ENDPAPERS by Jennifer Savran Kelly is such an original, intriguing book. The "mystery" element of who left the book cover inside the endpapers of another book is solved somewhat quickly, which leads to even more interesting story turns. The main character Dawn is intriguing and complex. Reading her narration feels like a friends who's giving you the hard truth of what they are going through. Her struggles with gender and especially gender *presentation* are compelling and complex. This makes the detail given to appearance and clothing choices--those by Dawn and other characters--and necessary importance to the story. Where we leave Dawn at the end of the book feels satisfying and earned, yet it's also a strong beginning for Dawn's next chapter. I would love to read what happens next for that character.

I'm thrilled ENDPAPERS will be available soon. I'm going to use it as one of the titles for my (Re)claiming Queer & Trans Bodies creative writing class.

3.5 stars
Going into this, I was excited to read about a person who is figuring out their gender identity/expression. It’s not something I see discussed a lot and definitely not something that is part of the MC. It was interesting to see Dawn struggle with people referring to her as a girl. I actually liked the slow and easy downfall of her relationship with Lukas. I like the exploration between someone who wants declarations of love, commitment, and exclusivity, while the other sees that as a control tool of the patriarchy. Lukas thinks having to say I love you and say you’re monogamous is meaningless and works against the strength of one’s relationship. As time moves along, Dawn realizes that her and Lukas have run their course. I thought the hidden letter in the bookbinding was very cool and the sapphic club story behind it. I love little secret ways queer people communicated with each other.
The first half was stronger than the second half unfortunately. I just wanted to be done with it. Her relationship with Gertrude and her guilt wasn’t interesting or the distance growing between her and Jae after the attack.

Thank you, Algonquin Books, for allowing me to read Endpapers early!

Jennifer Savran Kelly became a new favorite of mine with this book. I deeply related to the protagonist and this connection between us made the novel even better in my eyes.