REVIEW: Camp by LC Rosen

Well, how good is Camp by LC Rosen? When I first saw the book on Netgalley, my first thought was 'I love the cover' and I still think it is very eye-catching. Then I saw it was written by LC Rosen and I recently read and loved Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by the same author so that piqued my interest. Then! I found this book is about queer teenagers who go to a summer camp specifically for a safe space to celebrate their queerness and that was it, I was sold.

The premise of Camp is such that readers must know from the outset that things will Go Wrong but I’m here for the journey so that didn’t bother me. So, Randy has been going to Camp Outland for years. He takes part in the summer musical, it’s where he’s met all his best friends and it’s where he fell in love-from-afar with Hudson. Hudson, who doesn’t even know Randy exists because Hudson only likes straight-acting masculine guys. So Randy has A Plan. This year, he’s come to camp with a total make-over. He’s cut his hair, lost weight and he’s trying out a new masculine look to woo the heart of Hudson.  He's even abandoning the musical in order to take part in all the sports activities that Hudson does.  He figures it'll be okay to just have cosmetic changes and it's not that bad because who he is inside is the same and if he stops wearing nail polish just until Hudson falls for him, that'll be okay, right?

Despite the inherent mess that the premise causes, what I loved about this book is the very idea of such a wonderful, supportive summer camp.  I love the idea of this safe space for queer teens who need a place to unwind and have fun without negativity or judgement.  I loved that this book included a wide representation of the LGBT+ community and that Randy’s friends support him but also question him like crazy about this (pretty dumb) plan.  I think that Camp is pretty focused on this relationship between Randy and Hudson but there is also a pretty great character development between these two main characters with each of them learning a great deal more about themselves and what they're about.  Randy's friendship group was another major strength of the novel though and I was living for them calling out Randy's behaviour throughout the book. 

I loved the exploration of toxic masculinity, internalised homophobia, and gender roles. I loved the core message of ‘be and love yourself’ I also loved that LGBT history is subtly woven through the story. Camp is definitely one to look out for!

REVIEW: Boy Queen by George Lester

Well, what a lot of fun book Boy Queen by George Lester is! Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. And I really had Thoughts and Opinions on some of the characters (one in particular no spoilers, promise) and at times I really just wanted to shake Robin, our main character and be all, 'girl, what's with all the lies?' So Robin is just turning 18 and he is surrounded himself with an incredible assortment of supportive people. His mum, his drama teacher, his dance teacher and his friends. I love how much support Robin has in his life. Also, as an aside, I loved his relationship with his mum so much.

 Robin doesn't have it all figured out, but he has his besties and he has this secret boyfriend, and Robin plans to go to drama school in London. But when he faces rejection after rejection for everywhere he applies, he goes through a bit of a tailspin...

Honestly, I just loved poor Robin. He's so ...talented and lacking in confidence. He's so awkward and he keeps telling lies instead of just talking to the people who love and care about him! The dialogue in this is hilarious because all of the characters are full of SASS, but I wanted it all.. There was some great messages about the importance of treating the people in your life like they are important and finding those things that make you stupidly happy, about picking yourself up after set-backs.

 I wanted Robin to get there quicker with his interest in drag after seeing a local drag show with his friends, not going to lie. Loved every bit of make up and high heels and the transformation of all-singing, all-dancing theatre nerd into on fire, confident Drag Queen. It was a joy to behold, as were the drag queens themselves, especially Kay Bye who shines as Robin's drag mum. This was George Lester's debut book and I cannot wait to read more by him.

Preorder Boy Queen now, or add it to your wish lists: publishing on 6th August. 

Mini-Reviews: The Great Godden, The Gravity of Us and Giant Days

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

I was really looking forward to reading The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff. I've really enjoyed her books in the past and the description of this one sounded really appealing - a big family spends the summer at their holiday house by the sea - and they're joined by these two boys, one of whom is the mysterious and charming Kit Godden and what follows is this summer of love. Everything about that appeals to me.  Summer, beach house, love.

 I thought The Great Godden was written really beautifully written as is to be expected from Meg Rosoff, and I loved the lazy, summer days and the quirks of this family. But certain elements of the book just didn't work for me as well.

 1) We are never told the name or gender of the main character. The reader, I guess, is left to make any conclusions on their own (as I did) but I don't think this worked very well.

 2) I think maybe my expectations of this book based on the description versus what actually happens within the story were vastly different which hampered my enjoyment of the book. This is more of a problem with me and my own expectations rather than anything within the book? 

 I didn't feel emotionally connected to the characters, to the story or to the relationships throughout. I think I just wanted more.

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper was definitely an interesting read! I didn't know much about it going in besides the basics - a teenager with an online following is uprooted from NYC to Texas so that his dad can train as an astronaut for an upcoming mission to Mars and falls in love with another astronaut's son. But there was definitely a lot more to this one.

 There was a really interesting thread of science throughout this whole book and that was a really enjoyable aspect to the novel. Some of my favourite elements of The Gravity of Us included some background information that goes on behind the scenes at NASA.  I really wanted to know more about the dirt and how it's being analysed!

There was also the reality TV elements to the story which  showcased rather unfavourable sides to journalism but also explored some other types of media and attempted to make a point about what viewers want vs. what TV producers think viewers want. It was interesting though I wished the author had pulled back slightly on some of it. Some of it was a little heavy-handed and a subtler approach could possibly have worked better (for me).

On the whole I thought Cal and Leon's relationship was ADORABLE if slightly quick on the uptake. Cal was insufferably self-centred and messed up a lot but that felt realistic too and he at least owned up to his shitty behaviour and called himself on it within the text which I appreciated.

 More contemporary books with science-based themes, please! And more cute gay stories.

Giant Days by Non Pratt

I'm a huge fan of Non Pratt and I've loved everything by her that I've read. I always look forward to her books and as well as this e-book from Netgalley, I also own a signed paperback of this Giant Days. 

I've not read the graphic novels of which this book is based, but from this book it seems as though the graphic novels would be a lot of fun?

Giant Days tells this story of three friends, Esther, Susan and Daisy, as readers follow their adventures in university navigating school work, friendships, hobbies and relationships.

