans to his friends at his new school. He is very afraid to come out again, since he was bullied at his old school, and he is concerned that he will lose all the friends he has made if they find out he is trans. Spencer just wants to live his life and be happy, but he has constant challenges to deal with, especially when it comes to playing on the boys' soccer team. This book is incredibly timely and deals with serious issues in a way that is respectful and serious but also sweet and light-hearted. The developing romance between Spencer and Justice is adorable, and the way Spencer interacts with his other friends and his family is just so sweet and heartfelt. The writing style is fast-paced and easy to read, and the story is just incredibly heartwarming. I really loved all the characters, and while the plot was predictable, I wasn't bothered by it because I felt a connection to the characters and their lives.

I highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA and anyone who enjoys heartwarming stories!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet and I really loved that all of Spencer’s friends were so supportive of him. I kept waiting for the fallout, when the friend or teammate or coach would show that they were actually horrible and transphobic, but it didn’t come, and that was a really nice change.

This is the kind of YA contemporary that keeps me returning to them, even if it isn't all that often. Isaac Fitzsimons expertly juggles Spencer's story -- a story about soccer and fitting in and flirting and being a teenager. The biggest selling point for me was the soccer aspect as I played throughout school myself and am always looking for something to capture my love for the sport. Spencer gets it.

Spencer also happens to be a queer, trans boy, who's just trying to pass as cis at this new private school after a life-threatening event at his former high school. Making the team, and becoming integral to it, wasn't part of the plan. Neither was catching feelings for the cute boy from an uber religious family.

There are so many ways Fitzsimons could've played up the drama of a situation, but at almost every turn he goes for a more realistic and human response. People mess up, they get angry, and sometimes that leads to growth. There's a baseline of hopefulness to Spencer's story -- for change, for the future, for people -- that deepens the emotional resonance. I am so thankful The Passing Playbook exists.

When Spencer starts over at a new high school, he’s faced with a tough decision: should he come out as trans or stay under the radar? After leaving his last school because of bullying, the latter seems the safest, especially once he joins the boy’s soccer team, whose star player is a member of a notoriously conservative church (and who Spencer might just have a massive crush on). But when Spencer is told the league won’t let him play because of the “F” on his birth certificate, he must make a choice: sit out the season on the sidelines or come out to everyone and stand up for his rights.

This book wasn’t perfect, but it is so, so important. Trans teens face so many roadblocks even beyond legislation that prohibits them from playing sports, and THE PASSING PLAYBOOK touches on quite a few of them: figuring out how to use the bathroom in public spaces, navigating your relationships with loved ones who cannot fathom what you’re going through, and feeling pushback even from even your own local LGBTQ+ community. But even though this book points out so many of the hardships trans youth face, it is also so full of acceptance. Spencer’s story is told so, so lovingly. He is surrounded by wonderful people who love him for who he is and will stand by him through all the hardships he encounters. I loved his relationship with his parents, his brother, his teammates, and Justice, the team’s star player who doesn’t seem to like him much at first but who he falls for anyway. This book gives a beautiful blueprint for how to love and support the trans people in your life and your community, and that’s something we all can benefit from.

What I am saying is: Everyone should read this book.

Fifteen-year-old, biracial Spencer moves to a new private school, Oakley, to start over. After coming out as trans at his old school and experiencing bullying, he decides to lay low and pass at his new school. He joins the soccer team behind his parents’ backs, but everything seems to be going smoothly. He’s made friends on the soccer team and possibly one player may be more than just friends. He’s joined the Queer Students Alliance, and they are working on making things better at school too. Everything seems almost perfect until his Coach is forced to bench him because of the “F” on his birth certificate and outdated league rules.

Spencer is a likable protagonist. The book deals with many tough topics in a way that is easy for a young teen to understand. And a book on a transitioning teen is a much needed addition to the LGBTQ+ books already in my library.

One of the best books with trans characters I've read. I love how accepting Spencer's family and friends are in this book. I wish all trans kids had that kind of support. The portrayal of the church as the villain felt a little too one sided, but all in all a touching LGBTQ coming of age story.

CWs: Allusions to past bullying, death threats, and school lockdown; religious fanatacism and homophobia in the guise of religious rhetoric; misgendering; transphobia and outdated transphobic terminology (from side characters); and some brief (non-graphic) references to overdose and child death

I love trans lit so much, and this book serves as perfect reminder as to why that it is.

The Passing Playbook is a much needed story, not simply because of the time we find ourselves in with anti-trans legislation at an all-time high, but because it explores transness in ways that we rarely get to see, even with the growing influx of queer books being published every year. Stories like this remind me of why we need trans fiction, and how much more about the quote-unquote "trans experience" there still is to explore.

