Glitch Girl! is a book that is going to help some kids feel seen and help some kids understand their peers. It is so important for kids to be exploring books like this. I really enjoyed the interviews at the end to give some more perspective to the story.

I quite enjoyed this novel in-verse!

This story brought a lot of emotions and thoughts. This novel follows a young child who is diagnosed with ADHD, dealing with confusion about their gender, and an ever developing crush on a girl at school. To deal with and process all this, they play a rollercoaster park simulation video game every single day following them from fifth grade up until seventh grade.

This book stressed me all the way out, and as such I'm struggling to rate it.

When I picked this up, I didn't realize that it was in large part autobiographical, though there are many fictionalized elements. The author talks about this more at the end, and this makes a great deal of sense in hindsight. Oet's depiction of ADHD is extremely accurate, and as someone with ADHD, reading J---'s story (this is how the character is named in the book) left me with such a deep sense of secondhand shame that I felt physically ill with anxiety most of the time that I was reading. This isn't to say that I think J--- SHOULD be ashamed, but that my own memories, sparked by this story, were visceral and unsettling. Oet's language is often plain and direct, but it still packs an emotional punch and manages to convey a stunning amount of nuance.

From a technical perspective, I wished the language had reflected the changing age of the main character more. By the end, when J--- is thirteen, the sentence structures haven't really evolved. As a result, J--- felt a little bit trapped in time. We also spend a *LOT* of time in a fictional video game that's a mashup of The Sims and Rollercoaster Tycoon, and felt like that got a little tedious at times, though I understood the game's role in the story.

Despite a few little quibbles and my emotionally rocky reading experience, I thought this was a solid middle grade novel-in-verse. The finale is hopeful, and there's a Q&A at the end with the real-life versions of J---'s crush and 'rival.' I'm curious how Oet's writing style for adult poetry might differ from her MG style. This was a unique reading experience and I will definitely check out more of her work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Every kid sometimes feels uncomfortable in their own skin. But for trans kids, this can be made even worse by parents, teachers, and others who refuse to see the kid themselves.

This book hurts. But it's an important story to tell. J___, like every kid, deserves to be seen and loved. In the story, we get to see through her eyes as they explore inside the social construct of a video game while trying to navigate through middle school in the real world, constrained by undiagnosed ADHD, social anxiety, and abuse.

"Is 'bad' just the stuff that they don't want
'cause is doesn't make sense to them?
Like my ADHD? (Like my pronouns,
if I told them?)"

"But I know now, even my own shadow on my bedroom wall
is not completely dark."

And it's also about slowly finding hope, whether in real-life fencing or new ways to communicate. Honestly, middle school is hard enough. And finding your people can make it bearable.

"I write THEY in the fog.
I write SHE."

Middle boy who has been diagnosed with ADDH, perhaps is on the spectrum, but feels like a girl (he thinks). This is sort of a diary of a 5th thru 7th grade child who is confused about who (s)he is. He retreats into a computer game, is miunderstood by her parents, and has minimal social skills to interact with peers. I suspect parents should read the book before giving to their child and discussing it with him/her after they read it.

Glitch Girl! is a novel-in-verse about a young trans girl discovering who she is. I was super excited for this book because of the trans and ADHD representation and the character's interest in video games. However, my final rating is a 3.5 (rounded to 4).

I'll start off by saying, be aware that parts of this book are especially dark for a middle grade book. There is child abuse, dark thoughts, and an obsessive crush on a classmate. I feel like some parts of the story will be very relatable for a middle grade audience, like learning how to navigate crushes and friendships, dealing with the transition to middle school, feeling misunderstood, and figuring out personal identity. However, some parts of the story seemed very slow, especially for a novel-in-verse. I appreciate that the story covered several years in the main character's life, but it felt like there were also a lot of details to keep track of and to try to link together.

The author included interviews at the end of the book with "Junie" and "Garrison". As an adult, I feel like that provided me with some context and backstory that were relevant to the story, however I'm not sure that a middle grade reader would read the interviews and if they did they may not have the same take aways. I feel like stories like this one are extremely important, I just think that the way it was written won't have the mass appeal for young readers that I would hope for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kokila for the opportunity to review an eARC of Glitch Girl!

Neurodiverget. Nonbinary. Trans girl. At first I thought it would be too much, but the author tells this story well. I enjoyed the Coster Boss gaming element to showcase J---'s feelings and experiences. I was heartbroken by J---'s complicated relationship with her parents. Written in verse and spanning grades 5 through 7 make this a great choice for middle school libraries.

