ACT COOL by Tobly McSmith is one of the best trans YA books I have read. It's an excellent YA book for any teen reader, regardless of their gender identity. I read this in two sittings and could not quit thinking about the story of August and his journey of living his truth as a trans guy who's an aspiring actor. Or maybe, more accurately, it's the story of August and his journey of being an aspiring actor who's also trans.

What makes this book such a standout is that it really shows the nuance of family and what support really looks like, whether from blood relatives or friends or people in between. The character of August's aunt is very richly written with her own romantic relationship, issues with her blood family, and the community/found family she has created in New York. Her unwavering support of August AND her own growing self awareness as she witnesses her nephew live his truth give the book an added layer of depth. It's one of the reasons I will be recommending this book to adults and teens. This gives teen an opportunity to see what unconditional support can look like from adults/family members--and shows them an example of a teen having agency with his parents.

A few of the events toward the end of ACT COOL felt a bit under-developed and, at times, August seemed to be forgiven for his actions without having to do anything to earn it. Still, it was hard not to root for him and want to see everything work out for August.

ACT COOL along with the recently released BOTH SIDES NOW by Peyton Thomas are two of the best books I've read in 2021. Both show the nuances of navigating life in high school and in families as ambitious teens who are also trans. These two books along with Kacen Callender's FELIX EVER AFTER are the three books I wish every teen and adult could read.

Being McSmith's second novel, it is fairly clear that Act Cool is a step up! The pace and characterizations were sometimes less clear than they could've been, but as a whole the story itself and the way trans experience is woven into the narrative really sells the book. Using the theater world as a place in which queerness casually exists felt incredibly real, as did the realization August had that he had been acting who we was his entire life. Definitely worth the read!

This book has been on my radar for a long, long time, and I really wanted to be blow away by it. Stay Gold was all over my social media feed, and I had heard nothing but good things. All that said, this one didn't live up to the hype for me.

To start with the good, I loved the representation in this. book. I think that August is a character that a lot of trans teens will see themselves in, and that's really important. I would definitely put this book in my high school classroom. This book had all of the components for a great story- I love he diverse characters, the self-love arc, and the NYC/Theater School setting. August's relationship with his aunt is complex and lovely, and I really enjoyed their story arc together.

What I found difficult about this book is that it felt like there was too much that the story was trying to cover. All of the different issues and relationships and components felt like too much, and I would have really rather had more focus and subtlety on one or two of the issues-- a more in depth look. The writing didn't always feel smooth, and I wanted more details in the writing. I needed it to SLOW DOWN to really enjoy everything August was seeing and experiencing.

Overall, I think this was a good book, and I'm sure a lot of people will see themselves in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an advance e-ARC for review. I really enjoy Tobly McSmith's voice and writing style, including when I was introduced to his words through Stay Gold. Normally, I wouldn't compare publications that aren't part of an ongoing series because it has to be incredibly nerve wracking to live up to expectations when you have something entirely new to say -- but I have a feeling many readers will be curious about Act Cool *because* of Stay Gold. I'd say briefly that I personally had mixed feelings about SG because going in, I thought it was going to be a mostly happy, lighthearted rom-com boosted and informed by real-life issues facing trans teens, and was definitely caught off guard by that not being the case at all. For AC, I was more prepared and less disappointed, to put it simply. I do, however, believe this story could be triggering and difficult for readers who have shared experiences with the main character, August. Please take care with your reading, and consult the author's trigger warnings page beforehand.

The story centers around August leaving behind his conservative and restrictive parents and starting a new pursuit at a performing arts high school in NYC. He stays with his (truly wonderful!) aunt who welcomes him so warmly, and has seemingly done a lot of off-page work to aid his acting career. August believes he is an excellent actor because, in addition to his longtime penchant for the stage, he also has been acting the role of "daughter" for his parents for his entire life, as they refuse to see him any other way. In his acting pursuits, this makes August a bit of a brat - he's unwilling to follow any teachers' advice or try out their suggested performance methods, because he already knows he's the ultimate expert. In his social life, August continues "acting" the roles he thinks his new classmates expect, like the "cool party guy" or "city newbie." And when it comes to his identity, he's simultaneously seeking to finally live authentically, but he's also putting on a show 24/7. It's all truly authentic: sometimes frustrating, sometimes so relatable, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes demonstrative of such incredible growth. The author's own love for theater - and the characters he creates, like August - is apparent on every page.

