A pretty shallow take on how to fit in in the world, and let your freak flag fly. I'll save you the effort of reading this book - you can pretty much distill it down to "find your tribe". End of.
Somehow Fussell manages to stretch this to a whole book, and it is a stretch. A lot of it does seem to be targeted at the LGBTQ+ community - it tries to be more inclusive with various talking heads sharing their experiences of feeling like outcasts from society - but does feel extremely exclusionary at many points. I took particular umbrage at Fussell's sweeping statement that cis-gender people can never experience homophobia...
I feel that this is more one man's coming out story, and his feeling of being a misfit due to the era and attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community at that time. This is not really a useful guide for an awkward teenager in a small town who doesn't feel like they fit in, beyond advising them to get online and find more like-minded people. Duh.
Worth noting - the appendix is a useful reference guide to various groups worth contacting and researching more.

I don't really understand the purpose of "Manifesto for Misfits" as it does not come across as that empowering. For me, it was an interesting collection of stories by misfits and about misfits, who were the chosen ones, the odd ones who found themselves in the right place, at the right time. It was supposed to be uplifting, thought-provoking and hope-giving (I guess?), but in my opinion it underdelivered.

Just the book I needed ever since I realised I was a misfit and I am still a misfit. But like how the contents of this book brings the misfits together, this book has brought for someone like me a very strong belief that I am no longer alone.

I appreciate such books the most as it brings lots of answers which I have been asking my whole life. For me, this collection is not just a pretty colourful eye-popping good read (cos it really is!), this is like a manifesto for me as the title rightly says!

Love the empowering words, the colourful pages. Such books do make the reader braver and more confident. Hello, the world deserves this book so much!

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion, for the advance reading copy.