Drawn from the author's own experiences, Glitch Girl!'s narrator, "J-", struggles with ADHD in school, an intense crush, past and present physical and emotional abuse, and gender feels wrapped up in all of it in this novel-in-verse following the character from fifth-though-seventh grade. Assigned male at birth, and terrified of memories of her father beating her after she wore a dress in pre-school, "J-" fixates on a girl she connects with in the fifth grade named Junie, Junie's friend Garrison, and a roller coaster park simulation game she uses to project her emotional and psychological turmoil onto.

Glitch Girl! is dark, much of it is bleak and obsessive. "J-" divides much of the narrative between an obsession with Junie, who becomes a vehicle for her own female identity, and using the roller coaster park simulator as a means of simulating violence towards park guests (she uses an import feature to give them faces of herself, her friends, and her family). The narrative, especially in the beginning when "J-" is just beginning treatment for ADHD, is especially scattered, jumping from her obsession with Junie, the game, and emotionally fraught interactions with her parents and unsympathetic teachers who blame her for not "controlling" her ADHD.

As the book continues, and she eventually meets kindred spirit Sam in Middle school, hope emerges from the dark. Still, this is a harsh read. Oet deftly portrays the scattered experiences of a neurodivergent tween/teen experiencing abuse and emotional neglect. "J-" 's interactions with her father are defined by a constant fear of violence, and her mother slaps her frequently early in the book, while both parents and teachers tell her she is "bad" frequently for failing to meet their benchmarks for behavior. This is especially glaring during sections where "J-" expresses an understanding of science and mathematics far beyond her grade level, an interest in schoolwork generally, and is scorned for it by both students and teachers.

Oet doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of the narrator's responses to the abuse and her own confusing emotions: J's obsession with Junie is almost frightening, as "J-" vacillates between a fantasized romantic relationship with Junie, and wanting to be Junie/pretending to take her place. The way she uses the game to both play out this obsessive crush, and her self destructive impulses can be hard to read, even when they feel authentically embodied in the poems. The book is also careful to develop the dark themes without over-explaining them, much in the way a person in the throws of them might experience; so that it's not until later in the story that readers discover their true meaning when "J-" puts together just what these obsessions in real life, and dark fantasies played out in the game, mean to her, really.

This was hard to read as an adult, but may resonate with youth struggling with issues similar to "J-", and could be a fiction resource to help let them know they are not alone in their feelings and experiences.

Glitch Girl! is about a young J-- in 5th through 7th grade navigating life with ADHD, friends and crushes, gender identity, and an emotionally neglectful family. You never really do learn J--'s name as J-- no longer identifies with that name and has yet (in the story) to choose a new one. With some differences, this book catalogs quite a few of the author's experiences growing up.

There are so many different layers to this book. The beginning jumps around quite a bit, but that only gives you a good insight to the ADHD brain that J-- is dealing with. It is also heartbreaking with J-- hearing so often when they are young that they are "bad" simply because they cannot control themselves quite like the other kids. There were several instances in the first half of this book, especially in the Coaster Boss scenes, that I was not sure where it was going - with all the borderline evil things that J-- would do to the park guests - that ended up making complete sense and coming together nicely in the end. Overall I thought this book was put together very well and really gave a great perspective on what goes through the brain of someone who is dealing with so many different difficulties and changes.

I did appreciate the interviews with the real "Junie" and "Garrison" at the end of the book. I feel that it really gave a good look at how some of the things that happen to us and consume so much of our thoughts, may not have been such a harsh memory to the others involved. You also get to see that as we grow there are quite a few things that we forget and just don't matter.

Glitch Girl! follows the life of J- who is discovering who she is and how she wants to show up in the world. Through poetry, Ranie Oet paints the portrait of an obsessed adolescent who has a difficult time connecting to peers and is navigating an ADHD diagnosis . Coaster Boss, a game in which a player can create amusement parks complete with rides, concessions, and park goers becomes J-s outlet and J- creates many different parks. Soon the parks feature the same characters over and over, as we discover J- has an obsession with a classmate and J-'s actions trend toward the violent side as she finds creative ways to torture her park goers. Readers will keep turning the pages of this book, wondering when J- will begin to realize that her self-destructive behaviors both in life and in her game aren't serving her, but unfortunately that realization comes too late and readers might be left feeling like they didn't get the ending they hoped for.

