Member Reviews
Amanda G, Reviewer
I enjoyed the characters in this book. And the struggles that they endured are no doubt very real. It just felt a little all over the place as far as whose struggles we were focusing on. But overall, it was good.
Michael W, Reviewer
This book explores the lives of misgendered teenagers. The protagonist, Nic, is a misgendered female grappling with her identity and facing unhappiness at her new school. Nic and her friends face suspension over TikTok videos. I appreciate the characters and the storyline in this book and recommend it to all readers interested in gender identity themes.
Donna M, Educator
I had the opportunity to recieve a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review it.
This book is ripped from the headlines, from a reality which is far, far too real for teens living in conservative states. I haven't read the prior two in the series, but found this one compelling and it easy to connect to Nic, as an agender teen in Oklahoma, and their friends Mack, who is trans masc, and Jenna and Jacob, who are LGB.
Nic starts out the book in a good place. Sure, they're still in OK, but they've left their more conservative hometown for the Oklahoma Academy of Math and Science. They've won a place in a weekly art residency. They have good friends. And they've been granted permission to have a private room with a shared bathroom with Mack, as the two out trans kids at the school. The four friends begin doing book reviews and videos discussing LGBT legislation and how it is affecting them on TikTok.
And, just as is reality for trans teens now, it doesn't stay that way.
Kelly Vincent has done an amazing job. There are many times when "Ugliest" is hard to read. Because the pain that Nic and Mack, especially, face is real and raw. And, it could be so, so much worse.
As a parent, as a teacher, this is a valuable book. I plan to include it, and the prior two in the series, in my Little Free Library. Alas. It cannot be included in school libraries or classrooms in my state-due to exactly the same things that Nic and friends discuss in their TikToks.
