We need more books like this one. Most of the LGBTQ+ books out there are not middle grade. During elementary school and middle school is when kids first start to "like" other kids and start to figure out who they are as people. I have no idea why writers of LGBT books have a tendency to skip over this part of their characters' lives. We need to see more books that delve into what it is actually like to start having those feelings during the time in their lives that the characters actually experience them. By the time characters are teenagers, they usually already know what's what about their gender identities and sexual preferences. There are plenty of books with cis kids in 6th grade. I'm glad this is another one to add to the list for trans kids! I especially liked that the relationship between the main characters was platonic making the book about gender identity specifically, not sexual preference. It gives more clarity between the two for those who might be confused about it.

I love that we are finally starting to get more high quality middle grade books about queer issues. School dress code policies are so antiquated and it was really interesting to read about one school's policy from the pov of a trans character. This one is getting added to my classroom library collection and I've already put in a request for our library to order it as well.

The Pants Project: a trans boy's fight against his school's uniform policy. According to it, all girls must wear skirts, and since no one knows he's actually a boy, he must wear them too. This is extremely unconfortable for him and, on top of it, he's also being bullied.
Liv, a name he's not totally happy with but which is still better than Olivia, is different from the rest of his classmates. Everyone thinks he's a girl but, having short hair and two moms, he's the ideal target for the mean girls at school. However, that won't stop him from trying his best to be allowed to be himself.

This is a middle grade book and, although it deals with what can be considered controversial topics for such a young readership, it does so in a manner that makes it easy for the readers to understand that everyone is different and it's okay to be and accept yourself for who you are.
By letting us know what goes on inside Liv's mind, we can understand how he feels and why he acts the way he does sometimes. It doesn't matter that people might say it's just a phase because he knows who he is and he's willing to do what it takes to be himself. This book also portrays a happy family, which happens to have two moms, showing kids that same-sex relationships can be just as "normal" as the ones they are used to seeing everywhere.
I found that this book, not only was a great example of LGBT+ representation, but also that it mentioned several other issues that aren't discussed enough, such as sexism, consent, catcalling, homophobia, bullying, and disability.
Overall, and although it had some less than great formatting, what matters is the story. And the story of Liv, a boy trying to be a boy, was very enjoyable.

I loved that this book showed us a kid standing up for what they believe in and finding out that other kids will stand alongside them, Lots of allies in this book!

I was pleased to see this book in the Middle School age group. It's a good age group for introducing children to differences in others. Not all children in this age group will be open minded enough for this book (nor will their parents), but it would be a welcome sight to see in the local school library for the children who are interested in learning. If the book prevents even 1 act of cruelty, that's a good thing.

I enjoyed reading this book.  All of the characters were well developed and readers have a sense of who each character is, and what their expected behavior, is.  The books portrayal of children in this age range seemed realistic. The friends you can count on, the bullies, the friends you lose along the way. The book is strongly family oriented with a strong, loving family bond.

The story is about a transgender student, who identifies as a boy, starting Middle School and facing a strict , outdated, gender based dress code. The story follows Liv in his struggle of standing up to the school against the outdated dress code. It also shows the problems children face with self-acceptance, gender identity, and bullying by other students. I was glad the author included that Liv had to learn when to let old friends go. Sometimes the person is too hurtful for the friendship to survive. Sometimes your own happiness means more, it should!

The book helps to convey that the important things in life are self-acceptance, self-esteem and not being ashamed of who you are.  It also encourages acceptance of others.

I can't completely encourage openess concerning issues faced by LGBT persons in small town America, the risks remain too great. The day of full awareness and acceptance is not here, but some day...... until that day, this book and others like it do a wonderful job of opening children's eyes to differences, hurtful behaviors and the acts of cruelty committed against peers.

This is an excellent book and it should be available to those children mature enough to read it. I hope to see more books like this coming out in the near future. What is always forced to be hidden, will always be shamed. What is never discussed, will always be feared.

"The Pants Project" is an amazing, fabulous, important story about learning to be comfortable in your skin and fighting for what's right. 5/5 stars.

I loved this book! I think that this is such an incredible work that everyone should read. It's quick. light-hearted, and enlightening. It's filled with heart and diverse.

THE PANTS PROJECT is about Liv, who is transgender and fighting his school on the dress code which is old school and sexist. Liv doesn't want to wear skirts anymore and is trying to get others to understand. I'm beyond excited that this is a Middle Grade read. It's easy to understand and Liv has a strong, lovable voice. I'm so glad that young kids will have this diverse representation available to them. I loved the ending, too. Everything about it was wonderful. I highly recommend this to anyone!

This will resonate with middle schoolers. Real-life situation that propels student to stand up for what she believes is right.