 I enjoyed Giant Days and really related to a lot of it - being unsure of mixing old friends with new, clinging to friendships that aren't as genuine as I'd like them to be, the uncertainty of new things, being away from home. It felt unusual to read a story like this one that explores this new world at university and was definitely a pleasant change from some of my usual reading. I absolutely wish there were more university-based stories.

I think the reason that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd have liked is that there seemed to be threads of story lines that were teased in this book (characters' sexuality, for example) that will probably be explored more in further volumes of the graphic novel and also the second half went into some territory that I didn't feel was relatable which felt jarring alongside all of the actual relatable university stuff.  Still, it was an enjoyable way to pass a few hours!

REVIEW Gloves Off by Louisa Reid

I've been a big fan of UKYA author, Louisa Reid, in the past, so I was very excited to hear that Louisa Reid had a new book out and a new book told in verse.  This book was gifted to me by Andrew of The Pewter Wolf Reads, which was lovely of him (thanks again!)

Gloves Off is the story of 16 year old, Lily, whose life is split into two parts - her at school, where she is bullied by her classmates because of her weight, and at home where she pretends that everything is okay because her family has its own share of struggles.  When Lily is the victim of a particularly bad bullying incident, her dad encourages her to start training at a local boxing gym in an attempt to regain some of her or self-esteem and self-worth. 

I've said it before, but I've always been in awe of authors who are able to pull off verse novels with such a parity of words but that still pack an emotional punch (pun intended).  Such was the case with Gloves Off. 

The main narrator of this book is Lily, sharing her painful experiences of bullying and toxic 'friendships' but there are also chapters dedicated to Lily's mum, which were an absolute surprise to me that added layers to this book.  Lily is a great character and I was rooting for her all the way through, but I also found Lily's mum's voice to be really compelling and reading of her own struggles with her weight and the trauma that forces her to not leave her house.  Both Lily and her mum are on their own journeys to building confidence and it was a joy to witness them both. 

I was obviously enraged with the lack of action taken by Lily's teachers and school in not protecting Lily better in what was obviously a really bad situation.  I'd have liked to have seen something more practical happening instead of karma but I also realise that these things happen and it isn't always realistic that schools would have adequate policies and procedures in place to protect students from bullying. 

I'm really here for these stories about sport that are encouraging positive aspects of boxing like gaining self-confidence.  In Lily's case, she does get fitter but she also gains skill in boxing, she finds friends and a crush in the shape of Rose, another boxer at the gym. 

Gloves Off was a wonderful story of fighting through adversity and discovering your own strength.  Plus, boxer girls kissing!

REVIEW: Hideous Beauty by William Hussey

Hideous Beauty by William Hussey has been one of my favourite reads of 2020. The love between Dylan and Ellis was so beautiful and emotional and I felt absolutely wrung out after reading this book.

The main premise of the story is that because of a leaked viral sex video, Dylan is forced to come out to his parents about his and El's secret relationship. They decide to go to a school dance to get the awkwardness of seeing their classmates after the video is seen out of the way. Things seem to go well with Dylan's parents and everyone at school seems to accept Dylan and Ellis but even so El becomes distant and withdrawn and as they're driving home, Ellis loses control of the car, they end up in a lake and Dylan is pulled free with Ellis left to drown. When Dylan wakes up in hospital, he vows to find out all the mysteries of Ellis which boils down to the following:

1) Who released the video of Dylan and Ellis?
2) Why was Ellis acting so weird at the dance?
3) Who saved Dylan and left El to die?

Honestly, this book ripped my heart out. It was pretty impressive how quickly I fell for Dylan and El: their relationship is barely introduced in the pages of this book before the car accident but that entire scene had me crying my eyes out. The love between these two boys was so pure and absolute and what happens is devastating. And Dylan's grief is such an intense feeling that I completely believed and felt too. And there's just no let up - following the car accident itself led quickly on to El's funeral which was brutal. The depiction of grief in Hideous Beauty was so intense and palpable.

As Dylan gets more involved in exploring the mysteries that led up to Ellis's death, it was kind of interesting to see how and where the cracks appear in what seems to be acceptance of Dylan and El's relationship. Hideous Beauty is a reference to a special place the two boys go, but it also felt like an excellent description of this book - that the incredible love between these boys (Beauty) exists in a world where parents disown their children, where awful people prey on the vulnerable and where true acceptance is not met (Hideous).

This book was everything. Intense, romantic, emotional, heartbreaking. I urge you to read it and be as swept away in these characters as much as I was.

Reading Diary: The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

I don't remember where I first heard about The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis?  It must have been an American blog or a link on Twitter.  I feel like every so often I really like to read something that I know nothing about, that I've heard nothing (or very little about).  It makes reading more refreshing for me bringing in that element of surprise that is often lost as a book blogger - even one like me who hasn't kept up with the news or gossip and has entirely fallen off social media over the past year.

For whatever reason, I became aware of this book, had it downloaded onto my  Kindle and earlier this year chose it to read knowing absolutely nothing about it beforehand.  It turned out to be a good gamble.  I really enjoyed reading this one.  It's told in three parts each part from the perspective of either Ryan, Miles or Harley.  These boys have nothing in common, they don't like each other, their only link is that they were each friends with Isaac, who at the start of the story has died.

I had several favourite parts of the story.  I really liked each of the boys' voices.  Each part of the story was really captivating and I wanted to read more about each of them.  Another favourite aspect: I liked how my opinion of each of the boys changed (including my opinion of Isaac) as the story progresses and because of the decisions the boys make.

I loved the exploration of friendship, identity and grief in The Sidekicks.  The boys are so vastly different: a nerd, an athlete, a rebel.  But the ways in which each of them finds common ground with the others usually begrudgingly was really sweet to unravel in this story.  I also liked that whilst each of the boys had a strong element of identity at the start: Swimmer, Rebel, Nerd, by the end of it each of the boys had much more complexity to themselves and within their friendship group.  Also, the treatment of their grief was really well done. Plus points also for the LGBT story line of a main character and someone tell me why AusYA is so appealing to me?