I'm also really thrilled that this book focuses on the importance of found family, through friends and community. That being said, I think August's friends, classmates, and co-stars embraced him far more than he did them. It's not that I think he wasn't ever there for his friends - he had a lot going on and it's understandable. But they offered so much support and an instant theater family, and many characters looked out for him in such big, important ways, and I can't say August really listened or paid attention to anyone else. He was excruciatingly false with so many people who could see right through his BS and while I appreciate the message that they'd still be there for him no matter what, that kind of deep friendship does require work on both sides.

A heartfelt, authentic, and deeply loving novel, Act Cool is the story of a trans boy who flees his uber-religious parents to live with his aunt and chase his Broadway dreams in New York City. Now attending one of the most elite art high schools in America, he must decipher which parts of him are real, and which parts of him are still an act.

Tobly McSmith's Stay Gold was one of my favorite reads of last year, and I think this book is a worthy follow-up to it. I was glad to be back in his writing style. August Greene, our main character, is an absolute powerhouse performer, but his acting skills follow him into parts of his life where he needs to be true. I thought that this was a smart way to introduce imperfections to his character while still allowing him to establish himself as a worthy actor.

I will say though, that for a book about acting and plays, there wasn't a whole lot of drama. I felt that August's journey to "connecting" with his own character was relatively frictionless — he did not mess up with his friends in a very high-stakes manner, and his interactions with his bigoted parents felt fairly uneventful. Most of the conflict was resolved very quickly. It didn't instill very much anxiety into me despite how bad August's situation truly was.

This book has some of the best queer found family in it, though — I truly could not get enough of the cast, who cared so deeply for August and offered their entire selves to him almost immediately. I'm a Juliet stan forever. Bonus points for Aunt Lil not just being an ally, but an actual member of the LGBTQ+ community in a lesbian relationship. She was such a force of good in this book. Found family is one of the most important aspects of queer and trans culture, and I'm really glad to see that this book aced it.

Overall, I'm really glad to have read this book. Tobly McSmith is definitely a standout author and I foresee myself continuing to love every book he puts out in the future.

This book was so cute!! I expected this book to be amazing and I was not disappointed. I can’t wait to order a hardcover copy of this book

Firstly I have to say that Tobly McSmith has because my new favorite author! I adored Stay Gold, but this book hit me on a different level!

August was such a great character he went through so much in such a short amount of time during this book.
Running away to New York to audition for a prestigious performing arts high school while being a transgender boy. August meets a huge cast of characters that help him on his journey!

I loved loved loved that musical/play aspect seeing these students work to achieve their dreams is great!

I think this book could be amazing representation for a lot of people in the LGBT community. However, please read the trigger warnings before you read this book!

5⭐️

This is a great book. August has left his hometown and his parents, who will not accept that he is transgender. He is now living in New York City with his aunt and has been accepted into the School of Performing Arts. As August navigates his new world full of classmates both competitive and supportive, an aunt learning to be a parent, and life in the big city, August is both excited for his new life and still dealing with the ongoing effects of his parents and their rejection of his true identity.

This is a great read -- both heart-warming and thought-provoking. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the author’s debut novel, Stay Gold, I had high hopes for Act Cool—and I was not disappointed.

“Act” is an important word here—our protagonist, August, has just left his home and family, fearing that they intend to subject him to conversion therapy. August is a transgender teen, and his parents see this as sickness and sin, and will only refer to him as “our daughter” and continue to use his deadname. They agree to let him live with his aunt and attend the School of Performing Arts in New York City—if he agrees not to transition. August is an actor—not only on the stage but throughout his life, and he agrees. He auditions and is accepted into the school, where he finds students much different than back home. He promptly decides how he will act at school, and finds his tribe. But school itself is different as well—expectations are high. Will August be able to keep up, prove himself as an actor, and convince his parents that he’s kept his promise?

I relate to this book on several levels. Since my daughter was a teen, I became increasingly aware of young people around her age identifying as transgender and nonbinary. Fortunately, all of those that I was aware of had supportive families. However, I saw that having a child transition could still be difficult for families. Everyone needs to find support somewhere. I hoped to be an actor, but I wasn’t good enough. Reading about the drama classes and rehearsals and the critiques from teachers and directors brought a lot back. There were some life lessons as well as acting lessons here. Back to the word “act”—is it enough to act a part, or is it important to connect to your role, either in a play or in your life?