This is a cute, fun to read story about Liv, who begins 6th grade in a new school with a dress code that all girls must wear skirts. She doesn't want to wear a skirt because she doesn't feel like she is a girl, but she hasn't told her moms that or anyone at all. As she navigates the school year, she makes friends with a boy named Jacob and together they fight for the right for girls to wear pants to school and learn to accept themselves as they are. The book addresses bullying, having two moms, transgender and other issues in a well written way. I think that kids will enjoy this book.

Great book and perfectly geared towards its target age. One of the things I felt indicated its effectiveness is that I noticed about half way through I was definitely picturing Liv as an average boy rather than a girl, I'm not sure what cues in particular my brain took for that to work so well but I definitely say the book as a boy who was being treated as a girl rather than a girl who felt he was a boy on the inside, does that make sense?

While initially I had issues with the voice of this novel - the writing wasn't my favorite, sometimes sounding a bit too young or a bit disjointed - I think by the end it really came into its own. Liv as a character grew and grew on me, and his personality shone through in a lot of really fabulous ways. I appreciated his anger but also his way of processing things the way that kids do. There are these little jumps in logic that he makes that felt so authentic in terms of the understanding that kids have and how illogical their assumptions can sometimes be.

I also loved, loved, loved that this was a family with two moms. The moms were fabulous and I'm thrilled to see more and more same sex parents in YA and middle grade. And more than that, I thought the way that the book dealt with the impact of having two moms was well done. There is never any indication that their family is bad or wrong, but the book still had those elements of kids having to deal with other children bullying them for having a family that is not like their own. I appreciated the honesty that was given to that experience, while also constantly showing how loving and wonderful Liv's family was.

I liked a lot of the little things this book did. There was a small moment where Liv sort of recognizes male privilege for the first time that was well done. And there was also a moment where Liv talks about socialized gender that I adored. Liv talks about how, when he was a kid, he used to love the color pink. That is, until he learned that there were "rules" about who could like pink and who couldn't, and so he felt like he had to leave that color behind. It was a nice way of enforcing the fact that Liv feels at least in some ways like he has to behave in a certain way in order to validate his identity. It is something that I obviously don't have that experience in, because I am cis, but a feeling I have read so many trans people dealing with. The societal enforcement that when trans people present, they have to go ultra feminine or ultra masculine or they are called into question. It was just a really nice moment that wasn't given a huge amount of time, but that I thought was great in how it was brought up.

There is also a side character who has hypermobility and sometimes has to walk with a cane. He was only a side character, but I loved that he was also given a space to come into his own alongside Liv.

There is one character, Jade, who says some very homophobic and transphobic things over the course of the book, but she is always called out as being in the wrong and those negative sentiments are not expressed by anyone else in the book. She is clearly highlighted as a bully whose opinions are harmful and wrong. But that is just a warning that those moments are in there.

Overall, though I think it was a slow start, I really liked the message of this book. It was showing kids, even at age 11, that it is okay to fight for how you want to be seen. And I loved how much that was enforced as the story goes on. It was a really cute book, but also one that had a lot of super valuable things to say and I would definitely recommend it to middle grade audiences in particular.

This is a middle grade with a transgender character fighting his school on something he believes in, something that needs to be changed. We need more stories like this! Liv and the other characters were absolutely engaging. My only issue is that the voice sounded older than the age group intended. I read this via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

Bravo Cat Clarke! This was a ground-breaking novel that will open the doors for more stories like this across the age ranges. I couldn't finish the book fast enough and share the story with teachers and readers everywhere around me. No matter how you feel about the transgender issue, this is a book you should read; to learn, to understand, to have empathy and to appreciate the value of true friendship. I was so impressed by this book and author. I can't wait for next title!

Liv, the likeable main character leads us through a story that tackles a thought-provoking subject with a light touch and plenty of humour. Perfect for middle grade readers.

This was a lot of fun! I especially enjoyed Liv's developing friendship with classmate Jacob and the way Liv and Jacob lean on each other as they come to terms with, and get ready to share, their secrets. I also appreciated Liv's gradual process of deciding who to tell about being transgender--it felt realistic that this took quite a bit of time and thought--and I liked the way the pants project is a preliminary step toward being ready to make that identity public.

Although Liv hasn't really told anyone yet, she believes that she may be Transgender. What is making everything more difficult is the fact that at her new school all girls are required to wear skirts. Liv is so uncomfortable. In her first few weeks at the new school she encounters bullying about her two moms, her haircut, and she loses her best friend. Can Liv figure out how to get out of wearing skirts and reveal her true feelings?

This was a pretty decent book about a person trying to figure things out both personally and in light of other middle school "drama". There were good moments of friendship and revelation.

I haven’t really heard much about this book around the book community. I didn’t really know what to expect but I ended up enjoying it though not as much as I hoped to.

