The Book of Girl

by L.M. Francis

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 3, 2026

About the author

L.M. Francis is an independent author and small business owner. The Book of Girl is her first novel.

Reviews

[Leticia🌻 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5

The book of girl follows the friendship between Cecile and Kennedy; their first meeting was very unique and quirky. Cecile was holding a sign that stated that she was looking for girlfriends. As the story progressed, a lot more drama and secrets were revealed (sexual assault), which was very unexpected for me.

I feel that the story deviated a lot and it made me feel like I was reading a completely different book by the end.

Thank you BooksGoSocial Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Megan T-W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a very mixed opinion of this book. On one hand I can say I did genuinely enjoy the story; I felt that the elements of femininity, identity struggles and girlhood were well-balanced for the majority of the book.

However, I am strongly of the opinion that not only does this book have misleading marketing, but it also attempts to do too much. The addition of the darker elements to the story including the overt sexual themes, near SA scenes and the implications of trauma associated with this are absolutely not appropriate for a book marketed in this manner.

All appearances from the presentation lead potential readers to believe that this is a sapphic coming-of-age story including romance and identity struggles at most. A mention of content warnings being able to be found through some link is the most warning anyone gets until they actually read the story.

At the very least, there should be a list of the actual content warnings in the book if not in the blurb. For younger readers (I.e. the teenagers YA books are marketed towards) this may be very confronting material they aren’t ready to face especially without any sort of warning. I believe it would not be too much of a stretch to alter the blurb to allude to these darker themes without giving away the plot twists in the content.

Some of the other darker themes were approached relatively well objectively although it seemed like a lot of ground to cover including the racism and transphobia as well. This lead to it feeling somewhat like those darker elements were thrown in for shock factor rather than an attempt to provide a well-rounded distillation of female and queer experiences in life.

Another problem I came across was the immaturity of the characters. They are obviously still children, high school seniors and approaching adulthood but underage nonetheless, however their mannerisms and actions came across incredibly childish. Having read the book it’s obvious why Cecile behaves like that in some capacity, but the other girls also act that way and it’s incongruous with the overt sexual dialogue in other parts of the book.

There are constant sexual references despite most of the girls’ boy talk being only about going on dates. The girls are constantly referring to each other as sexy rather than cute or any other milder compliment. It almost feels as though their childish attributes are trying to be merged with a sexual nature rather than showing a transition between the two as the girls head from being children to being women.

There’s something to be said for young adults discovering their sexuality and heading towards adulthood but these scenes felt over the top considering the characters’ personalities and ages. The childishness and darkness could have been an attempt to indicate a dichotomy in womanhood or allude to the change from child to adult but it wasn’t fully executed.

In addition, the plot did get somewhat complicated to follow after the main dark event especially in regards to Cecile’s feelings and identity, especially in how she was relating it to others (or witnessing others argue over) however I am willing to concede on this point that that may be intentional to reflect the difficulty and confusion along a person’s journey to discover themselves. Or it could just be bad writing.

Another potential of bad writing vs misrepresentation is Cecile’s feelings for Kennedy after the plot twist reveal of them. Without going into too much spoilery detail, it seems that for what are supposed to be such a large part of the plot, they are swept under the rug rather quickly. Not only do the other characters not mention them again hardly at all, but Cecile herself doesn’t even seem to think of them again until near the end of the book when she’s again facing identity issues at the school. She said multiple times she “fell head over heels” for Kennedy, and giving a reprieve for the trauma she experienced soon after, it still seems that she doesn’t even address them or changes to them until right near the end. Almost as if the author went on a tangent in one direction and forgot they still needed to be resolved.

As I’m wiling to give the benefit of the doubt in a few places, I’m giving this book 3 stars but am crossing all my fingers for some kind of marketing change before release. I could not in good conscience recommend this book to someone looking for a book marketed exactly as this one is, because it just is not what it’s labelled as.

[Corinne’s Chapter Chatter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s rare that I outright do not recommend a book or issue a 🚩 warning for its intended teen audience, especially when sexual content is involved because teens do have sex and literature can create important opportunities for discussion. However, this book crossed a line for me due to the confusing and toxic messaging woven throughout the narrative that could leave vulnerable young readers in a difficult position.

I came across this title as both an eARC and ALC on NetGalley while searching for Pride Month reads for the teens in my life. I requested the audiobook and downloaded the ebook, which was instantly available. The audiobook approval came through almost immediately despite the late hour which, given that this is indie published, made more sense. Curious, I started reading right away and stayed up far too late getting halfway through the book. At 2 a.m. I finally stopped to sleep, but picked it back up first thing in the morning.