I think part of my enjoyment of reading this book is because in high school I perhaps took some elements from this book for granted a little too much.  I fell into a friendship group and never really questioned 'are these friends the right people for me? are these friendships providing me with what I need?' and also I never really fought against the identities that other people figured me for.  I think it took me a really long time to work out these tough but important considerations.

It's been several months since I finished The Sidekicks but I'm super glad that I gave this book a chance.

Reading Diary: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The first book I finished in 2019 was a book I started in December of last year: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren.  And I absolutely adored it. 

For Christmas, I received a very shiny, pretty new Kindle and I thought 'hey, maybe I can get back into reading with this' and I really wanted to some e-books that I'd had for awhile.  So, Autoboyography was started.  And it really is just so emotional. 

It's the story of a teenage boy, Tanner, who grows up in California and he's out to his friends and family and school that he's bisexual.  Nobody minds, his parents are hugely supportive.  But then his mom gets this amazing job offer and moves the family to Provo, Utah.  Provo, Utah being a hugely Mormon place to live.  The Mormon religion literally seeps into most things in Provo and for his own protection, Tanner's mom asks him to get back into the closet and he does. 

But of course, there would be no story here without something going against plans, right?  Tanner ends up joining this Seminar which encourages students to write the first draft of a novel within class.  And the Seminar's teaching assistant is Sebastian, last year's Seminar hotshot who ended up with a publishing deal.  The second Tanner sees Sebastian he feels this intense connection and attraction.  And the rest, as they say, is history. 

What I really loved about this book is the friendships and family relationships.  Tanner's parents in particular made me sob with their unwavering love and support for Tanner's sexuality.  I also loved the exploration of the Mormon religion - through Tanner's eyes the reader is able to delve more into what their religion and values look like both good and bad.  We see their commitment to service and the good they do to their communities but also see the narrow-mindedness of their views of same sex attraction and relationships. 

I loved Tanner and Sebastian.  There are so many awkward parts in the book where the two of them are sort of dancing around the fact that they are both attracted to one another but unable to say the words or make a move because of the uncertainty around their situation.  There's also such an intensity to their relationship.  The feeling of dread just builds and builds as the two of them dive in to this thing together and when they start behaving more recklessly it becomes inevitable that they will be found out.  And I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the words in this story and away from these two beautiful boys. 

The last thing I loved so much about this book is this sense of how writing can be such a catharsis.  Tanner writes his own story and turns it into not even a fictionalised account of his relationship.  But he is at least able to write everything down and try to find meaning in what is happening and what he's feeling, his doubts, his fears, his hopes.  I loved that Tanner had that as his disposal and it reminded me how much writing has been important in my own life for that same reason. 

This isn't really a review, just some thoughts on what I've been reading.  But I do highly recommend this book!

REVIEW: History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Oh this book absolutely broke me.  There's such a sense of intensity in this book, so much so that I ended up needing breaks to just recover from how very sad or beautiful or honest it all felt.  I love books like this that make me feel so entirely.  History Is All You Left by Adam Silvera was such a heart-breaker of a book about love and friendship and grief.  I loved every second of it.

History Is All You Left Me is told in two parts.  The first part is in the past where the main character, Griffin, tells us of the progression in his relationship with Theo: from best friend, to boyfriend and eventually to ex-boyfriend.  This part of the story was so sweet and romantic and is filled with so much adorableness.  The second part tells us Griffin's reactions to the tragic death of Theo and the ways in which he deals with his grief.  Obviously these sections made me feel like my heart was being forcibly ripped out of my chest as the reader ends up mourning this huge loss together with Griffin.

I think what I loved so much about this book is how much Adam Silvera made me feel about all of the characters.  I ended up falling in love with both Theo (through Griffin's perspective) and also with Griffin.  I felt really emotionally connected to both these characters right from the start and I thought it was really skillfully done.  So much of the book is about remembering the details of this past relationship but also trying to work out a way in which to move on and dealing with tremendous emotions, especially those of guilt that Griffin feels.

The introduction of Jackson, Theo's new (and current at the time of Theo's death) boyfriend complicates everything further.  Because Griffin is sort of lost in his own grief and the only person who he feels understands that specific feeling is Jackson.  So while there are elements of competition (who feels stronger for Theo, who might Theo have loved more, who knew Theo better than the other) they end forming this rather odd and very unlikely friendship.

This book says quite a lot about relationships and the ways in which friendships and relationships vary wildly from different people and how they really aren't comparable in any way.  I loved the nerdiness of the boys involved and I love the ways in which Griffin and Theo's relationship impacts on the friendship with their other best friend.  Also, major bonus points for including a main character who is both gay and suffers from OCD. Intersectional stories make my heart happy.

History Is All You Left Me was such an incredible story: sad, beautiful and emotional.  I can't wait to read more by Adam Silvera.

Top Ten Tuesday: Back To School

It isn't back to school here for another three more weeks or so but I thought I'd still take part in this week's Top Ten Tuesday which aims at looking at our favourite back to school books. I've chosen books that I love that are set in high schools.  In particular I love books like Some Girls Are which are all dark and intense and hard to read because that seems more indicative of my own high school experiences. But I've diversified the list to also include some lighter, happier reads too because I'm sure some of you had those experiences too? I sure hope so.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers is one the hardest most emotional stories that I can ever remember reading. I remember reading it and almost wailing out sobs as I read what this girl was going through, the lengths of bullying and torment she was facing, the guilt she was feeling for her part in betraying the only person willing to stick by her now.  It was some truly horrific stuff. And while I realise that this isn't everyone's high school story, it is for some. And I remember thinking it was incredible when I read it. Really hard-hitting and honest in its brutality.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

It's been awhile since I read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver but I did recently watch the film adaptation so I'm more familiar with the story line now than I was a week ago.  And I think what I liked about this book (better than other stories with a similar story line) is how our actions affect those around us. Especially in high school when it maybe feels easier to go along with things you know are wrong to fit in with a different crowd.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley is one of my favourite books. I really need to re-read it one of these days. What I really love about this book is kind of three-fold. 1) I love the exploration of image and identity. We see this with the main character's large facial birthmark, her mother being overweight and hiding in her fat and also Jacob's being Goth and also Chinese and the way in which he uses both to alter his image to other people. 2) the maps. I love maps utterly. 3) Terra's collages and general interest in art.  It inspired me no end when I read this book the first time.