I really wanted to like this book, but I felt like it missed the mark a bit. The protagonist is trying to find themself, but I never felt connected to them. The friendships didn't feel genuine either.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Kokila for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: Glitch Girl! is a middle-grade novel in verse following J—, a young trans person navigating ADHD, middle school loneliness, and self-discovery through their obsession with the video game Coaster Boss, ultimately finding friendship and the freedom to exist beyond rigid labels.

Review: Glitch Girl! is an intense and chaotic novel in verse that mirrors the experience of an ADHD brain, pulling readers into J—’s raw and deeply personal journey of self-discovery. Told in a powerful first-person perspective, the story doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable, heartbreaking moments as J— navigates identity, isolation, and an overwhelming home and school life. The novel includes heavy themes, with content warnings for trauma, physical and emotional abuse, self-harm, misgendering, transphobia, homophobia, and bullying—though it’s important to note that the book does not explicitly state that the parental abuse is directed at the main character.

This is an extremely tough but necessary read, offering an unfiltered look into J—’s struggles and resilience. While the frequent video game sequences may feel repetitive, they serve as a crucial lens through which J— processes their emotions. Glitch Girl! is not an easy book, but it’s an important one, offering representation and validation to those who have felt unseen or boxed in by the world around them.

Genres/Themes: Juvenile Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Neurodiversity / Stories in Verse

Glitch Girl! is scheduled for publication on March 11, 2025, by PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Kokila.

Glitch Girl is such an interesting book. I am certain it's going to win awards. I've never read anything like it (the closest comparison I can think of is Louder Than Hunger), and I've never seen a young POV portray ADHD so accurately. Based loosely on the author's own experiences from 5th-7th grade, this is deeply personal and includes important representation.

J- is transgender, has intense ADHD, and feels misunderstood. By parents, whose frustrations with J-'s behavior turns abusive. With classmates and teachers, who think J- is being disruptive on purpose. By Junie (J-'s crush) and Garrison (Junie's friend), who went from being friendly to saying not so nice things. J- blames J- which is heartbreaking and difficult to read.

The only solace J- finds is in a roller coaster sims type game. J- builds park after park, different roller coasters and different guests, trying to find glitches in the game design. Sometimes the game turns deadly. J-'s mother finds this particularly disturbing, although J- doesn't mean for it to happen.

This is an extremely tough book to read. It's deeply personal and the first person POV is as close as a reader can get to J-'s thoughts. It was not an easy read, at times I had to push myself to continue, especially as there were so many scenes featuring the roller coaster computer game. There also wasn't much plot, it was deeply character driven, and all of it in J-'s point of view was intense (I think deliberately so). And despite some of the middle section being slow, the ending felt too abrupt.

Be sure to check the content warnings before reading. A bonus I really enjoyed were the interviews at the back of the book with the real people Junie and Garrison are based on. Fascinating!

Recommended for ages 10+ due to mature themes.

3.5 stars

This novel-in-verse reads like a literary fiction book for middle schoolers, which isn't bad, but I'm not the biggest fan of literary fiction. The depiction of ADHD symptoms felt very authentic, though the main character's borderline obsession with Junie would be creepy if the main character was any older than they are. I don't know if it helps to know this upfront, but the book is a fictionalization of the author's 5th to 7th grade years. The interviews with the people Junie and Garrison are based on was interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC copy of this book!

"Glitch Girl!" is a book that I read without trouble as I kept being lost in the pages. I cried a bit and also smiled while reading it. As a non binary person, I felt some of the difficulties the main character was feeling deep in my heart, like the uncertainty of who we really are.

The struggles this character phased with mental health, while I have not lived them, I can understand since I used to work as a skills trainer for young kids; many of them had mental health needs and didn't know how to deal with them (neither the parents) which became an issue in itself. It made me remember some of my clients and I thinks that's why it made me so sad and melancholic.

The book is the most real depiction of mental health and growing up with it that I've ever read. It shows how cruel not knowing how to deal with yourself can be if no one is there to help you along the way.

I loved it but it does have some trigger warnings and I'm glad they mentioned that at the beginning of the book.

(actual rating is 4.25)

3.5

Overall enjoyed this, but at times it was a bit difficult to read. J-'s view of their relationship with Junie was very overwhelming and uncomfortable. J- was obsessed with her and thought they were dating because Junie was nice to them and it felt like if this were adult, it could easily have been a horror novel. On the other hand, the end of J-'s crush felt very sudden and like it came out of nowhere.