Not because I was enjoying it, but because I was increasingly confused and concerned by what I was reading and needed to see where it was going. At that point, I opened the ebook as well so I could immersion read and make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding anything through the audio format.

I’m honestly still struggling to understand the book’s intent. On the surface, it appears to position itself as supportive of trans rights and human rights broadly. However, if that was the goal, the execution is deeply flawed. Throughout the novel, the messaging feels contradictory in a way that ultimately creates a transphobic and deeply toxic narrative regardless of authorial intent.

This book had the opportunity to deliver a thoughtful and supportive message, which makes its failure all the more concerning. If the intention truly was to create an affirming story, then there was a major breakdown somewhere in the developmental or editing process. Otherwise, the messaging at times feels as though it is subtly reinforcing harmful narratives, particularly surrounding the idea of trans girls in female spaces.

There is also a significant difference between supporting someone’s right to express themselves through clothing and conflating that with broader conversations about gender identity and access to gendered spaces. The book repeatedly blurs those distinctions in ways that feel irresponsible for its intended audience.

Beyond those concerns, the novel also leans heavily into toxic stereotypes, handles sexual assault themes poorly, and approaches discussions of sex in ways that feel neither constructive nor developmentally thoughtful for teen readers.

The only reason I am giving this 2⭐️ instead of rating it even lower is because of the audiobook narration. I experienced this through audio and want to honor the purpose of reviewing the format itself. Narrator Taylor Meskimen delivers a genuinely strong performance that feels age appropriate and engaging throughout.

That said, the experience also raised some personal questions for me about supporting future projects from narrators whose work I generally enjoy. On one hand, narration is a job and performers are not necessarily endorsing a book’s content. On the other hand, I found myself struggling with the idea of supporting a project that, in my opinion, carries such harmful messaging. It’s something I’m still personally reflecting on, though I digress.

In general, I strongly believe teens benefit from reading books that explore identities, genders, and sexualities that may differ from their own. Literature can open the door to important conversations rather than shutting them down. I am rarely someone who advocates against access to books simply because they tackle difficult or “adult” topics.

That said, I cannot recommend this book as it currently stands. My concern is not with the topics themselves, but with how poorly and confusingly they are handled throughout the story. Combined with the inconsistent messaging and weak editing and grammar issues, this ended up being a genuinely concerning reading experience for me.

[Tenley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25/5

*Not spoiler free.

I think this book had good intentions but unfortunately very poor execution.

Based on the description, I thought this was going to be a YA lesbian rom com between Cecile and Kennedy. It was not that. Based on the first half(ish) I thought it was going to be trans girl Cecile who moved schools after transitioning and needing to have a safe space in her new identity and finding romance with Kennedy. Instead it was really Oscar who wanted to dress like a girl and be girly but is still a boy. Which is totally fine. That is great representation too, but just was not at all what I expected. While there was a lot of romance and dating, but I would not call this a rom com. At all.

At its core the book was supposed to be about gender nonconformity and how “masculine” and “feminine” are made up. But there were way too many stereotypes that the book relied on even by our main characters that enforced some of those gender roles that it seemed to be denouncing.

Then Kennedy tossed out the idea that feminism is that women need to be in charge instead of men. Which that is very much not what feminism is. And would have been fine if we had that thought at the beginning and grew to realize that is not what it is. That was not the case.

And don’t even get me started on the fact that in lieu of doing a play in their school, they are doing a staged wedding. That while it was kind of a play as they rehearsed for it and leaned lines, it was only ever called “the wedding.”Plus the showrunner adding having them go dress shopping and having a bridal shower and everything. Like a wedding not a play.

One of the side characters, Vanessa, is in an extremely toxic relationship that she essentially says is toxic but she likes being “feminine” to his “masculine” which means him being strong and her being weak. Which was legit a whole conversation our friend group had. And our other characters don’t do much more than tell her he’s bad and that she has horrible taste in men. Vanessa is portrayed as liking sex and anal sex specifically. Maybe a little extreme in a YA but not horribly so. Oh but she doesn’t like it how her boyfriend does it because he likes it too rough too fast and he doesn’t accommodate her by slowing down for her. Our friends have this conversation with her and none of them throw up red flags about how this is assault if she asks him to slow down and he doesn’t. They just again tell her she has bad taste in men and roll their eyes at her. Never do they think to tell her that is assault nor do they talk to an adult about this situation.

