Appreciated the main character's growth and learning is so wonderful and so beautiful to read. The writing was also well-done and kept my attention.

Man o'War is a beautifully written book exploring gender, internalized homophobia, and self-discovery. I loved the use of the man o'war facts as a storytelling device throughout the book. While I think teens will really respond to the funny and raw content of this book, I did feel that the tone of the main character didn't strongly reflect actual teens. The narration felt more adult than teen at times. That said, I'd absolutely recommend this book to teens.

Okay, this is one of the best books I've ever read. New favorite for sure.

Man O' War follows the story of River as they come to terms with their identity, following them from their sophomore year of high school through college. It reads like a memoir and and it doesn't pull any punches. It's an ode to the pain of growth and self-discovery and also a beautiful look at life as a midwest queer. On top of all that, there's an amazing love story that runs through River's journey. I can't say much more without spoiling it, but basically, if you're queer or trans or love someone who is, this is such an unbeatable, heartbreaking, beautiful book to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

I started this one a few times and I was just not interested in finishing it. Just not the right book for me at the time I tried to read it.

I am not sure why I started listening to Man O'War by Cory McCarthy, except that the storyline intrigued me. However, I finished this book coincidentally during the Trans Rights Readathon and I am so glad I did! It was such a good audiobook. Man O'War follows River McIntyre, a trans swimmer who lives in Ohio in a town next to Sea Planet. While on a class trip, River runs into a former classmate, Indy who is living her life as a happy queer person. This is like a revelation to River who is questioning. Anyways, the book takes place over years as River learns about identity and queerness as well a gender -- going from high school to college.

River has such a strong character arc. I think if you want to read a book where a character goes through a lot of changes and comes of age, you should pick up Man O'War. I learned about microaggressions LGBTQ people hear frequently while reading this book. Also learned things I maybe didn't know before about the trans experience -- granted I believe it is different for everyone, but this was a new perspective for me. River really was someone I completely rooted for and wanted everything to go in his favor by the end. Part of that is also due to the fantastic narration by ER Fightmaster who essentially becomes River via narration. The audiobook is 10 hours and 17 minutes -- I didn't speed this up too fast because it was just so good as is.

My Thoughts:

As I was reading this book, I just kept thinking about those parents that have kids like River and wonder if this unhappiness and depression, the gender dysphoria is just a "phase" and do not grasp what gender dysphoria really feels like. How do parents, friends, educators step forward for young people who are in need of grace and patience, acceptance and non judgment for this very emotional personal journey to find some kind of inner peace? This book was a window and a sliding glass door for me to understand that this kind of peace takes years, so as an educator how can I not be judge and jury but advocate?

This story is painful and honest, funny and depressing at the same time. River, the Arab-American trans protagonist searches for the right metaphor to name their layers of identity. I continue to think about the aquarium, SeaPlanet, in the landlocked midwestern town, the dive into the shark tank, the empty tanks, the mermaid tank and the jellyfish, even the naming of the protagonist. It is a long coming of age journey toward freedom, release, and love. Stay with it. This book will teach us what we need to know.


From the Publisher:

Man o' wars are not jellyfish, and River McIntyre is not happy. River doesn't know why they're unhappy—though perhaps it has something to do with the way they relate more to captive marine life at the local acquarium than to the people around them. That is, until they have a run in with Indigo "Indy" Waits on the annual class field trip. Face-to-face with an affirmed queer person, River leaps out of the closet and into the shark tank. Literally. What follows is a wrenching journey of self-discovery that spans years and winds through layers of coming out, transition, and top surgery, promising a free life for River with so much more than happiness: A life that's full of trans joy and true love.

Publication information:
Author: Cory McCarthy

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, May 31, 2022

This is a beautiful structured book with an important topic and message. I hope it that librarians and teachers and readers will help it get into the hands of those who can benefit from it.

4.5 Stars

Going off the synopsis for this book, which is pretty vague, I had no idea what to expect when I started it. But this story has an incredibly strong narrative voice, it has really distinctive humor that effectively cuts through the tension and the more serious moments, and it’s still incredibly engaging even though it could technically be described as being “plotless.”