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

I think the film adaptation of The DUFF has my mind a little bit confused as to the premise of the story but I remember really loving this book.  About a girl whose family life is falling apart so jumps into bed anyway with a boy who called her the 'designated ugly fat friend'  I remember it being all about using sex as a distraction and working towards being okay with how she looks and her place within her friendship group.  I thought it was a great look at high school life and all of its uncertainties.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

I could have just as easily included Jellicoe Road onto this list as well and I'm sure nobody would have been surprised. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Melina Marchetta. But I included Saving Francesca because it probably means more to met.  I remember it being the first book I had read where the main character has to deal with a parent's mental illness and the profound effect that depression has on everyone else in the family.  It was an important book for me, this one.  It's also about a boy's school that it trying to be co-ed and how Francesca manages to find this amazing set of friends anyway.  I have heart-eyes for this book something fierce.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

I remember being really blown away by this book when I first read it.  I didn't love the ending, but I did love the slow-build friendship to something more between Violet and Theodore.  What I particularly like is that people might be going through hard stuff all around you and you might not know it.  And you also might people and not realise the importance they'll have on your life.

Girlhood by Cat Clarke

Girlhood by Cat Clarke is the most recent book that is on this list.  I guess I haven't been reading that many books set in high school lately that have had an impact. But Girlhood definitely did. I love that it's a boarding school story, that it's set in Scotland. That the campus is old and rambling and has plenty of history and hidden places that lend itself to creepy traditions like locking new girls in a dark hole overnight with only a handful of matches.  This book is about friendship and grief and I adored it.

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

What I love so much about this book is that it's about normal teenagers living their lives while some other drama is happening around them and potentially the world is ending.  And it's still just them navigating school and friendships and love and working out who they are.  I loved that about this book and I love the way Patrick Ness writes.

Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albetalli

And I had to include something just utterly happy-making. And that's what this book is for me.  Yes, there is the whole blackmailing you thing but I try not to think about that. Instead I think of how incredibly sweet Simon and Blue's relationship is in this book.  It's two boys who fall in love with each other online while probably running into each other every day at school and not even really knowing it.  They are entirely cute and I couldn't love this book any more than I do.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

And finally we have Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.  The high school in this book is straight out of a fantasy world where differences are celebrated and it's the crazy-wonderful universe in which the prom queen is trans, the cheerleaders ride motorcycles and the entire cast of this delightful story are all weird and fantastic and I dare anyone to read this book and not fall in love.

What are your favourite stories set in high school?

Bisexual Characters in YA

Last week I wrote a very personal blog post about bisexuality and mentioned Far From You by Tess Sharpe as a book that had a very profound impact on me as a person.  I thought that today I might talk a little bit more about other YA books I've read (mostly recently!) featuring bisexual characters.  They aren't the only books I've read featuring bisexual main characters, obviously.  I just picked ones that I've read recently that I'd enjoyed reading.  This is not a comprehensive list of bisexual YA by any means! But having said that, I'm always on the look out for other well-represented YA books that feature bisexual characters though. So if you have recommendations, do hit me up either in the comments or on Twitter.

What I love is that there is this ...surge, almost, in bisexual characters in YA. Or perhaps I'm just becoming more aware of it? It's a possibility. Let's hope this continues.

Sophie in Far From You by Tess Sharpe

As I mentioned in my blog post last week, Sophie's character in Far From You was the first book that really made me sit up and take notice of the idea of bisexuality.  I loved the intensity of Sophie's connection to both Mina and David.  Everything just felt really honest and raw and painful in this story and I loved it all.

Harper in Girlhood by Cat Clarke

Girlhood by Cat Clarke is a wonderful story and I love the fact that Harper (and her roommate) are bisexual but while present in the story isn't the main focus of Girlhood at all.  I love that the diversity is there but that this book doesn't need to be a book about sexuality at all.  It's about friendship and grief with bisexual characters. And I admire the story more for being so.

Jordan in Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

Again, in Noteworthy, Jordan's sexuality is brought up and is a thing that happens within the text ... but this also isn't a story about sexuality.  It's definitely an exploration of gender and race and socioeconomic differeces but also a book about boarding schools and performing arts and friendship and falling in love.  But I definitely appreciated that Jordan does explore her own sexuality within this book.  That she asked herself those questions and went there.

Aki in Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

On the other hand, we have Aki in Our Own Private Universe.  Who is determined to, instead of only thinking about her sexuality, to act on it in this summer spent in Mexico.  There she embarks on a summer fling with another girl.  While I didn't always love the three main characters in this book, what I did particularly love is that Aki does her research and looks into safe sex practices for women. And ends up talking very openly about sex.

Kyle in Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

And finally we have Kyle from Been Here All Along who has the distinction of being the only male bisexual character on this list. I thought this was an utterly sweet story about two neighbours and best friends realising their feelings for each other. It also has a really interesting conversation within the text about if LGBT people owe it to anyone else to come out to them.  (spoiler: no) I just find conversations of this sort to be fascinating and I just want more of them. And more bisexual characters. For obvious reasons.

Have you any recommendations for books featuring (preferably main) characters in YA fiction?

REVIEW: None of the Above by IW Gregorio

I was browsing Netgalley awhile back and came across None of the Above by IW Gregorio.  I'd not heard much about the book or read many reviews of it, but I requested it there and then because I thought it'd be intriguing to read and learn more about a character who is Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) or intersex. It isn't something that I come across very much but I'm all about branching out and reading people's experiences, especially if they're very different from mine.  And None of the Above was very eye-opening for me.

There is a note at the back of my copy of the book from the author that states that the author does not have AIS that this isn't an #ownvoices novel but that they have had interactions with intersex people through their work.