This toxic boyfriend also leads to an extremely horrible situation and sexual assault of Oscar that really I don’t think was necessary to the story. It felt like we tried to throw in that men can be assaulted and raped too. Which is absolutely accurate. But then went down a side story of the police not believing Oscar because he is a boy and look what he was wearing. Which fair, that has been a trend with police and sexual assault. But why are we going here? Unclear. Then Oscar’s best friend reveals that he wants to join the police. Which came out of nowhere. But he wants to fix things by being a police officer. Also how is this relevant.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for the ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[jayden abel · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Possible Spoilers*

Disclaimer: This book is not sapphic. The main characters are pretty dang straight.

The Book of Girl is interesting. While not for me, it has some valid points about societal expectations. I found the synopsis a bit misleading. It introduces the main characters and talks about how Cecile has feelings for Kennedy. Cecile is actually the alias of a cis fem-presenting boy named Oscar. In an attempt to start fresh, Oscar attends a new school his senior year. He chooses to present himself as a girl, because it’s easier to explain being a possible lesbian than being a boy who loves being treated like a girl friend.

Kennedy is odd. She is sort of the anti-thesis to feminism? Everything a woman does, Kennedy finds something to criticize. In the beginning, she believes that "Feminine and weak are synonymous…” What I find ironic about that is, for everything wrong with the patriarchy, Kennedy doubles down by judging other women for their supposed submissiveness. Kennedy’s views on femininity are only changed when a man comes along and opens her eyes. Oscar shows her that feminine can be an adjective, not just a label. Nail polish and skirts aren’t a limitation of sex, they’re just an aesthetic choice. According to Kennedy, "...feminism is just the new sexism.” I don’t believe Kennedy is a good vessel to deliver that message.

The book is onto something with how rigid the labels of “feminine” and “masculine” are. There is truth in that our society associates masculinity with strength and femininity with weakness. However, it misses the point when saying that feminism “...places women above men.” Throughout history, women have never been leveled on the same playing field as men. Feminism focuses on women, but the systemic power imbalance means that greater leaps are needed to bridge the divide. Men’s rights have never needed a movement because men have always written the rules. Feminism is not placing women above men, it’s placing people on equal footing.

Sex is presented oddly in this book. Kennedy’s best friend has a boyfriend who likes it rough. Said friend likes the sex, but not the aggressiveness. She feels wanted and finds the possessiveness arousing. Later, the boyfriend kidnaps her, and then Oscar, dressed in girly clothing, almost gets gangraped by the guy’s goons. Circling back to the friend, she spends time healing, and develops a crush on Oscar, her “hero.” I just didn’t see any point to the storyline, other than to prove that sexism against men is real, and that they get raped, same as women.

I’m not quite sure what the author was writing. A love letter to feminine power, but an objection to feminism? I liked Oscar. He’s kind, and just wants to be treated like a human. Skirts, makeup, and he/him pronouns can coexist. Cool. Simply being treated like one of the girls feels right to him. Cool. Unfortunately that progressive vibe was cut by the Barbie review bomb-style anti-feminism thesis.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Leonie · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️ (1 star)

I don’t even know how to start to write this review but I guess one can say that this was a well-intentioned story with a rather troubling execution in the end.

But let’s start with the positives first, there's a bit to like on the surface here. The friendships between the main characters are genuinely sweet, while reading there were small moments and easy banter which did resemble teenage friendships very well in my opinon, and those parts of the book were a pleasure to read. If this had stayed a story about teen friendship, it would have succeeded.
However...where it falls apart is in how it handles its heavier material. I don't doubt the author meant well in tackling LGBTQIA+ identity, gender, and sexual health but good intentions don't make up for a messaging that's genuinely confusing or right out troubling.
First of all, the portrayal of teen sexuality is troubling. The book normalizes girls finding it appealing to be mistreated by men, including rough and inappropriate treatment during sex. The book consistenly frames this behaviour as desirable rather than examining it critically...which is a real problem for a teen readership in my opinion. Moreover, the book seems to want to be supportive of trans rights, but the execution, it seems, works against that goal. The narrative repeatedly blurs the line between supporting self-expression (like how someone dresses) and the separate, more complicated conversation about gender identity and access to gendered spaces, particularly trans girls in female spaces. Conflating those ideas, intentionally or not, ends up reinforcing the very narratives I assume the author wanted to push back against. Whether that's a writing issue or something that got lost in editing...reading this felt confusing at best and harmful at worst. Furthermore, though, sexual assault and sex in general are handled very carelessly and in a way where neither topic gets the thoughtful treatment any audience deserves. I don’t want to get into details here as not to spoil anything but let’s just say that I truly disliked how this topic was handled, even if there might be some truth to it in the real world these days.
Overall, though, I can only say that the I do see where this book wanted to go and I think the promise of a good friendship story (for example) are here, however the book takes on serious and sensitive topics which it doesn't seem equipped to handle responsibly....