That’s actually what I appreciate about this story the most: the fact that this is an entire book dedicated to the journey of transition. And transition is not an experience that mimics traditional narrative structure. There is not direct connection between point A and point B, especially when there’s not even any set “points,” and the story of the process comes *from* the process itself. That is to say, transition is often not a linear process and it’s also not a universal process. "Transition" is completely and inherently different depending on the individual in question, and this story is not about what it means to transition, but what it means for *River* to transition.

Cis people, especially, have absolutely no baseline for what the transition process feels like or looks like—and this story isn’t about that, either. But it *is* about challenging the idea of what most cis people think “transition” means.

There’s this pervasive idea, especially among cis people, that to be trans you have to realize it when you’re very young, realize it because you hate yourself or hate some part of yourself, then in a very blurry montage you somehow get on hormones, have surgeries, change your name and pronouns and find instant happiness. Not only is that categorically false and a gross oversimplification of what many trans people face, but to uphold that narrative is to erase the nuances of so many trans people’s experiences.

"Man O’ War" is a story that happily shatters those conventions, because for most of the story, River is lost and confused. They oscillate between labels, and language, changes to their presentation and how they identify, because they’re not in a place—mentally, emotionally, or in terms of safety—where they can truly process their transness in the way it deserves.

This story honors the fact that coming into your transness doesn’t have to happen all at once—and, in fact, for most people it doesn’t—and also that the experience of transness is not lessened just because we may not instantly have all the perfect answers to very deeply complex questions. It’s so important to see a character like River, who does not have access to certain language, ideas, or experiences that many people consider “essential” to “the trans experience”—to see them painstaking unlearning their own -isms and -phobias, and gradually figuring themself out all while making mistakes.

There is no perfect way to be trans, and I feel like this story definitely encapsulates that while acknowledging that sometimes there are parts of ourselves that seem so scary or unknowable that we let them sink down deep inside of us until we’re fully ready to bring them to the surface.

In so many ways, “Man O’War” is about River’s journey towards that readiness. Their story and their relationships don’t always follow a direct path, there are imperfections and regressions and so many complicated questions, but by the end they are exactly who and where they’re meant to be.

All in all, this was an enjoyable and memorable reading experience for me. It’s definitely challenging and chaotic at times, but I think it also has the potential to be a very life-saving, life-affirming book for so many folks, and that's why I predict it will have immense staying power.

This book felt so intensely personal--it was like reading a diary. I fell in love with River and Indy's love and really rooted for them. This would be a great book for any HS student feeling like they don't fit into the binary definitions of self, sexuality, and gender, and it's also great for any allies. I loved all the references to water and sea animals, and to see River as an adult was a fulfilling way to end the book.

Man O' War is a book every trans teen needs. It is a story about trans rage and how living in a small town that perpetuates harmful ideologies keeps LGBTQIA+ kids in the closet. We follow River, a transmasc Arab-American non-binary person throughout their journey of gender exploration from senior year of high school to their college yeears. This book shows the rawness and hardships that go along with exploring your gender and finding the words to fit you as River grapples with their own internalized homophobia and transphobia and feeling immense hatred toward themselves.

This book was so cathartic and I am really glad it exists.

CW: mention of COVID/pandemic toward the end, transphobia, internalized transphobia, depictions of gender dysphoria, mention of top surgery and scene at the hospital, homophobia, racism, self harm, unaccepting parent, underage drinking, alcohol

Thank you, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Dutton Books for Young Readers, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

River has grown up down the street from Sea Planet, a marine life theme park now slowly going out of business in a small city in Ohio. After meeting another queer person in an annual field trip, they have to confront a truth about themselves and their own desires, starting a beautiful, moving and hard journey of self-discovery. They have to face internalized homophobia, gender dysphoria, coming out and the chance to get true love in the end.

Man o' War is a brilliant, honest and sometimes hilarious coming of age of a young Arab American trans swimmer and the struggles, desires, dreams in coming out and be themselves. River is a wonderful and complex main character, their journey moving, intense and skillfully written in coming out, understanding themselves, fighting against their own internalized homophobia and coming to term with their true selves in the end.
Sweet, funny, moving, this book is truly amazing and it made me feel really involved in the story and in River's journey, a journey transgender people do, freeing themselves from the confining worlds they were in, starting to question the truth they thought were real about themselves, gender, love and growing up.

