Well written middle-grade about figuring out who you are and how and where you fit in the world. Both heart breaking and emotionally uplifting.

A magical haunted house LGBTQ story that will bring tears to your eyes, and then a smile.

This groundbreaking book should be read by both, adults and middle-grade-aged children. It's a book about grief and new beginnings. Bug has to deal with the death of his uncle, but he also has to deal with the death of their former self.

In a small town where not much happens, we find that an internal journey and struggle can be as intense as other "plottier" books.

It's hard enough to enter middle school, I can't imagine what it's like while also figuring out you're not who you thought you were. In many ways, this book reminded me of myself. I often feel like I'm a spectator of my life, especially when in social gatherings.

This MG novel is bound to help children figure out who they are, and make them feel less alone in the process. Even if they aren't part of the LGBT community. It can help them be empathetic and deal with loss, a theme that is seldom talked about in children's books.

The rich descriptions weaved with an important and meaningful story are just superb. I think this was my favorite book of the year!

"It's hard to be yourself when you don't know who that is."

This was really wonderful. I liked how the lines were blurred between the house being haunted and Bug's gender dysphoria. For example, how Bug thought there was something wrong with the mirrors because his face never looked right in his reflection. I did get very frustrated when Uncle Roderick was trying to communicate using the Ouija board by saying BYOURSELF and couldn't be bothered to add the extra E to make his message clearer. I understand that Bug trying to make sense of Uncle Roderick's message was a big plot point, but still.

I really appreciated the author's note at the end, in which the author told readers how to gender Bug after finishing the book. How wonderful!

Bug will be attending middle school and they are trying to figure out who they are while also dealing with the grief of their uncle passing. A beautiful story is self discovery. This book is currently being challenged at the library where I work.