Transgender romance

It's wonderful to have more transgender representation in books and especially by ownvoice authors. That being said, the main character in this book was quite an unlikeable young man. His fake personas grew annoying and the desperation to increase his following was pretty superficial. I also didn't enjoy the writing as there was simply too much 'this happened and then that happened and then I did this'. It is, however, an important story which is why I kept reading. One where a young man is not accepted by his parents as a boy and plans for conversion therapy are been hatched behind his back. I did not feel drawn into the story until about the 90% mark where there were about 20 minutes of emotional and moving writing. Overall, this was a miss for me and the content warnings need to be checked out.

CW: transmisia, homomisia, dead naming, threats of conversion therapy, parents withdraw from teens life, suicidal thoughts/ideation, in one of the stage productions a transgender character commits suicide after receiving some conversion therapy, Mis-gendering, Coming out, Gender dysphoria ( )

i thought this was pretty great. the theater/acting theme was really fun to read about and worked so well for august's character of becoming himself and stepping away from acting in his own life all the time. he had to grow and be able to show his true self to (himself and) his friends and the people around him, and not just play a part. it was fun to watch him realize this and grow in this way while also exploring his acting on stage and in that capacity.

this was what seemed to me a really realistic depiction of a trans kid becoming themselves. it wasn't sugar coated (his parents are evangelical and there is no happy ending there, which is unfortunately much more true to life than had they come around, but he found chosen family with people who were supportive.) it felt really true to life and managed to show that harder side while also saying over and over again that trans lives are important and worth saving. the messaging here, for any trans youth reading, is on point. and then it's a good story, with good characters besides. it was maybe a bit of a surprise how many people gendered him correctly since the story starts literally the day after he begins to live as male, and with no hormones or medical transition - just a haircut and different clothes. but otherwise this felt realistic.

i'm so glad there are books like this out there. ( )

teen fiction - 17 year old trans boy runs away from unaccepting parents, living with estranged but friendly lesbian aunt, deals with new school, making friends/chosen family, letting people get to know him, pressures of working with hostile Broadway director (author is also trans male).

This got so intense in the last half--so much psychological trauma this young man goes through! I would gladly read more from this author. ( )

A really great story about a theater-obsessed trans teen dealing with concurrent extreme highs and lows in his life. August's struggles to fit in in a new, high-stakes environment, his attempts to perform all manner of painful contortions to try to keep the regard of his religious and bigoted parents, and his desire to ignore or shoot past the painful work and the help he really needs to function and interact with others in a healthy way, were all really relatable for any reader.

I was concerned about some aspects of the book—there seems to be a kind acceptance of a certain level of horrible, abusive behavior from people in positions of power in the theater world. It seems to be implied that constant abuse from a director leads to August's improvement as an actor, and in fact his improved mental health, which I found really questionable. But overall the book showed how environments of support and love allow kids to flourish. ( )