Thoughts and Themes: When I saw this book I was so excited to get a chance to read it since there is a Trans MC. I decided to listen to this one and follow along with the e-book which was a great choice. I really enjoyed the narrator in this story and felt that this was something I could listen to more than once.

As I listened to this book there were many times in which I had to pause the book so I could go to the e-book and highlight the portions that really spoke to me. There also were defintely moments in which I has to pause the book to highlight portions that made me angry because of the amount of Acephobia, Transphobia, and Homophobia are included.

I really enjoyed how we get to see River before they figure out who they are and how a lot of their thoughts and beliefs are in place due to the person that they are dating. I really enjoyed the role that Indy plays in this whole story as they introduce River to the concept of gender as a spectrum and help River learn about themselves.

I like how River’s journey to discovering themselves isn’t neat nor is it linear. I felt that their journey to find themselves was quite relatable and it reminded me of myself as a teenager figuring out gender and sexuality. I liked the way that emotions are portrayed in this book and how you get a range of emotions from each of the characters.

Characters: In this book you get to meet several characters through their interactions with our main character, River. You get to meet their girlfriend/ex-girlfriend, their brother, their mom, Indy who is a new friend, and more.

I really enjoyed all of the characters that you get to meet throughout this story and each of their relationships with River. I really liked the relationship that River has with their brother and how you get to see more of this when their mom responds negatively to their brother coming out as Ace.

I also liked getting to see River’s relationship with their mother and how that impacts a lot of their journey. I also liked how we get to see Rivers mom’s relationship with being an Arab American and how she tries to get as close to whiteness as she can. I thought it was a good thing to point out when River talks about being in that in-between space when it comes to a lot of their identities.

I liked getting a chance to see River and Indy’s relationship change over the course of the book. I thought it was great to see how their first interaction years ago really informed their second meeting. I also liked how we get a chance to see how many of the things that River did and said in the past were all due to the people around them and how they had influenced River.

Writing Style: This story is written in first person through the perspective of River. I liked that everything was told in River’s perspective because we don’t get an image of how others feel about certain things. I also liked that we get to see River struggle through figuring things out for themselves since we are in their head throughout the whole story.

This book was amazing. I coudn't put it down. It was magical. Higly recommended! The characters, the plots, the writting: wonderful and perfect.

Man O’ War is one of the most relevant trans YA books I have ever read. It just absolutely rocked me…like totally blew my mind at how amazing it was – BRILLIANT. It is raw, angry, real, and perfect. We are taken on the journey through River’s coming-of-age understanding of who they are and how they get there, all the while it doesn’t gloss over the hard topics of racism, gender, sexuality, identity, internalized homophobia & transphobia. As children we are still so deeply steeped in cis heteronormativity, that books like Man O’ War give life to exploring those barriers and how to break free – all the while using amazing sea life imagery and comparisons to living in captivity as a major plot of the local Sea Planet park.

River feels complete in the water…he is on the swim team and being in the water blocks out all the noise. However, being on the swim team brings loads of body dysphoria and River is struggling to breathe out of the water. They feel a deep connection to sea life that can’t survive in their tanks, and neither can he, in their land locked small town, that is only known for the Sea Planet park…which ultimately helps River in many ways.

He meets queer folks at Sea Planet who give him the words and the overwhelming feelings of what exactly he may be experiencing. It is there the first time he learns about binders, about stable queer adults in loving relationships, about a person who changes their pronouns to what fits them on that day. Also about how some people will pull you out of the shark tank in not only the literal sense, but metaphorically too. It is where kindness, strangeness, and love all find their way to River…it’s also where he finds his true name and his true love in Indy.

I really loved one of the main take aways for me, is that there isn’t one way to be queer or trans, and everyone’s queer journey is different and valid. For River, it started with internalized homophobia, then embracing the lesbian girlfriend, learning of agender, nonbinary, and trans folk, which ultimately led them to embrace their trans identity when they were finally able and safe.