None of the Above is about Kristin, a teenager who after having a very painful experience attempting sex with her boyfriend, visits a doctor and is informed, at the age of 18, that she is in fact intersex. She really struggles throughout the course of the book ...on edge about who she is, her own identity and where she fits into the world again when she had no questions before. Before she was an ordinary teenager with friends, family, a boyfriend and is on her way to university.  Now she's left wondering if her boyfriend will still love her, if her friends will stick by her, if her dad will cope.

There was also several interesting actual intersex people brought up within the book, notably Caster Semenya, who like Kristin are involved in athletics and have had similar issues raised against their gender. But also positive role models who have helped pave the way for more intersex awareness and education.

I found it really difficult to read Kristin's story in parts, particularly in the beginning. The beginning half of the book feels very much like a Mean Girls sort of story as Kristin's condition is leaked to the school, bullying occurs, people in Kristin's life turn away from her.  But ultimately this book is very much a hopeful story of identity and acceptance.

I very much enjoyed Kristin's journey. I love that she finds a community to where she fits in and belongs as well as finding support within her family and friendship circles. None of the Above isn't always an easy book to read but I found it enlightening and an important book to read.

A Coming Out Post

Let me just give it to you straight: I'm bisexual. I am interested in both men and women sexually and romantically. 

And it took me 33 long years to figure that out about myself.  I'm 35 now and I worked it out last year and I have told some people in my life. But I'd never really considered shouting about it publicly like this.  Only I started to think ... why did it take me so long to realise this aspect of my identity? And I also thought perhaps there are other people like me? I don't want to make a big thing of it, not really. But I also just wanted to be a little bit more open on this blog and on spaces where I feel comfortable to acknowledge this. To celebrate it even.

I can't remember when it was. But sometime on Twitter ages ago a friend of mine tweeted something along the lines of realising as an adult that they were bisexual.  I sent a DM to acknowledge the tweet and to say Hey! Me too! but then didn't really think much of it until recently.  (Except I did think then, as I've often thought, other people are so much more braver than I am about speaking loudly and proudly about themselves and their experiences.)

In some ways I feel like kicking myself.  For being oblivious for so long, for not figuring it out even though all the signs pointed in the same direction.  But it's hard, you know?

When I think back on my life and about all the reasons I might not have realised until I was in my 30s, I came across two important things. The first is that my dad was a major influence in my life.  He had some amazing qualities and attributes. But he also didn't.  One of the more negative aspects of my dad and the way he raised me is that he was homophobic.  He'd make lots of comments growing up relating these homophobic views and what I've realised now is that I'd internalised his homophobia.  Without even being aware of it.  His comments and general attitude towards the LGBT community made me bury my feelings and even experiences for a very long time.

My first sexual experience was with another girl as a teenager. It's not something that I think I've ever spoken about to anybody except the girl it happened with and not even that much with her.  I'd always just forgotten that it had happened or didn't count it, not even in my own head.  I also look back now and with this new perspective realise that some (but not all!) of those intense female friendships I had growing up were so intense, on my part at least, partially because feelings were involved.  The one that sticks in my head is the female friendship that ended because I was acting like a jealous, needy girlfriend without actually being her girlfriend and then emotionally falling apart like we'd broken up afterwards.

I remember working in a bookstore when Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan was first published and a friend and colleague being really excited about it and me being very much not as excited.  That's such a hard thing to admit. I judge myself for that.  It was a turning point though.  Because I realised at that point how close-minded I was, how I shouldn't have had the reaction that I did towards this book or towards the idea of more LGBT story lines in books.  I realised then that I didn't want to be someone who hated others for their sexuality.  I ended up reading Boy Meets Boy specifically in order to prove a point to myself.  And it's an adorable book.  I won't tell you that things changed overnight, of course they didn't.  But I can tell you wholeheartedly that my own views have changed drastically since the publication of Boy Meets Boy. I didn't realise then that what I really hated was this aspect of my own self.

As time went on, I became more supportive of LGBT issues.  It was a gradual process. Nobody's perfect, right?  And I was working against decades of ingrained hatred.  Which is why it took so long to get to where I am today.

But another issue, for sure, is that there was a huge lack of bisexual role models in my life (not to mention gay role models, lesbian role models, trans role models, asexual role models etc. But I'm going to focus on bisexual role models for the rest of this post).  As a child, as a teenager, as an adult.  I can only think of a small handful of characters in TV programmes or movies.  A smaller number of bisexual characters in the books I'd read.  I remember the first time a bisexual character actually had an impact on me personally.  And that's when I read Far From You by Tess Sharpe. I read that book and raved about it. I still rave about it.  In hindsight I can see that it was really the first book that got to me.  Far From You was the first book I read where I really identified with the main character's bisexuality (even if I wasn't actually ready then to identify with it). Another turning point. That book was published what? three years ago? And here I am just getting to that point where I'm ready.

But I often think ... what if someone like Sophie came to me earlier in life?  What if I'd met her when I was 14 right after my same-sex sexual experience? What if I had people in my life that said 'It's okay to be you, it's okay to be bisexual' ?  What if I'd had that representation I so desperately would have wanted or needed?  How different would my life be? I guess it doesn't matter. I can't change the way things happened in my own life.  But I hope desperately that it can be different in other people's lives. That young people now can experience acceptance, can experience celebration of all sexualities and can really see themselves, however they are, represented in in all forms of entertainment. Let it be so.

REVIEW: Girlhood by Cat Clarke

Cat Clarke is definitely one of my favourite authors. I love her characters and relationships and I'll always be excited to read more of her stories.  Just as I was excited to read Girlhood especially with the boarding school element to it.

While Girlhood didn't quite reach the emotional impact as some of the author's previous stories there is still so much emotion in this book and a lot to love about it.

My top five reasons to love this story include (but aren't limited to)

1) the boarding school element
2) an addition to the first reason is that this boarding school is set in this Scottish wilderness, which makes it that little bit more ...wild?
3) the friendships, which I think is what keeps drawing me back to Cat Clarke's stories
4) the issues that this book tackles including an eating disorder, grief, guilt and also ...gaslighting
5) the diversity of the characters including sexuality, race and differing economic backgrounds.