Rarely do we get to see younger trans protagonists, and especially those who are medically transitioning with the full support of their parents. I have never read a story with main character who's on hormone blockers, who uses testosterone gel, who is actively trying to be stealth at school and pass for his own safety. And what I love most is that the story doesn't linger on those aspects of transitioning or passing, but gives the reader enough information to know why these things are at the forefront of Spencer's mind while also giving just enough detail to allow readers to do their own research if they're curious to know more. It's a story that doesn't subject its hero to being under a microscope for the sake of cis readers, but that also acknowledges the very real obstacles that trans people face, especially in academic settings.

I also loved the relationship between Spencer and Justice. There were some interesting parallels between them with how Spencer is "passing" as a cis guy while Justice is "passing" as both straight and as a non-religious person most of the time, so to speak, before Spencer learns more about him and his family. They both have this tumultuous past that's difficult to understand without the lived experience, and they're both trying to hide it so that they can walk through the world without having to constantly explain these potentially fraught experiences. While those experiences are definitely not one and the same, they're both coming from that place of wanting to protect themselves and wanting to be seen as more than just their labels, which connects them on a deeper level.

More importantly, the story reconciles Spencer and Justice being in two different places in terms of their identities in such a nuanced way. Spencer is out as trans to his close friends and family, and he has the support of his family, while Justice is completely closeted. While this presents a challenge for their relationship as it develops, the story never once villainizes being closeted. I think that's a trap a lot of queer stories unknowingly fall into, where the narrative seems to (unintentionally) imply that not coming out means you're not proud of yourself, you're not being true to yourself, or you're not being "authentic"—when that's not true at all. This story understands that not everyone is at the same point in their journey, and that there is no shame in keeping yourself safe and prioritizing your own protection and readiness, especially in a world that doesn't universally accept or protect queer people.

Related to that, there's a really great conversation about the connection between privilege and visibility. Passing is a privilege. Being visible and feeling confident in that visibility is a privilege. Being incorrectly assumed as cis or straight doesn't make you any less queer, and doesn't make you any less a part of the community. How then do we balance being visible and providing hope to those who might need it with also keeping ourselves safe? If we have passing privilege, how do we then use that privilege to continue uplifting our community, especially in public spaces and forums where others might be overlooked or silenced? How can we protect and support people who can't be out or who don't want to be out without demanding their visibility or performance as a prerequisite for community or respect?

Those are ultimately the questions Spencer is facing in this book. Should he come out as trans so that he and his family can publicly challenge the anti-trans law that prohibits him from playing on the boys' soccer team or should he keep his head down and protect himself in a world that has already proved itself to be unsafe for him? How does he weigh his own readiness and safety with making a stand against something that profoundly impacts his community? There is no right or wrong answer, no clear-cut solution that doesn't constitute some kind of sacrifice on our part, and sometimes that's the line we have to walk. Again, the story never villainizes or glorifies either choice, but understands on a profound level the validity and reality of both.

While I can't comment on the Autistim representation we get with Spencer's brother, my one minor note is that there were a few times where it got close to feeling like Theo's Autism was "just another thing that complicates Spencer's life." While Theo is never once positioned as a burden, nor made to perform Autism in a way that neurotypical audiences have come to expect, it did occasionally seem like he was brought into the story especially when there needed to be some additional tension. Again, I can't speak to the representation itself, and while overall I really enjoyed the loving relationship dynamic between Spencer and Theo, I did want to share that one note. I don't think the story ever quite crosses that line, but it does get close a few times.

All in all, this in an incredible and much-needed story that brilliantly balances hardship with hope. It's a book that complicates and adds to the conversations about transness that still need to happen, both within the queer community and outside of it. You should read it as an antithesis to the recent anti-trans sports laws, yes, but even MORE than that you should read it because it celebrates a trans hero navigating how to advocate for his community and himself. It's a story about soccer, friendship, first love, and learning how to be yourself, which is exactly the kind of story we need.

Being transgender in a small Ohio town isn't easy, even if you've got a supportive family. After an incident at his old school, fifteen-year-old Spencer is attending the most liberal private school in the area, and this time he's going stealth. Despite his intentions to blend in to the background, his PE teacher is determined to get him to join the soccer team. Spencer used to love soccer, but joining the boy's team while attempting to pass as cis brings a lot of worries into play-- and it doesn't help that he's developed a crush on one of his teammates. I was enthralled in this book from start to finish, rooting for Spencer the whole way through! The Passing Playbook is a wonderful, realistic, and positive portrayal of being trans in high school that ought to be in every teen's library!

