This book is more about a personal journey with anecdotes about how differents life-forms have reproductives and living strategies that don't fit in the general human need for bi-categorisation than a book about biology in all its diversity. The author's love for nature and its weirdness is palpable throughout the book and make for a good read. There are a lot of personal anecdotes too, sharing the pages with data of various species of animals, insects and fungi.
A nice exploration of queerness, nature's weirdness and how both can intersect.

I was looking for a book exactly like this when I stumbled upon the ARC request on Netgalley. I was so stoked when I got the approval notice.

Patricia's love for nature is palpable in this book. Her way of writing made a more information based book still very enjoyable to read, and the info she shared on nature was such a fun and eye-opening experience. I really enjoyed my time reading this.

Nature truly is queer.

Eels use magnets to find saltwater? Cicadas can count to 17? Crows know when you’ve been mean? Patricia Kaishian is the weird, queer, bug kid who maybe got picked on, writing a love letter to what others don’t understand. I want to be her best friend (maybe that’s because she’s a queer, neurodivergent, millennial Scorpio like me). The prose was readable, and I devoured it. From slugs to mushrooms to crows, I learned so many things and greatly appreciate the world around me for someone who truly cares. Kaishian’s love of nature is palpable throughout the page and I enjoyed going on this journey with her. The staunch narratives weaved throughout what might be dry material made this book so much more real, showed the time and effort done in the research process, and helped build credibility through humanity.

Nature is weird, fascinating, and queer. This book has an almost spiritual nature and brought me a sense of peace to read. There are so many great facts within the pages about parts of our world I’d never really explored. Let’s all become queer to places.

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.