This book deals with some typical teenage stuff, and some really difficult topics. Before the first chapter begins, there is a warning that there will be depictions of transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, deadnaming, and suicidal ideation. And there is contact information for The Trevor Project, should a reader be in crisis. This is an own voices book—the author knows what he’s talking about. Serious topics are dealt with in a realistic, but sensitive manner.

It was not always a happy book, but it felt like an important book. I hope that it finds its way into high school libraries and rainbow bookshelves everywhere.

Five stars.

4.5 stars

August Greene, the m.c. of this fantastic novel, has been "acting cool" for a long time in an effort to survive. He has a mother and step-father who are extremely unsupportive of this basic fact: August is a man. When readers meet August, he has (thankfully) run away from these oppressive bigots in Pennsylvania and headed straight into the refuge of his aunt, an artist in New York (whom we instantly learn has a secret of her own; she's in the community, too). August's new life in New York will feature many changes, not the least of which are a now supportive guardian, a social transition (he's August now - the external is now a closer match to the internal), and a spot at the uncreatively named SPA (School of Performing Arts). Here, August will hone his craft as an actor. He's been doing SO MUCH ACTING offstage, so building community and working through his own truths in this space will certainly be vital to his development.

August's journey is nicely balanced. His parents are challenging in every way. Even when they are not in his physical space, they deadname him, misgender him, and tell him about his "confusion" and "sickness," assuring him that God will fix him. It's essential to know that the impetus for August's original departure is also spotting a letter about a conversion therapy camp. These folks are utterly sick, and readers get to witness August's struggles with a number of awful encounters. On the other end of the spectrum, August finds support not only in his aunt but also in various other characters who have differing levels of understanding and acceptance. I really love how McSmith seamlessly weaves in the disparate responses. Characters grapple with what language to use, how to approach August, how not to patronize or generalize, etc. All of this gives readers insight into how tiring August's life is with these constant micro (and macro) aggressions and outright transphobia at times. There are also characters who unwaveringly and expertly support August in their own ways and from various roles in his life (looking at you, Juliet. You need a sequel of your own). Readers of this novel are bound to find both windows and mirrors and countless opportunities to learn and feel affirmed.

Though I do think some of August's challenges are too easily resolved and some opportunities are presented too conveniently, I really love this novel overall. It's one I'll not only recommend to my Children's/YA Literature students but also consider teaching in future semesters. That last part is reserved for a *very* small group of texts.

*TW: To make this crystal clear, there are numerous instances of deadnaming and misgendering throughout the novel as well as discussions of conversion therapy and suicide/suicidal ideation. Readers should be aware of this content in advance but should also know that - according to this reader - these moments are not extraneous or gratuitous but instead realistic and necessary.

Thanks to Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to review! I am actually completely in love with this cover. The color pallette is amazing and I think it really fits the story. I also read Stay Gold last year and was interested to see what this author did next!

Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I just don’t think McSmith’s writing style is for me. Stay Gold was a book that didn’t really seem to know what it wanted to do, and I felt much the same about this one. August acts so much in this story that it’s difficult to pick out what his actual identity is. He loses himself in his love for acting, and this isn’t quite resolved by the end of the book.

Additionally, the romance in the book felt forced to me. Honestly, I don’t even think this story needed the side romance; there’s so much here with August dealing with his parents that I think this plot line could have been completely removed. Instead, I wanted more from August and his Aunt. This was the best aspect of the book as the two of them gain the courage to breakaway from August’s parents. That’s the redeeming quality of book, in my opinion.

While I understand the acting was a huge part of August’s journey, I wanted to see more resolution in terms of breaking away from transphobic parents. Also, I thought we had finally gotten away from inculding deadnames in books with trans main characters, but I guess not. It’s been done in other books, so let’s keep that trend!

Anyway, there were good aspects to this book, but overall, it wasn’t really for me. I can see some teens relating to it, though!

Act Cool tells the story of August Greene, a trans young man, who must learn how to be himself to succeed in life and on stage. Act Cool gracefully and compassionately navigates the often tumultuous journey of learning to love yourself and your gender identify while coping with the rejection from loved ones and societal misunderstanding. August Greene's story hooked me right away, and it was often hard to tear myself away from the page.

First of all, I appreciated that this book included trigger warnings at the beginning. It helped me go into reading with a clearer picture of what I would encounter in the book.

I generally enjoyed the story, and I’m a big theater fan, so it was cool to get a look at that high school world. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters in a super strong way though, so it was sometimes hard for me to keep reading.