Trigger warning for transphobia, homophobic religious rhetoric, brief mention of a school lockdown and threat of violence, brief mention of drug abuse and overdose
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Spencer is the new boy at school. After a year of bullying, he’s hesitant about opening up at this new, more progressive school. When Spencer joins the boys soccer team, he feels like he’s found a home. He makes new friends and starts to fall in love. But the problem is, nobody at his new school knows that he’s trans— he’s passing. So when the F on his birth certificate forces his coach to bench him, Spencer has to decide if he’s ready to fight for his right to play. There lies the question: is he ready to come out and risk everything?
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This story felt so wonderfully hopeful and left me feeling warm. I expected a lot more heartbreak and angst when I saw that our Black, trans main character was going to fall in love with a Christian white boy from a family with very harmful views, and while there was moments where my chest just ached for these characters, this story had a nice balance in emotion. My heart did break, but it was stitched back together. I flew through this book! The voice was so fresh and I connected with it instantly. I really enjoyed my time with these characters. I’m eager to see what else Fitzsimon has to offer!
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4.5 stars, THE PASSING PLAYBOOK by Isaac Fitzsimons is available June 1, 2021!
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Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review!

The Passing Playbook shows why stories about trans kids playing sports is such an important topic. Spencer, a 14-year-old trans boy goes through obstacles as he joins the soccer team at his new school behind his parent's back. I loved Spencer's character and related a lot to his struggles with his family, and internally. I appreciated the author including Spencer being on hormone blockers and giving an educational moment for readers to learn more about this life-changing medicine. Also, I really admired the inclusion of other queer, trans, and gender non-conforming characters as the story also focuses on the importance of gender-neutral bathrooms.
Aiden was an excellent character for Spencer and I LOVED that Aiden gave him advice and didn't force him to come out.

The Passing Playbook is also about a trans boy just existing with his friends and having a romance with another boy. I really enjoyed this debut novel and would recommend it to anyone looking to read more sports stories and trans #ownvoices stories.

Content Warnings: Misgendering, transphobia, homophobia, religious fanaticism in the form of religious rhetoric, and mention of death by overdose and child death (non-graphic),

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an eARC of this book. Any quotes included in this review are from an unfinished copy of the book.

After events at his old school go wrong, Spencer transfers to Oakley. No one at Oakley knows Spencer is transgender, and he plans to keep it that way. Spencer quickly reconnects with his love for soccer, and joins the boy’s soccer team behind his parents’ backs. He starts to make friends, namely with Justice, who’s attractive, funny, and has an extremely homophobic family.

This book was short in length, but the impact was there. The characters were well developed, and I appreciated that they all had personalities outside of helping Spencer’s growth and thickening of the plot. Featuring a biracial trans gay teen, The Passing Playbook was exactly the gay disaster I needed in my life.

Content Warnings: transphobia, homophobia

The representation in this book is so good. I loved the rep from both the trans side and the Christian side. I am (or, was) very religious and totally felt the Christianity as a real and realized part of the character. And the sports element just added so much fun and cuteness to the story. Loved this!

“People like you and me are going to have to work a million times harder, be a million times better, and do it without upsetting anybody in order to be successful. It’s not fair, but that’s just how it is.”

Let’s get the most important announcements right out there: Spencer Harris is a soft boi (no, that’s not a typo). I am absolutely, one hundred percent, living for this emergence of soft, tender first loves in YA that aren’t all about getting hot and heavy and instead focus on the friendship aspect of a romance, of getting to know someone and having someone by your side who is supportive, always.

Also, leave it to soft boys like Spencer and Justice to get me interested in sports. I have never cared about soccer in my life, yet within minutes of reading this book, I wanted to sit on the bleachers (or in the stands? See, my knowledge of attending soccer games is already insufficient) and cheer for Spencer to be let off the bench and play the game he loves. Not to mention that Justice helping out Spencer when it comes to keeping his playing a secret or getting him shoes that fit so he doesn’t have to tell his parents absolutely warmed my heart.

There is a huge religious aspect to this story since Justice hails from a very Christian, very traditional family, which causes some problems both with Spencer and Justice’s eventual growing feelings but also with Justice who just wants to escape his family’s stronghold. While I can’t speak for the representation of religion, I can tell you that I was entranced and terrified at the same time watching Justice comply to be able to stay at school and play soccer, yet trying to rebel in tiny ways against his family’s rules and regulations.

On top of that, there is quite the discussion around what it means to be a supportive parent and Spencer sometimes wonders how far the love of his parents goes after transitioning. It was such a quiet, yet fierce approach to the anxieties of anyone on the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum and I think it will resonate with tons of readers. 