J-'s parents are also both abusive. Their father beat them so hard when they were in preschool that their back still hurt sometimes when they were in fifth grade. J- would often flinch any time their father showed any type of anger. J-'s mother seemed to not really like them anymore after they got their ADHD diagnosis (at one point she straight up calls them 'annoying' to their face, it appears she force-feeds them their meds every morning, she slaps them so hard their face is scratched, she denies that they ever beat them). The dad seems to change his tune after his mother dies, but it felt unnatural that the mother ever did, or that either of them could be accepting of J-'s gender identity (especially as it seemed they were Russian immigrants and the story took place in the early-mid 2000s when people were much less accepting in general).

I wish there had been more with Sam, J-'s first actual friend who seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with them. They were only introduced right near the end so there wasn't near enough of their friendship.

I do not believe it was ever stated in the book, but J- was probably meant to be undiagnosed autistic.

I feel like I liked this a bit more before I learned it's a fictionalized version of the author's life.

The end of the book has short interviews with the people Junie and Garrison were based off of, which was interesting.

It made me want to play Roller Coaster Tycoon.

CW as written in the book: trauma, physical abuse, emotional abuse, violence, self-harm, misgendering, transphobia, homophobia, and bullying. The book's content warning does not mention that the abuse is done by parents to their child.

Completely unrelated to the contents of the book, but I really do not like the face on the cover. The eyes are unsettling because of their size and level of detail.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

This was such a difficult read, especially because I saw so much of myself reflected in J--. Our main character is facing a complex list of challenges on top of the usual middle school difficulties. They are figuring out their gender, navigating a crush on a friend, struggling with ADHD, and dealing with abusive parents. All of this leads to some emotional, tough to read scenes. As hard as it was to read, I'm so glad middle grade books like this exist now for kids to read and relate to.

Rainie Oet did an incredible job portraying an ADHD character in a realistic way, instead of the ignorant, damaging way a lot of media does. J--'s ADHD made it even harder for them to navigate the struggles of learning and discovering themself in the already tough years of middle school. They also show the ways gender envy can manifest as an obsessive seeming crush through J--'s relationship with Junie (or, at least, that's the way I interpreted their friendship in the number of times J-- said they didn't know if they wanted to date Junie or be her more. I would've loved J-- to meet Sam a little earlier in the book and continue to explore their gender through that relationship, but honestly the obsessive Junie dialogue was realistic despite it seeming nonstop.

There main reason this wasn't a five star for me is that there wasn't much going on outside of J-- playing a rollercoaster game. That's not to say I didn't love the way the game was woven into the story. It was interesting to see how J-- used the coaster game to explore their gender, or test out social interactions, or create some sort of metaphorical version of their real world.

Overall a little heavier of a book than I anticipated, but very glad to have read it, and glad it ends on a hopeful note.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the eARC!

The MC struggled a lot with physical and mental abuse with family and teachers with having little to no support it was becoming hard for them to cope with the problems that they had along with ADHD. All the while of just trying to get the feeling of where do they fit in the world, talking with another non binary friend and their parent made it just a bit more easier.

This story reminds me of what it would be like in just today’s society of how trying to come out or just trying to have the comfort in your own home and how hard it is for them not to do so. It was kind of hard reading this because it was so many moments I just wanted to give a hug through the book. I loved the writing style because it was like it was a poem but, I feel like in this style, it was much more easier to read the emotions that the MC had towards everything they were going through.

Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet was a really good middle-grade in verse! I don't read a lot of books in verse, but when I do, I find they're really good at focusing on emotions and expression, and I think it was the perfect format for this book. It was very easy to get into J-'s head, to really feel what she was feeling. Definitely on the heavier end of the spectrum for middle grade, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I will be forever grateful I never went to public middle school. A very strong 4/5 stars!

I had high hopes for this one as a queer, neurodivergent adult who struggled with fitting in as a kid. Unfortunately, Glitch Girl! didn’t meet my expectations. To start, it took me so. freaking. long. to get through this. It’s written in verse but is still somehow SOOOO long. There is also not really a plot for 90% of the book. The main character, J, goes to school, comes home to play a Rollercoaster Tycoon-esque, and talks about their crush. The video game part takes up waaaay too much of the book for something that doesn’t actually move the storyline along. J is also an odd, unreliable narrator, and by that I mean they are a true neurodivergent child who really doesn’t understand what’s going on socially between themself and their classmates/“friends,” and that was hard to read for me. Parts of the story with Junie were just…strange.
However, there were some good things about this! I love that J found a friend in Sam towards the end, and I am always grateful for queer, ND middle grades rep. I also really enjoyed the interviews with the real “Junie” and “Garrison” at the end.