A sweet coming of age story mixed with a ghost story. Give this to your LGBTQIA+ teens and preteens. The strong parent-child relationship is important for readers to see as well as the other strong family dynamics the ghost story part relates to. It champions positive friendships and acceptance. It reads well for all readers of all ages, but might be of particular importance to some readers.

This book felt like stories awkwardly combined. I would have liked each separately more.

An age-appropriate (upper elementary school-ish) ghost story about grief, friendship, and figuring out who you are. A good choice for kids 9-13 ish who are looking for gentle descriptions of what it might be like to discover your truth as a transgender pre-teen.

Mixed feelings about this one. Content Warnings: grief, death of a loved one, gender dysphoria

Pros: definitely well-written, and Bug's voice feels like an authentic tween voice. All the characters are positive and supportive of each other - families, friends, all them. It's a story that will resonate with tweens feeling uncomfortable in their skin, trying to figure out who they are, making friends. It does a good job of depicting the grieving process of losing a loved one. The supernatural/ghost aspect isn't too weird or creepy. Affirming of LGBTQ characters.

Cons: spoiler: for most of the story, Bug feels very uncomfortable in her own skin - doesn't recognize her own reflection in the mirror, doesn't feel like she fits in with the other girls in her class who love make-up and fashion. At the end of the story, Bug comes out as transgender. Although it's likely that kids feeling gender dysphoria will recognize how Bug feels, I think it is also true that many other tween girls will recognize this feeling too. It's a relatively universal feeling to be uncomfortable in your skin when you're starting puberty, not recognizing your body as it changes, feeling like you don't fit in if you're not a "girly girl". This story has such a quick and simple resolution - Bug wakes up with a mysteriously shaved head, looks in a mirror, and sees himself as a boy. I spend a lot of time around middle schoolers, and there are MANY girls who aren't interested in make-up, fashion, or romance. I feel like this story could send the message of "Well, you must not actually be a girl then! Identify as a boy and you'll feel so much better!" rather than actually being inclusive of girls who just aren't what our culture labels as "girly". Gender dysphoria is real and complicated, and treating gender dysphoria/coming out as trans is also complicated. I realize this book is geared for middle grade students, so it simplifies that experience a bit and is meant to just give kids an understanding of what it means to be transgender, but it comes across as a quick, easy solution for Bug. (An entire middle school being instantly supportive of a classmate coming out? Unfortunately, bullying is a very real issue that most LGBTQ students will experience in one way or another. Bug's experience feels too good to be true in today's divided world) I think books where LGBTQ kids feel like they can be seen and appreciated are important, but his transition in this story just felt a little too simplified/easy to seem authentic. Other side note: the ghost of Bug's beloved uncle communicates to him through a Ouija board. I think these are creepy and dangerous, and shouldn't be introduced to pre-teen kids as just a normal pastime or easy to way to communicate with spirits. Yikes.

I truly hope that we are in a place in America where this outcome is possible! It was refreshing to read a book where people accept and embrace a transgender kid. Not an issue. The ghost part was fun.

Love how this book normalizes the internal struggle to understand one’s own identity, and discovering the depth of support in family, peers, and school.

Reading my way through the 2021 National Book Award nominees and this was a pleasant surprise. Lukoff has written a wonderful novel for Middle School readers that explores a topic that too often makes people's eyes roll or their heads shake: transgenderism. And it's just a terrific book. Bug is a well-written, believable character who's dealing with 'not feeling quite right' when wearing make up and dresses or talking about boys. Bug's summer long self discovery is woven with a ghost story and a gay uncle who has recently died, so the novel covers a lot of territory, includes loss, grief, families, friendships, and gender identity. If there's one nit to pick it's that Bug's family is perhaps too perfectly written to be fully accepting of Bug's life change.

Not the book I expected, but I loved where it went and how it ended.