This book exceeded my expectations and had me riveted until the very end. I could not put it down. The character dynamics were fantastic and the mental turmoil that August displays really comes across well to the reader. Fantastic and I can't wait to recommend to others.

WOW. I loved the entire dynamic and lessons of this book. It's a story about identity, family, self-discovery, and life lessons. There was so much growth throughout this story that I just loved. The main character, August Greene is one for the damn books (literally). I loved how relatable their actions were and the way they went for what they wanted, no matter the repercussion. This story displays August's journey as an aspiring actor from a small town in Pennsylvania. They recently got accepted into the School of the Performing Arts in NYC, bringing the dream to life.

This story was so eye-opening into the world of accepting someone for who they are inside rather than outside. I loved following August are her journey in acceptance. I loved the relatable content within this story and everyone should take the time to read 'Act Cool'. It's a breath of fresh air and also educates the life of a trans person and how to be an ally every day of your life.

Pick up this book. It's absolutely beautiful and maybe learn a thing or two on compassion and acceptance.

Thank you, NetGalley!

ACT COOL is the trans theatre tale that I deserve to read. The story of August learning how to move beyond surviving and disconnecting from his true emotions hits so close to home as a fellow trans performer. There are some definitely trigger points that I think were handled tactfully by Smith, but could still do some harm, so if you are a trans person reading ACT COOL, be aware. A wonderful story though.

A really great story about a theater-obsessed trans teen dealing with concurrent extreme highs and lows in his life. August's struggles to fit in in a new, high-stakes environment, his attempts to perform all manner of painful contortions to try to keep the regard of his religious and bigoted parents, and his desire to ignore or shoot past the painful work and the help he really needs to function and interact with others in a healthy way, were all really relatable for any reader.

I was concerned about some aspects of the book—there seems to be a kind acceptance of a certain level of horrible, abusive behavior from people in positions of power in the theater world. But overall the book showed how environments of support and love allow kids to flourish

It’s difficult to review this book because I should probably preface it with some trigger warnings. There are definitely some topics discussed in this book that could be difficult for some readers. However, please do not let that deter you from reading this book altogether.

This book is insightful and beautiful. I think the story moved along at a much quicker pace than I wanted since I love the theater and musical qualities of the story. I also think the characters in this story are so real and relatable. I wanted to hug each and every one of them because I understood their motivations and actions.

I love the writing style of Tobly McSmith’s books and will always read any and all books they write.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the ARC!

tw: transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, deadnaming, suicidal thoughts and ideation, religion, conversion therapy

August Greene is an aspiring actor from a tiny town in Pennsylvania that just landed a spot at his dream high school, the School of the Performing Arts in New York City. The issue? His parents, who refuse to let August transition and insist that's he's "sick" and the only way to "fix" him is by sending him to conversion therapy, do not want him to attend the school. Thankfully, August's aunt steps in and gets him his audition and offers him a place to live in New York while he attends the school of his dreams. To get his mother to agree,, August promise's he won't transition and will stay his mother's daughter while in school. Can August keep his life together while trying to live the way everyone else wants him to in a new school?

First of all, I love that this book starts out with trigger warnings. I read Tobly's Stay Gold book and while I really enjoyed it, I was super unprepared for how dark it really got. So, I appreciate the heck out of this one for telling up front there are some harsh and very real things discussed in this book.

I really loved this book. August trying his best to live the way that he thought everyone in his life wanted him to be was just such a relatable experience to me. He talked a lot throughout the book about how he acted every day to be the daughter his mother wanted, even though he knew he was her son. I loved that the book connected that to August's love of acting and how that was affecting him as a person.

This book dealt with so many intense, important things (and I think it will help to spark a lot of important discussions) but it didn't feel too heavy and ultimately was an uplifting story of a trans teenager finding himself, and the importance of family- chosen, found, or biological. I definitely cried a few times, and I adore August and the crazy group of friends he found at SPA.

If the trigger warnings are something you can handle, I definitely recommend picking this one up. I enjoyed it immensely.

August is a trans boy who ran away from home to live with his aunt in NYC. The whole thing reads a little too convenient, but August does bring that up. He mentions that the only reason he was able to be his authentic self is because he had somewhere to go, which is (heartbreakingly) not the reality for many trans youth. There are some great conversations about transition, representation, and telling the truth instead of playing the stereotype.


I received an ARC from NetGalley.