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The Novel Hermit

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Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW | Boy or Girl? How About Both & Neither. (Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin)

February 5, 2016 Comments : 6

Symptoms of Being Human

[note note_color=”#262223″ text_color=”#ffffff”]Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin • February 2, 2016 • Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
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The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is . . . Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender-fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from HarperCollins for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?”

Ever wonder what it means to be gender fluid? Symptoms of Being Human does that; it introduces readers to a gender identity that most people don’t know even exist. I knew about gender fluid identity, but my understanding of it was vague.

(Note: The pronouns I’m using for Riley is they/their, as that is a gender-neutral pronoun.)

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About Me


I’m Cee. Lover of books + comics. Bookseller. Former teen witch.

The Novel Hermit is written by a daydreamer who loves books and want to share her love with everybody. You will find YA, comics, reviews, discussions, book cover love, and lots of adoration for books. What more can you ask for?

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Disclaimer

All of the books I review either have been purchased by me, borrowed from the library, and sent to me by the publisher (the latter of which I will note).

All the words and opinions in this blog are my own. I am not paid to write reviews. Synopsis are taken from either the back of the book or from Goodreads.com.

Any use and/or duplication of my material without permission from me (the author and owner of The Novel Hermit blog) is strictly prohibited.

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