What even is it about boarding school stories that are such a pull to me and to so many other readers? They're just so addictive to read and the boarding school within Girlhood is no exception. Here are a bunch of girls all living together away from their parents, having this little bit of freedom and independence. And I think the fact that this is a boarding school in Scotland and in this particular location makes it even more fun.  Because of that there are secret caves and spooky nooks and crannies within the building, ghost stories that can be pulled out to scare.

The main character in Girldhood is Harper.  She's come to Duncraggan Academy for a new start.  She's still haunted by the death of her twin sister, Jenna and Harper still carries feelings of both grief and guilt for her part in Jenna's death. But she's found a great, close group of friends and things seem mostly okay ...until the arrival of new girl, Kirsty Connor, shakes things up.

As I said, one of my favourite elements to this story are the friendships.  Harper's friends are pretty amazing: supportive and togethery and you can tell immediately how much they mean to Harper. But you can see with the arrival of Kirsty that cracks start appearing in Harper's friendship group.  But can it be so easy to destroy a friendship?  I'd also not heard that much about gas-lighting before, the manipulative tricks that are employed to cause unease and self-doubt.  I thought it was interestingly done in Girlhood.  It kept me reading and wanting to know more. But I also loved that this is a book not only about the slow destruction of friendships but about building new ones and building on existing friendships.

And finally, thank you to Cat Clarke for writing diversity into this book without having it be a thing in the book.  There are bisexual characters in this book and people of colour but these things are secondary to the main plot line.  I love that.  The only bit I will mention specifically is that Harper does struggle in coming from a middle class background and adjusting into a community mostly made up of far wealthier classmates and friends even though her own circumstances had changed to match those of her friends.  And I found that particularly interesting.

I really enjoyed Girlhood.  It was tense and engaging and I really do recommend it!

REVIEW: One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton

I downloaded One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton off Netgalley awhile back and after mentioning it on Twitter, I got a message from the author. She very kindly informed me that One Italian Summer is very much a book about grief and she knew of the losses I've faced this year.  But when I finally sat down to tackle some of my Netgalley reading this year ... this is the book that I gravitated towards anyway.  I think I wanted to read a book about loss and grief, if only to see if these characters felt at all like how I felt.  It felt like there could be comfort in that as well as heartbreak.

And you know what? I really loved this book.  It is a book about loss and grief. It's a book about struggling to move on from it.  It's also a book  about sisters and kissing and it's set in Italy and is about figuring out important life stuff.  I liked how it was about all of that.  Plus, it just felt like a comfort.  The main character in One Italian Summer is Millie. She's got two sisters, Leonie and Elyse and their dad died the previous year. They're all headed off to Italy where they have so many memories and family history involving their dad and the entire family are dealing with his death in their own ways.

I loved Millie and her sisters. They felt so real to me. The way they bicker with each other, the way Leonie is pretty gross. The closeness, the teasing, the secrets. I think I'll always love books involving sisters, which is sort of weird as I don't have sisters of my own. But I feel like if I did, they'd be like these three girls.  My only sort of complaint about the book though is that I couldn't actually tell until much later in the book how old each of the girls were until it specifically mentions it halfway to three quarters of the way through. Sometimes it felt like Leonie and Elyse were maybe twins? Sometimes it felt like Leonie was way younger than the other two and I had to keep readjusting my mental image of them all when I came across new scraps of information regarding age.

In terms of the grief aspects of the book, I kind of loved that this book is set a year after their dad dies. So often stories like this are told sooner when the loss is more sudden, the grief more raw. But I liked that the sisters' feelings are a year old. And still painful, still able to cause heartache. It's a year on and Millie's mum is still kind of vacant and using work to hide from facing up to her feelings. There were things said about their dad that made me hurt.  The silly little stories they remembered, the made-up words, the special moments shared between them all. The not wanting to let go. They end up talking to people that their dad knew before and one of the girls gets all excited about a story that isn't very exciting ... but it's something new that they didn't know before. And I completely relate to that feeling. I know what that excitement is like.

I also, of course loved Millie's complicated relationship with Luke. Someone she had history with from the previous summer and now they're both thrown together in the same place and don't know what to do about each other. I loved that delicious awkwardness at first, that underlying embarrassment together with yearning anyway. And Italy! How have I not mentioned Italy as yet?! Italy has to be one of my favourite places ever and reading about Rome and Positano made me want to visit all over again.

I'm sorry for the scattiness of this review. I'm out of practice. But if you couldn't tell, I did love this book. And I very much recommend it.

Love Month Recap

So... Love Month this year didn't quite work out like I had planned.  My initial plans were to read a lot more than I did but of course, life happened and got in the way. Or rather death did. My dad passed away at the beginning of February and not unsurprisingly I didn't feel much like reading or blogging. I still don't, not really. But things have to get back to normal eventually. So I thought I'd share with you some of my thoughts on the four books that I did read in February with LGBT characters or story lines.

Openly Straight by Bill Konisberg

This was the first book I read for the Love Month event.  I'm not entirely sure what put this book on my radar but I'm so glad that I read it.  Openly Straight by Bill Konisberg is about a teenage boy who is out and proud in his hometown in Colorado.  His family and school are supportive, he's well-known for being openly gay, for being an advocate for gay teens etc.  But when he gets accepted into a private all-boys school on the East Coast, he decides that ... for once, he just wants to be himself.  Himself, that is, without his sexuality colouring how everyone views him. Everything seems to be working out okay until he falls in love with his new best friend while out there...

I really loved this one. Loved the main character's voice and this exploration of his past and his experiences coming out and being gay that is explored through a writing assignment. It's also hilariously funny and really not to be missed. I am so looking forward to the sequel, Honestly Ben, which was recently published.

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

Next, I read Noteworthy by Riley Redgate and I couldn't have loved it any more than I did.  ...I'm not entirely sure what put this book on my radar? Perhaps it was listed on a list of books containing bisexual characters?  In any case, I decided that I had to read this book and I did and I loved it. It follows Jordan Sun during her junior year at a private performing arts high school. In order to save her place in this performing arts school Jordan ends up desperately auditioning for a men's acapella group just to keep steady.  And she gets in which means pretending to be a guy.

