I enjoyed the story. The characters were easy enough to like and relate to; however, Winnie's relationship with her parents was thin. I found myself filling in gaps of story where there was none.

This book was really fun to read! Winnie's emotions came through clearly but it wasn't such a sad read, and the other side characters felt relatively well-developed too.

I do wish there were more flashbacks that could have told us more about her parents and what it was like when her mother had any of her miscarriages. I understand the practical and plot-related reasons to not have done this, but I still would have liked to understand more about this aspect of Winnie's life.

I liked the setting of the clubhouse and the light absurdity of this twelve-year-old having nothing better to do than join a book club for elderly people.

Overall, a very sweet, quick read that for me doesn't quite measure up to "How to Become a Planet" but was still very enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. I really enjoyed this title. I thought it did a nice job creating a story about a LGBTQ+ kid that wasn’t entirely about the oppression they face in the journey to being themselves. A lot of the hardship that Winnie goes through actually has very little to do with her identity and more to do with the adults in her life not doing a good job at listening and being present. The author helps you to realize empathize not only with her Winnies emotions but also her coping mechanisms.
I think this is an excellent book for middle school students to read. It helps to empathize, identify emotions, discuss belonging and learn some skills and strategies for talking to the adults in your life in an honest way. I would certainly try to use aspects of this as part of my curriculum if it wasn’t 2023 and the world wasn’t a dumpster fire when it comes to students/ kids and their identities.
I gave it four stars because the end got a bit cheesy and Hallmark movie to me. The book felt grittier and more real than the ending left us off with. Also, in order to care more about the ending, I think I needed more reflective moments from Winnie about her relationship with her parents before everything shifted. It was missing a feeling of loss. It made me feel like this is what it always was and therefore, I didn’t care much about the resolution with the parents at the end. I wish some of the resolution had been given to the Grandmother and the assumptions made about her throughout the story.

Overall, it was a solid read and a book I really enjoyed. I hope it does well.

This was such a heartfelt, moving read! This book really handles difficult topics - such as being closeted, family dysfunction, making friends, mental health, and pregnancy loss - very well. Winnie is an incredibly human protagonist who lives up to the title - she is not always sunshine, and she is given permission by the text to be scared, uncertain, and angry, She's not always nice or forthcoming, and I saw a lot of myself in her. Her exploration of queerness and friendship and her certainty in her queer identity is also refreshing. I think this would be a great book for any library to have in its collection, and I would definitely recommend that mine gets it when it's published - any book that makes me tear up near the end should be in our collection in my opinion.

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!