This book is a very nice a to z to know about gender. I read this slowly because it's so information-packed. It is divided into 3 parts and each part consist of several chapters from different point of views of personal experiences. It was very insightful and highly recommended to read.

So many times when I read books like this, there tends to be a large focus on overcoming adversity and how to deal with the crappy things. This book is absolutely not that. The tools in this book are there to help find joy, and this book is truly focused on finding joy.

This book is great for anyone who is wanting to improve their lives in general, it’s a guidebook on how to find more magic in every aspect of your life. I love the content and the tools it gives were really useful for so many aspects of my life.

"Gender Magic" is a great resource for anyone who is interested in exploring their gender expression and considering gender transition, whether transgender, non-binary, or cisgender, or someone who wants to better understand and support a loved one who is going through the process of gender transition. I particularly like the author's repeated emphasis that there is nothing one has to do to be "transgender" enough or "non-binary" enough, but rather you are "enough" and "worthy" as you are and in however you choose to express your identity, whether or not that involves medical intervention and/or legal status changes. The author discusses the various fears and concerns that hold people back, including the issues that held the author back before they embraced their non-binary identity, and ways to address and possibly overcome those fears. They focus on making small changes that push the boundaries of what the individual feels comfortable with while still staying safe. They provide a variety of questions for individuals to ask and answer and tasks to attempt while exploring their gender expression to help the individual determine what changes they may want or need to make in order to live as their more authentic selves. They do not promise that it will be easy or without challenges, but they do provide advice on how to deal with the various potential challenges that may arise. I received an e-book Advance Review Copy, but I intend to purchase a physical copy of "Gender Magic" so I can more easily use it as a reference and guide.

I can see the love and care this author put into this book and for their readers. This is mainly for those exploring their gender identity but it's also an interesting and informative read for those who are family, friends and allies. While an important book for the times, I also think everyone can come away with something to improve their life from this one, not just those questioning or exploring their gender identity. So informative, understanding, motivating and just plain caring. It's beautifully affirming, no matter your GI.

When there is so much hate and fear towards a group of people, I think it's so important to balance that out with love and understanding. If you are struggling, this book is for you.

Thanks to Netgalley for this fantastic guide. I say guide because right now in this day and age individuals, don’t realize a book can actually be a guide to respecting others. The author tells you this book is a bad experience in the freedom to identify an express our gender in an intentional and genuine basis.. I appreciate that and respect how helpful this book can be for anyone. Grab your copy today and read it with an open mind..

What I appreciated most about this book is that it is a gender book created for *everyone.* That’s not to say that it doesn’t prioritize trans and non-binary folks; it most certainly does, especially in the later chapters. However, unlike so much other gender-specific writing these days, there's not an undertone of trying to help cisgender folks understand trans folks here. Instead, McDaniel is trying to impart the wisdom that all gender is play.

As a non-binary individual who is only ever read as a “woman” by the outside world, I spent years trying to squash any expression of femininity for fear that it invalidated my identity. But overemphasizing masculinity didn’t feel right either (because it was reactionary rather than authentic). This realization finally came to me at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, when I noticed that the dysphoria I had been experiencing was not some innate hatred of my own body, but rather a response to how others perceived me; it was social dysphoria. Since then, I have been trying to reframe my own view on gender expression to be more authentic, experimental, and playful... but I hadn’t found much written on this concept until Gender Magic.

This book does a fantastic job of normalizing the fluidity of identity - along with the human experience in general. It asks why transgender individuals are held to the impossible expectations of never questioning their decisions or changing their minds. (A very common and natural experience in life that is allowable for everyone else.) It also decentralizes dysphoria to focus instead on gender EUPHORIA: figuring out what brings you joy in your gender expression. Working in the healthcare field, this is such a breath of fresh air and a necessary deviation from the idea that one simply must experience dysphoria to be transgender. McDaniel grants permission for folks to love the complexity of their trans identity rather than feeling pressured to pass or “blend” into society to be considered legitimate.

In later chapters, these same concepts of play and euphoria get applied to pleasure as well (including, but not limited to sexual pleasure). McDaniel’s exploration of eroticism was honestly what I had wanted when I read Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown earlier this year. The focus on pleasure as self care - along with the customization that is possible in life once you separate yourself from societal expectations - was lovely (especially the breakdown of intimacy types).

I think the only thing that fell flat for me was the constant reminders of “you are magic” and other similarly generic self-love statements. This is probably more about me and my personal hatred of affirmations than about the book itself, but I personally found these statements awkwardly forced onto the page and ultimately rather meaningless. Still, this is a very tiny critique of an otherwise outstanding book, and I’d very much recommend it for folks of all genders and identities. I only wish that more cisgender individuals would pick it up and take it to heart.

This book was incredibly useful in giving knowledge about gender identity no matter what your identity may be. I found Rae’s writing to be easy to follow, but not in an elementary way. The advice within it sat with me in a way that I will contemplate in the future.
Overall, this was an interesting read that I wasn’t expecting to sit with me the way it did since I don’t usually read non fiction. I would definitely recommend it for those looking to discover more about gender identity.

Rae McDaniel offers a lot of nuanced and incredibly straight-forward advice for those hoping to explore their gender and question society's insistence on a gender binary. They do a fantastic job of making sure that these questions, while obviously more applicable to trans and nonbinary individuals, are questions and ideas that cisgender individuals can take and grow with as well.

Overall, this was a very interesting read that had a lot of things that resonated with me. I do have to say that the tone of writing felt like it was catered to a younger audience. It isn't entirely clear what the age range of McDaniel's clientele tends towards, but the writing very much felt like it was being directed to those in their 20s (this is likely due to in part to the number of pop culture references). I'm not sure how much sticking power or active power this will have in my life personally, but it is definitely a title that I think a lot of people would benefit from reading.

This book is great and ridiculously helpful on multiple levels whether your questioning your gender identity, questioning transitioning and what that looks like for you, or even if you are an ally looking for some understanding. This is a self-help book but it doesn't expect you to magically think your way through your problems. It helps you break them down and get to the bottom of your own understanding and then reproach the subject. It was an enjoyable and easy read and really even helped me start to figure out what my gender expression looks like and how to approach stressful situations. I will also say that I greatly appreciated the call out to those on the Asexual spectrum, myself being one, during the Pleasure section and how to take the lessons from that section and adapt them to a way that I could relate to and use. Thank you, Rae McDaniel!

What a joy-filled book! This is for everyone - trans, nonbinary, and even cis - who wants to explore gender in ways that get in touch with your most authentic, open, and free self. Rae McDaniel's book is a breath of fresh air!

An illuminating book that helped me learn more about the transgender experience. Recommend for those who are questioning. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.