Thank you soo much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest and voluntarily given review!

[Tierney Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

LM Francis’ The Book of Girl possesses significant ambition, but, I think, ultimately struggles to bridge the gap between its thematic intentions and its execution. I appreciate the author's attempt to make a bold, resonant statement regarding gender identification, equality, parity, and the complexities of friendship. These are vital, nuanced topics that deserve exploration in contemporary literature.

For me, though, several elements hinder the experience, such as the characters often feeling disconnected from their age and environment, acting in ways that lack emotional authenticity; how much narrative telling there is; how many side characters there are, meaning you’ll need to focus quite a bit early on. I also found the narrative progression frequently undermined by leaps in cause-and-effect logic, particularly regarding the development of interpersonal relationships, which made the story difficult to accept as well as I’d have liked. But my biggest bugbear is the inclusion of an attempted sexual assault that feels like a poor choice to advance the story and character arcs. I’d like to see a clear and prominent trigger warning included for the sake of reader welfare. Or really, a better way to get the main characters from one situation and dynamic to another.

The author’s underlying message is well-intentioned, for sure. And parts do work, in particular the story stars well with Cecile proactively looking for female friends and being rewarded with some seemingly good ones. But more careful handling and consistent character work would help the book to reach its full potential. With a focus on more character development, this narrative could be more impactful.
While this debut novel does not quite achieve its goals, it does show promise and have a few moments to enjoy.

Thank you to the author and the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ALC. This does not influence my opinion.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel about this book.
I feel like it tried to take on way too many social issues to challenge them, but ultimately fell short. Instead it ended up with characters putting each other on pedestals instead of listening to each other, and talking over each other, acting like they knew what the other felt and what was best for them, and any challenge to that was shut down.
Kennedy kept talking over people, overanalyzing them, calling herself a “professional people watcher” despite being wrong almost every single time, and hurting people while doing that. I love that she accepted Oscar right away, but at the same time hated how she put him on a pedestal and tried to tell him how he feels or should feel. It felt to me like Oscar became a symbol to her instead of a friend and person, and I strongly dislike that. I did not see enough character development in Kennedy, so a lot of her bullshit remained sort of unchallenged.
Oscar himself didn’t really get the room to figure out himself, because everyone was so overbearing. He was a very nice character though, and in my opinion the kindest of them all. I love how he learned to stand up for himself and started to grow into himself, I like to believe this would continue after the book ends.
Overall I do like the premise of the book, it brought up many important issues, some of them in a really good and productive way, others less so. The teenagers acted like teenagers, including all the awkwardness, and that was great.
In the end, I’m still felling a bit conflicted about this book, but am happy I read it.

[Angie Carlton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this as an ALC through Netgalley.

I DNF'd this at about 40%. Normally I would not review a book that I don't finish, but this is one of those rare circumstances where the content is objectively so bad that it needs a review.

This book portrays every toxic teen behavior and tries to make it seem acceptable. The characters, I think, are supposed to be upper high school age, but come across more like middle schoolers. The adults address them as "children" and the hierarchy and social politics are very much like middle school.

The sexual ideals are absolutely toxic and I'm not talking about the transgender subjects. I'm talking about young girls thinking its cool and sexy to be treated poorly by men, and being treated inappropriately during sexual intercourse (it even dives into rough anal sex).

Maybe this comes around in the end and explains that its all bad, but frankly I couldn't keep listening to find out. I'm a parent and grandparent. I am open to letting our kids and young adults explore adult topics in books, but I also think that book age labels are important for helping consumers know what they are potentially getting into. Its unfortunate, because the characters here are in no way written to be appealing to an adult reader, but the content is in no way appropriate for Teen/YA marketing.

The story itself was a disconnected mess. We literally spend 15 minutes talking about underwear shopping.

The audio narrator was fine, but didn't do a very good job of separating the characters. I sometimes had a difficult time following who was who and remembering which character was which.

[LP Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you (or not, honestly) NetGalley for the ALC.