I also really enjoyed that this was neither a traditional coming-out narrative nor centered on Spencer’s transition process and instead focused on him living and passing at his high school and what problems appear when he decides to keep his identity under wraps for now to avoid the same fate he dealt with at his old school. There are a lot of factors that make Spencer’s life better by staying stealth, but like two sides of a coin, he also misses certain parts and the feeling of community he’s not getting at the QSA of his school. Fitzsimons takes his time exploring Spencer’s divided self and I couldn’t put the book down.

My absolute highlight in this book was Spencer’s relationship with his little brother Theo. The tears that I shed when reading their interactions were unreal. Theo is such a wholesome character and without giving too much away, there is one scene where Theo blurts out something that had me gasping for breath because it was so simple yet so beautiful in the way it showed his support for his brother’s transition.

Really, the only thing I’d dock points for in this book is that I wished the secondary characters would have been more fleshed out. Spencer’s teammates like Macintosh or Spencer’s football coach only ever become dynamic in moments where they share information that aids Spencer in his own “quest” for acceptance and I could have done with a bit more background info on them. Overall, that didn’t take a way from my enjoyment, though, and is only a minor nuisance.

A gentle and wholesome depiction of the struggles of passing to fit in, Fitzsimons’ debut The Passing Playbook is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be true to yourself and step up for your right to play—and live —the way you want to.

a beautiful glimpse into the authors brilliant mind, down to earth characters and the challenges they face within. a show stopping romance and funny banter

Spencer Harris knew a new school would be different, but he never expected it to be like this.
After transitioning at his old school and enduring bullying and isolation, he makes the hasty decision to keep who he truly is a secret, in fear of another year disaster.
But then, with a single well-placed kick, he’s got the chance at being on the soccer team AND winning a teammates heart. What could go wrong?
But when things are finally going smoothly, a simple word on his birth certificate brings it all to a crashing halt. Now, he must decide if he has what it takes to stand in the spotlight to fight for his rights, or if the fear carried with him from his old school will overpower him.

This book has it ALL!
Spencer is a funny kid and the best big brother you could ask for. He’s kind, compassionate, and an incredible soccer player. He’s not ashamed of who he is, and he encourages others to be brave too. His reactions to the world around him makes you as a reader want to stand up and applaud him with every step he takes.

As a cis-female, there is a lot that I never truly would realize that so many people, especially transgender people, go through and struggle with each day.
This book opened my eyes to all that I take for granted, and gave me an insight to what it’s like when the world can be so against you.

The author wrote this story so beautifully, and I was hooked from the very beginning. I literally cannot stop recommending it to all of friends. The angst, the storyline, the plot- every piece of this book was so wonderfully crafted that you can’t help but fall in love with every character.

If you’re looking or a fun and quick romance, with well-developed characters and a plot that reels you in, then I highly recommend you read this book! It’s definitely one of my favorite reads of the year and I will never shut up about how much I love it!

(Thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley for allowing me an eARC copy of this wonderful book, I am forever grateful 💕)

*Spoiler free*

I was ready for this book the second I found out that it featured a trans main character. And a trans character who is a soccer player no less! Spencer has to decide if he wants to stay stealth at his new school, or out himself so he can get off the bench and play for his new soccer team. Heck yeah, it sounded amazing and I was incredibly eager to read this book. Trigger warnings: transphobia

I love love love love loved this book. It's sweet and adorable and serious and real. And just all around amazing.

I have a complicated relationship with sports, so I was not expecting to love the soccer aspect of this book as much as I did (I know, random place to start off haha). But honestly, I thought it was super cool to see Spencer's love of soccer and I really enjoyed those scenes! I especially loved his team, because they were all such guys, but in the pure way. I definitely have a soft spot for Cory and Machintosh (two dorks, and I honestly think Machintosh is a himbo).

Now that I'm on to characters, let's talk about Spencer, because wow, I loved him so much. He was such a 15 year old boy trying to figure life out, and I mean that as the biggest compliment. He felt and acted like a teen, and I absolutely loved it. I loved watching his journey with his identity, his place in his family and at school, and his determination to be on the soccer team.

I also really, really loved Justice. I think I loved him a whole lot more than I was expecting to. He is such a sweet, adorable guy. He has his own struggles, and I loved how they were explored and interwoven with Spencer's.

Spencer's family was also another highlight for me. They were just so, cheesy and adorable and downright dorks, and it was amazing.

There was also a messy aspect to this book, because the world is messy. Plus, teens are simply messy as well. Spencer struggles with his identity, being trans and queer, and other characters struggle with their identity as well. What I loved about this book is that it showcased the world being imperfect, but it showed the happiness, the fluffiness, and the good that it has as well.

Overall, I really, really loved this book. It was adorable and wonderful and overall fantastic. I am going to leave you with two fun facts: 1. I thought this was called Passing The Playbook for, a very long time. 2. For some reason, I pictured Coach as the coach for Teen Wolf.