Let me be clear, River is volatile as a teen, but the best part is that he really grows into who he is and we are given an epilogue showing River stable and happy with his identity and his life. River made it through all his childhood trauma and also proves the importance of visibility and having the words and people to look up to – to help discern that his feelings were valid and that it was possible to break free of his captivity.

Please check for content warnings – the author includes these at the beginning of the book: gender dysphoria, internalized homophobia, self-harm, cissexism, and racism.

this was a beautiful depiction of queerness and transness alike. i absolutely adored the main character and found them to be super relatable. all of the representation was amazing. the characters are allowed to have flaws and make mistakes and that's what makes the story so great. the growth river has is so well done and I adored following their journe

Absolutely breathtaking. River McIntyre's wit and cynicism is equal parts hilarious and razor sharp. Their journey throughout the story is full of grit and will make you want to hug them forever. The way Cory crafts this story is brilliant, and I couldn't put it down. I have loved seeing their career grow over time; each book gets better. Full of growing pains and learning and pain but also joy, this book will knock your socks off.

Man o’ War is like nothing you’ve read before or will read after. It’s a beautiful journey of self-love and discovery. You will LOVE River as they see, question, and discover themself throughout this story.

**Thank you Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

WOW there is so much to praise about this book. The first thing that really hit me in the beginning was River’s distinctive voice. It came out in funny remarks and quirky descriptions that took me a minute to identify as River. It wasn't what I was expecting and I soon became very into it.

River comes from a small town in Ohio that is known solely for its sealife attraction, SeaPlanet. It’s here that we meet River at the beginning of their journey into queer identity. In the turbulence of high school, River just wants the freedom that swimming laps for their swim team brings. We’ll follow River as their fluid journey of identity takes them into college.

The author does such a fantastic job of putting out the message: there’s no one or right way to be queer. Throughout the book River and their close friends make mistakes, mend bridges, and show each other the beautiful gift of seeing and loving someone right where they’re at.

In the story there is the noise of negativity, of people that show hate and fear through words and actions, and then there are characters that show examples of what it looks like to truly love someone in every step of their journey. Beautiful, beautiful examples of love that I will take with me.

“There was so much love pouring in. And then there was hate. Anonymous hate. They rolled over me and fell away…Something was so wrong inside their own identity that they had to stab at other people. I honestly pitied them. And I knew how a person could feel that way, and how horrible it is to live like that.” -Man o’ War

This book will stay with me. The love in this story is so powerful and moving that I got full-on weepy at the end.

Man o’ War is quickly and easily one of my favorite reads of 2022. I will be singing its praises and recommending it to everyone. FanTASTIC.

This is a story about discovering yourself.  River McIntyre has grown up in a small town known mostly for Sea Planet, a marine life theme park whose best days are in the past.  River is a strong swimmer, and swimming has always been a core part of their life.  During one of school's annual fields trips to SeaPlanet, River encounters someone from their past who is now a happy, healthy queer person -- and River finds themself diving into the shark tank to get away.  

From this incident, River explores in fits and starts their identity, as they struggle through internalized and externalized homophobia and gender dysphoria as well as their mother's complicated feelings about their family’s Arab American heritage.  At the same time, River is sorting through the strong attraction they have for the one person they can't stop thinking about but seems utterly elusive.  

This is a powerful story.  With nuance and insight, the author offers an unflinching portrayal of River's journey to figure out who they are -- and the internal and external obstacles they faced on the rocky path to finding their true self.  Beyond River, the author creates a fully formed supporting cast of characters.  Whether sympathetic or disappointing, each character, from River's mother to their former boss who becomes their found family to their on-again/off-again best friend, is depicted as a three-dimensional figure, neither all good nor all bad and often facing their own internal struggles.  I also appreciated the way the author integrated sea life as a metaphor for River's experience and self-perception throughout the story.

Highly recommended!

My students are always asking for more books by trans authors and I will definitely share this one with them. I'm so curious how they will respond to River's story, including the time jump at the end, and how it might inspire them to share their own stories.

Like others have mentioned, the first time jump was confusing; however, I do appreciate the future glimpse of River at the end. (I won't say more to avoid spoilers.)