When It's Not Like It's a Secret first came out in 2017, YA twitter was all titter. Featuring frank discussions of class, race, privilege, and homophobia AND a Mexican American and Japanese American interracial lesbian couple AND fully fleshed out parents AND characters who are allowed to make mistakes, Misa Sugiura's book is a rarity. Three years later, I'm finally catching up.

Living in the Midwest with her Japanese immigrant parents, Sana Kiyohara lives an incredibly lonely life, full of heavy burdens she must endure. All her friends are white, and the well-meaning micro-aggressions are abundant. She suspects her father is having an affair. She's not out as a lesbian to anyone, much less her straight best friend (and crush). When her parents announce that they're moving to San Jose, California, with its nearby Japanese grocery and diverse student body, Sana feels like it's the first chance she's had to be herself. She doesn't have to endure. She can be honest and live. But best laid plans go horribly awry because truth is a lot tougher and more complicated than she thought.

As other reviewers have noted, part of what makes Sugiura's work remarkable is how authentic the characters are. When I read in the author bio that Sugiura works in a high school, I wasn't surprised. Usually I become frustrated with teen characters and their mistakes. I prefer heroes who, despite doing their best, fail because the antagonist is too powerful. A major part of this preference is I don't think teen!me would make a lot of the mistakes teen characters make. This is a fault of mine, I know, and why I don't write YA. Teen!Natalie was, uh, an odd one. However, when Sana makes mistakes, the (mis)action seems organic to her and her journey. It's Not Like It's a Secret seems very real to the current high school life and experience.

This verisimilitude came through especially in the discussions (and missteps) about race, class, and queerness. No one had all the answers. I was struck by how the teens wanted not to harm one another, but struggled with how to do that. Even though Sana is Japanese, she hasn't encountered many other peers of color and/or LGBTQ folks. The warmth and acceptance she finds with other Asian friends are fantastic, but at the same time they don't get her queerness. Her love interest, Jamie, understands queerness, but Sana is woefully out of touch with the struggles black and brown people face in America. The general motto of "don't be racist" is good and all, but what does that mean, exactly? Sana can't live on generalities; she has to learn the nuances. It reminded me a lot of young people on tumblr, who are very passionate about combating harm, but lack the experience/knowledge/insight/nuance on how to do that most effectively.

I learned a lot reading this stellar gem of a book. We all want to do better, and Sugiura is ruthless in forcing her characters to do better. Sometimes I wished for a break from the heavy discussions and paused to read some fluffy fanfic. Overall, though, I liked Sugiura's message that the pain of growth has its sweetness and the struggle for honesty and good relation is worth it. It's Not Like It's a Secret is a needed read.