There was so much to love about this book.  I loved the explorations of friendship, identity, sexuality and love.  I thought the author wrote very well on the elements of coming from a poorer economic background, the fact that Jordan is Chinese-American, other members of the Sharpshooters being from diverse backgrounds, Jordan's father being disabled, Jordan's realisation of her own bisexuality.  It was a book about a boarding school and friendship groups, getting over first heartbreak, becoming more confident in oneself, but also a really great look into gender roles and norms for both men and women.  I loved it.  Plus,  a capella!

Three by Hannah Moskowitz

I'm not entirely sure what to make of Three by Hannah Moskowitz. I'd read other books by the same author before which made me take notice of this book. That, and the premise. I'd never come across another YA book that dealt with polyamory as this book does. So I picked it up incredibly intrigued by the story line ... and while I do find it interesting that this book is available and all, I did feel some disappointment over it.  There were quite a few typos and grammatical errors like it could been copy-edited better. But also ... it was pretty subtle. The story is that this girl moves some place new, and becomes attracted to this boy, he kisses her. Then she finds out that he is in a long-term relationship with another girl and that they are poly-amorous. The main character decides to give it a go at being in a relationship with him and also possibly her and that is the bulk of Three.  ...if I'm honest, I wanted more.

I had expected there to be a sexual relationship between the characters and there isn't. I expected there to be more of a connection between the two girls in this relationship ...but there really wasn't.  So I finished this book and it was so decidedly ...average that I almost don't have much more to say about it? What I'd like to read is a book that isn't too afraid to go to places most YA books wouldn't go. And I felt like this book mostly played things safe. Which was therefore boring to me. Shame.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli


Finally, I picked up The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. I loved the author's debut book, Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda about two boys falling in love and I had incredibly high hopes for this one... and while I did enjoy it, it didn't quite live up to Simon Vs expectations. This premise of this book centres around Molly, a girl who has a million unrequited crushes.  She just never seems to take that step towards telling her crushes how she feels. That is, until her twin, Cassie meets a girl and introduces Molly to a cute new boy.  Will Molly be woman enough to tell her crush how she feels?!

So ... yeah. This book was cute, sure.  And there;s plenty of diversity here, from sexuality and race and mental health.  But I didn't really gel with the characters or the relationships.  And in fact, I kind of hated how the author sort of stood on her soap box and ranted through the characters about a myriad of things... even when I agreed with the character's point of view I just didn't love the lecturing, self-important tone.  And when the conversation about the social construction of virginity came about I just rolled my eyes. It was too much and there was no subtlety to it. It felt like being hit over the head with all these social messages and being scolded for outdated beliefs about sexuality and the rest of it. Have a message, sure. But don't be so patronising, please.

Still. That isn't to say I didn't also enjoy the story. I just wished I'd have enjoyed it more than I did.

Those are the books I read during the month of February. But at least I also still have a lot of great-sounding LGBT books still on my TBR pile...

Have you read any great LGBT stories lately? 

February TBR

Do you guys remember several years ago I used to hold a month-long event on this blog called Love Month? It was basically a celebration of romance in YA and I would read lots of different types of romances and have giveaways and interview authors and have guest posts and everything? Do you remember? No? That's okay.

It was something I really enjoyed doing but it was also a lot of work.  And it got to the point where I'd get blogger burn-out trying to cope with all of the expectation that I put on myself.  But also, every year since then I've wanted to do it again, even unofficially.  So this year I thought I'd just go for it.  None of the other times I did Love Month had a theme but most of the books I read for previous Love Months didn't include that many LGBT romances either.  So for this year's Mini-Love Month event, I thought I'd only read books involving an LGBT story line.  Because why not?  Unless you're an author of an LGBT story line or you're just a fan of LGBT books and want to volunteer to be interviewed or provide a guest post, I won't be doing much else in February except read and review some (all?!) of the following books.  But it should still be fun anyway. At least for me!  Here are some of the books I'm hoping to get to during the month of February...

Physical Books

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

The Robin Talley was a leftover review book from early last year, or the year before? SORRY. The Adam Silvera is obviously fairly new and I bought Wildthorn in a library sales age ago.  I think I also have Hero by Perry Moore in my loft. I'm not sure, so I won't count it here just yet.

Netgalley Books

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
Dreadnought by April Daniels

There are some mighty intriguing upcoming books with LGBT story lines, yo. I am excited. I also really wanted to keep the number of books I've requested from Netgalley to an absolute minimum until I have enough time to read and review the other books I've requested (8 of them which are over 3 months old!) but I literally could not resist any of these four books above. I have no regrets.

E-Books I Own

Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
Openly Straight by Bill Konisberg
Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall
As I Descended by Robin Talley
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

What can I say? I've been stock-piling this collection of LGBT YA reads for awhile! Mostly because despite this month in which I'm focusing on just LGBT YA reads, reads involving these story lines are something I want to read year-round as well. Which is why I've been buying these books on the regular. I think I'm most looking forward to reading a lesbian retelling of Macbeth in As I Descended. MORE LGBT retellings, that's what I say. But also If I Was Your Girl too.  I've heard good things.

Potentials

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle
The Before Now and After Then by Peter Monn
Run by Kody Keplinger
Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee

I really think that I have enough to work with in the previous three categories but I thought I'd share with you some of the titles highest on my wish list. Which isn't actually because I want to read them more than the others on my list, these are just the cheapest on my list. Hush. No judgement. I only buy cheap e-books. Because I'm a cheapskate. The Sara Farizan and CB Lee books would probably be at the very top because they're also by POC authors and I feel like that's important too.

Will you be reading any LGBT books in February?

New To Me Authors in 2016 and What I'll Read Next Because of Them

In 2016 I read...

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

I'd had this book on my shelves unread for many years. For most of my life I've avoided reading Vietnam-centred stories but I chose to read this book this year because of the connection it has with my father as well as a recommendation from a close friend.  I loved this book utterly.  It was beautifully written and an incredibly emotional reading experience for me.

Next, I think I'll pick up...