The plot was cute. We follow Liv, a trans boy who decides to protest his middle school’s strict dress code since he’s forced to wear a skirt. I was glad that this book managed to maintain an entertaining story and funny atmosphere while still talking about serious issues. When I read Middle Grade, I’m always looking to see how engaging the story is because not every kid can keep their mind focused on reading for a long period of time (I know my students didn’t) so I liked that this one was easy to fly through. It was fun to read and I’m pretty sure that I could’ve read it in one sitting if I had had the time haha. I also feel like the book was really realistic about the middle school experience. I started getting bullied in 6th grade and while I never wish it on anyone, it definitely made me connect with Liv and his struggles. I didn’t really expect that because this book is so far removed from my own life. However, I enjoyed how honest the story was. The main character really struggled with the bullying and trying not to be affected by it but being kind of powerless to being hurt. That happened to me a lot, I knew that the only way to make them stop was to ignore them but that was almost impossible because they somehow find a way to hit you exactly where you don’t want them too! I empathized a lot with the main character because of that and I’m glad the author didn’t shy away from talking about and processing that experience. Yet my biggest issue was with the writing. Some of the explanations and descriptions the author used, specially to describe what being transgender is, kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t really comment on them too much because I’m not trans, it’s not my experience, so I can’t say if it’s problematic or not, but they did make me take a step back and ponder over them. However, like I said above, I loved the family dynamics and the friendship that were developed in this book. There’s so much genuinely love between parents and children, from Liv’s two moms and her little brother to side character Jacob’s mom and dad and their protectiveness over him. It was so great to see because I’ve gotten used to no parents at all in YA, and I’m glad Middle Grade doesn’t do that. I felt like the ending was really nice and sweet and the perfect way to end the book.

Liv is very determined and headstrong. Right off the bat, we learn that he’s had trouble keeping control of his temper at school and that kind of affects the way his parents see him at the moment. Every is kind of afraid that he’ll have another outburst and that just makes him more angry because there’s a truth about himself he’s keeping from everyone he loves and that’s a lot of pressure to carry around. I loved his tenacity and how much he fought for his project. Every step back just created another way to overcome this bigger hurdle and I love how he slowly started letting other people help him out with it. Something I really enjoyed is how the author shaped his character development. There was almost like a step by step thought process of how he came to realize when he was wrong and why he was wrong and what to do to change that. It was really interesting though it felt sometimes like a very mature way of thinking for such a young character.

I’m only going to talk about the side characters very briefly. Jacob was awesome. I really loved the role he played and the person he became for Liv. Their friendship was really sweet, genuine and accepting which I loved. However, he has hypermobility and I wish that could’ve been explored more. There was only a bit of explanation and just a few examples of it, but I feel like a Middle Grade reader might not grasp the concept as quickly, so I would’ve liked more elaboration. Liv’s moms were great and I loved how they each had their own moniker to keep the reader straight but to also show their culture. Liv’s Mamma is Italian and they own a deli so there’s a lot of mention of food (which was amazing) and Italian words. It was just a great little extra thing that made the book that much more genuine. Lastly, I want to say that I liked the way the author dealt with friendships ending. It was really great to see a character be able to forgive someone who did them wrong but not having that mean that they have to let them walk back into their life.

Overall, I think this book was good. I liked the plot and it was very easy to read which I appreciated. I enjoyed that the main character had a lot of development and how much the relationships he was in mattered to the plot. I really want to see what trans reviewers have to say about the book but I think it’s a good Middle Grade.

A delightful middle grade novel in the vein of Gracefully Grayson with the upbeat hopefulness of Better Nate Than Ever.

This story was completely adorable, from the small details of Liv's Italian heritage to the superhero comic pages his friend Jacob draws. I am so glad to see that there are more middle grade books featuring transgender characters. This book is smart and funny and good. I love Liv, and I'm so glad his moms are supportive of him being true to himself. Strongly recommended

ARC-Netgalley

This is a book that highlights how badly school dress code can be damaging to transgender teens. I grew up having skirts as the school uniform policy. Even while being cis, I hated it but even as I began to understand transgender and the issues surrounding it, it was never something that crossed my mind that would be a problem. This book opened my eyes to the small ways in which transgender kids can be hurt every day.

I loved Liv as a character. I love his love of comics and zombies and the way he builds up a good group of friends around him. Friends who don't care that acts differently to the girls in his class. The only problem is the bullies. And the skirt he has to wear every day.

This is a story about activism and friendship. About finding who your friends really are. The only problem I had with it was the way they dealt with the bullying. It's the same way as bullying is dealt with in every other book. It's showing the textbook way of dealing with bullies and as most schoolchildren know, it just doesn't work. It felt a bit too moralistic of a story in that way.

Really though, this is a story to inspire. It's a story of how you can change the world or at least your little bit of it.

I loved this book! It was so sweet, modern and just what middle grade books should consist of. It was a fast read but at the same time it packed a punch. The message that everyone should just be who they are and stand up for any cause that they believe in is wonderful. I cannot recommend this enough!