I’m… not quite sure who this book is for. And I definitely wasn’t expecting the major theme of “it’s so hard for feminine cis straight men in this world…” I just… no. I think that this is an attempt at analyzing/criticizing gender essentialism, but it doesn’t land, giving much more of an impression that this book leans into stereotypes than dismantles them. It’s also very clearly biased towards one point of view- as a queer woman(ish) identified person with a masculine leaning gender expression, I was shocked to read over and over that boys in dresses are gawked at but “women in ties don’t get a second look…” like… what are we doing here?

Some of the verbiage, too, was strange. Are teenagers today dedicated to calling their friends “girlfriends?” Do they refer to hot guys as “studs?” And, I’m nitpicking at this point, but… the repeated use of the words “police school” made me laugh out loud in the wrong way.

It’s been mentioned by other reviewers, but the sexualization of these kids is also bizarre. I know and understand that teenagers have sex, and I applaud well done sex positive YA… But the repeated discussions of anal sex and sexy panties felt genuinely creepy. Again, who is this book for??

[Em’s Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and L.M. Francis for the opportunity to read this ARC.

There were many enjoyable and wholesome parts of the story. The character interactions and sweet moments between girl friends were nice to listen to and reminded me a lot of my own experiences with teen friendship. However, when it came to the more serious issues I do feel the execution could be greatly improved. While I believe the author had good intentions surrounding the topics of LGBTQIA+, gender identity, and sexual health, the messaging was confusing in the context of the story which may be harmful for its intended teen audience. I also felt some important topics were introduced but not fully addressed or given a solution, for example when a situation involving consent was swept under the rug. It seemed like there was more time given to some of the pettier problems between characters. Overall I believe the book needs some work and deeper thought to improve how these issues are portrayed.

I will say that the narrator did an excellent performance! I don't often reach for audiobooks as I struggle to follow them, but this narrator was great at acting out the scenes in a way that kept me engaged and listening.

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this book with a cute cover thinking it would be a fast teen YA read. I listened to the first 25 percent and then read the rest of the novel. I did enjoy the narrator’s voice acting. The story itself is all over the place. The beginning starts off with Cecile starting over in a new town at the beginning of senior year. She seems naive (I thought she was a middle schooler), and badly wants to make girl friends. She falls into a good friend group that enjoys her enthusiasm for girl fun time. There is shopping, sleep overs etc. And oddly instead of a school play there is going to a pretend wedding. Yup, that is where the book started going downhill.

I think the book wants to challenge gender stereotypes but it also uses stereotypes in negative ways. Calling a male character atrocious and saying “he’s such a boy” as if those two are the same thing. I found this storytelling confusing and the handling of a SA a mess. I’m all for empowering books but nothing here felt realistic or authentic. I will just say this didn’t work for me. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC and audiobook and I am leaving an honest review.

[Lisa Donohoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me. Characters felt far too stereotypical in parts as well as there being (in my opinion) way too many characters and side characters. Many of them with little substance and many of them fickle.
The story was overly narrative and quite boring. There is work to be done (again, in my opinion) with regard showing not saying and several conversations that didn’t need to be so long / detailed. The plot of the book went down so many different directions that it was hard to keep up at times to be honest.
Also, the name of this book does not sit right with me, ‘The Book of Girl’ just doesn’t make (grammatical?) sense to me. I guess it’s a play on The Book of Mormon, but I can’t understand why??
I want to make very clear that the LGBTQIA+ aspects of this book are not what I didn’t like!! However, the very first category on a list of 3 describing this book is ‘Women’s Fiction’ and I do not agree that it falls into that category at all.
I think this book could have been really special with great insights and learning moments if it had of been better though out and edited.

[BookloverEEr · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐

I received *The Book of Girl* as an audiobook ARC through NetGalley, and overall I enjoyed it.

One of the things that surprised me most about this book was the direction the story took. It ended up being quite different from what I expected when I started it, which kept me interested and curious about where everything was going.

What stood out most to me were the themes explored throughout the story. The book touches on several important topics, including themes that are relevant to the LGBTQ+ community, and I thought those aspects were handled thoughtfully. It gave the story a deeper emotional layer and made it feel like there was more to take away from it than just the plot itself.

While I enjoyed the book and appreciated the messages it explored, I never felt completely blown away by it. There were moments that really worked for me, but overall it didn't become a new favorite.

That being said, I'm glad I picked it up. It was a meaningful story that went in unexpected directions and tackled important subjects in an engaging way.

Overall, I gave *The Book of Girl* 3 out of 5 stars.