Other books about the Vietnam war, particularly maybe If I Die in A Combat Zone by Tim O'Brien, but also maybe Dispatches by Michael Herr or a book about the Vietnam War from a non-American perspective such as The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh.  I would also like to read more short story anthologies on any topic. Hit me with your recommendations for either war stories or short story collections in comments!

Underwater by Marisa Reichardt, When We Collided by Emery Lord, A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard, and Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

All four of these books were really well-written and were stories that had elements of mental illnesses.  Particularly OCD and agoraphobia. Because mental illness is something that is a large part of my life I think that I will always seek out books that deal with mental health issues.

Next, I think I'll pick up...

All of these books were incredible books that looked at different aspects of mental health. I'll definitely be on the look out for other books involving mental health in YA.  It's an area that I've already read extensively, so it might be difficult to give out recommendations for me in this area, but if you're feeling brave, I'd love to hear from you.  Books I've already got on my radar to possibly read in 2017 include Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley, Paperweight by Meg Haston and The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur 

I absolutely fell in love with Rupi Kaur's contemporay poetry examining love, recovery, picking oneself up after trauma.  She really captured so many relatable things in her poetry and I love her for it. Modern poetry really stole my heart this year.

Next, I think I'll pick up...

Just based on some Amazon recommendations, I've added two contemporary poetry collections to my wish list, based on the fact that I read and loved Milk and Honey: the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace and salt by nayyirah waheed.

George by Alex Gino

I absolutely loved this middle grade book about a trans character.  I loved the story of it, I loved the characters. I love the simplistic cover and the feel-good message of George's story.  It was a wonderful book and I'm so glad to have read it this year.

Next, I think I'll pick up...

Other #ownvoices books, particularly for trans stories.  I have If I Were Your Girl by Meredith Russo on my kindle that I still haven't read.  I really need to get to it already.  Other own voices trans stories coming up in 2017 that I need to look out for?  Do let me know in comments!

What new to you authors have you discovered in 2016? And does that change your reading habits for 2017 like it does mine? 

Mini-reviews: How They Met, Two Boys Kissing and Every Day by David Levithan

Today I thought I might do something a little bit different and give you a mini-tour of some books I've read this year by the same author. I've been a big fan of David Levithan for awhile but I hadn't really been keeping up with some of his latest titles. And I'd been feeling bad about it, especially as so many people raved about them.  So here we go...

How They Met and other stories by David Levithan

I started off with How They Met which is a short story collection about love.  There are 18 stories and the thing that I love most about this collection is how varied the stories are.  They're all about love, yes, but so many different types of love. There are gentle, sweet stories.  There is all-consuming and passionate stories. Some are sad, some are just beautiful.

I have to be honest, the reason I finally picked this collection of short stories up to read is because I had read David Levithan's short story Miss Lucy Had a Steamboat which appeared in the anthology Love Hurts by Malorie Blackman. I read that and I thought, wow this is a well-put together story and had great characters and a central relationship.  And that was the push that I needed.

And I really do love the mixture of stories that appear.  I love that some of the stories are just at the beginning of a love story in which there is fizzle and chemistry and others are in that comfortable we've been together ages middle and some show that some people aren't quite meant to be together.

I loved all of the stories (except one) and I loved the not knowing that happened whenever I started a new story.  At times I didn't know the gender of the main character for each story and I was surprised at least once when a straight couple appeared instead of another wonderful LGBT couple that I (wrongly) assumed all the stories would be about.  But what didn't surprise me was the stunning use of language in all of these stories. David Levithan has the gift of really beautiful writing.

What a lovely, romantic collection of stories!

Next, I read...

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Oh wow, Two Boys Kissing.  I did initially pick up this book to read almost immediately after receiving a copy for review but I put it down again because those first 50 pages or so had such beautiful, emotional and honest passages in it that I knew I wanted to take my time with this book and savour the gorgeous and lyrical writing style of David Levithan.

And Two Boys Kissing was such a wonderful, emotional book to read.  The title led me to believe this book would feature on two very specific boys but it is not just their story.  It's the story about two boys kissing and another two boys who are just getting to know each other. It's about two boys who have been together for awhile and are comfortable in their relationship. It's about a boy who is struggling and feels very alone.  It's about all of these boys and it also feels very much about gay teenagers in general.

I loved the fact that this book is narrated by the ghosts of gay men who had died in the AIDS epidemic. Especially as these narrators seem to highlight the similarities and differences from the boys in the stories to their own experiences. It felt like witnessing how far we've come in terms of gay rights and also how far we still have to go.  It was interesting and really effective means of narration.  Two Boys Kissing was an achingly beautiful book.

After loving Two Boys Kissing, I decided to finally pick up...

Every Day by David Levithan

I think I had the highest expectations for Every Day.  I'd heard such high praise for it and that sort of hype usually intimates me.  Which is definitely why I waited so long to read it.  And while I think it had some really interesting things to say ... I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.  I think I only rated this book three stars.

The reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought is because of the relationship between A and Rhiannon.  I wasn't fully convinced.  I thought that the L word was used too quickly. I thought it felt very selfish to basically hijack other people's lives in sacrifice to this relationship.  Even the ending felt weirdly off and more manipulative than I wanted it to be whereas I'm sure other readers felt it more emotional than it was.  What I felt about A and Rhiannon was mostly disappointment and for that I feel a little bereft.

But I did enjoy everything else.  I loved the realisations A shared with us about the experiences of living in different bodies. In particular, I enjoyed seeing the high level of diversity.  A jumps into white bodies, POC bodies, straight bodies, LGBT bodies, bodies from all economic backgrounds and abilities. Different sizes and shapes, behaviours and also differing levels of mental health.  And I really loved the inclusion and representation of so many different types of people. I loved the message of loving people as opposed to loving genders and how A isn't tied down by either gender or sexuality.

The story line regarding Kelsey and her depression and the way in which A (and Rhiannon) were there to help was amongst my favourite and I also thought the day that involved addiction was particularly harrowing.

There are so many great ideas here that it didn't matter that much to me that I didn't particularly love the romantic elements of the book. I will still be hugely excited to read the upcoming sequel to this book and also absolutely anything else that David Levithan writes!

What's your favourite book by David Levithan? Have you read either of these three books?