[Jules ✌ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an audio ARC of The Book of Girl by L.M. Francis. This book follows a teenager exploring their sexuality and gender identity while navigating life at a new school and building new friendships. I appreciated this story because it gave me a different perspective on what it means to be a girl and how those ideas can change from person to person. It also takes on difficult topics such as homophobia, sexual assault, and familial estrangement.

There are a couple of things I'd like to note. This book should definitely come with trigger warnings. I may have missed them, but it contains homophobia, references to sexual assault, sexually explicit content. I also found that the narrator sounded like she was speaking in slow motion. I had to increase the speed to 1.5x or 2.0x for it to sound natural.

Also, despite the adult content, the writing style reminded me of something I would have read in middle school, which made it a difficult read for me at times.

Overall, I would rate this book 1.75/5 stars, with most of that rating coming from the new perspective it offered.

[Margeaux (meg_booklover7)]

*Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for this ALC.*

I really wanted to like this book. I actually chose it because I thought I could listen to the audiobook with my teen daughter. However, there was so much about this novel that wasn't working. The portrayal of the characters were very young with their dialogue being very juvenile. However, they were engaging in very adult activities. There's not much context given and so it feels like the novel is making like of the situations that should be treated with more serious consideration. The way that the novel portrays sex and sexuality is very misleading. It's trying to portray how teens treat the issue of sex and relationships but without the necessary context, it feels like it's promoting the sexualized treatment of girls and encourage thoughtless promiscuity.

I could not finish.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. Written for teens and YA, with a message for older listeners too. Young people growing up in a world that is sometimes more accepting and sometimes not. By chance Kennedy meets Cecile, and their friendship blossoms. But things are not what they seem where new girl Cecile is concerned. When secrets come out and questions are asked, will friendship be possible?

I can’t speak for American schools, but I would like to think things were as easy to sort out in real life. But I don’t think we are there yet.

I also hope in Scotland at least young people’s choices are accepted, at least by the teachers.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

[Brandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not continue this book and had to DNF at 36.5%. Just after the anal sex, allowing a guy to be rough because thats what he wants and she cant tell him no part. Because what? This is a young adult book, clearly geared towards teens. Its a very explicit discussion which I wouldnt want my teen to be reading in the first place but second it seemed like forceable sex was approved of then swept under the rug as a topic.
The book is already very jumpy.
Shes needy for friends and then its very jumpy.

I listened to part of this and read part of it. The narrator is easy to listen to and I enjoyed her narration.

But I would skip this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read?
This was rough. I’m honestly just so confused. I just can’t understand what the message of the book is. I was looking forward to a celebration of trans joy in female friendship and would also have been happy with a journey through discovering the wide world of gender fluidity, which I guess is what it was trying to be, but I just don’t think it was executed well. Don’t even get me started on the off-handed addition of SA and kidnapping that added absolutely nothing to the plot. All around, this book felt weird and uncomfortable.
Oh, I guess I should say that I did enjoy the narration and would definitely listen to a different book narrated by Taylor Meskimen.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute read/listen but I will say that there were spots that seemed to disconnect/glaze over and not provide much detail, which took me out of the story. The 2nd half of the book definitely went more quickly than the beginning. I did finish it and am glad I did but there were almost too many storylines for this to flow well together as there was so much to remember. Overall, this was good and I'm glad I was provided an opportunity to read/listen to it. I will say that the narrator did a great job on this too. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and all involved for the ALC/ARC of this book.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the early audio copy of this book.

I unfortunately cannot recommend this book. The description reads as if it is for young adult readers however the sexual content in this book anything but YA.

The story line was very jumpy and unfortunately the writing felt incredibly immature. Even reading this from the lense of a teenager, it still doesn’t quite work.

I think if this book is rebranded and the cover reworked to be catered toward a more mature audience, it may be more palatable for readers.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a contradicting book, and I am not sure what to think. Initially I rather enjoyed it, the start of the book excellent, and then things changed and I had issues to understand what the author intended with the whole story. Is this a pro trans book or really the opposite? I would have loved to see something more empowering than what was in here so overall I am disappointed.

I received a free ARC and ALC via NetGalley and leave an honest review voluntarily.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook of this. Didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it. The narration was fast paced and most of the time the characters were all quite 2D and interchangeable and I didn’t really get a feel for any of them too much, except for Cecile/Oscar who I did like and who had an interesting story! The whole school play wedding thing was a bit strange. I think I liked it better when it got a bit deeper.

[Sierra Fenwick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy crap the writing is atrocious I can't even finish it