The publishing of this book is incredibly irresponsible to all involved in the process that helped it along. While there is a content warning about an on-page suicide attempt, the synopsis does not come even remotely close to detailing all the pain and trauma in this book. Furthermore, the aforementioned suicide attempt is incredibly detailed, giving multiple suggestions as to how this character will do it. It barely comes up again either. It happens pages 64-66, and then by my account is mentioned a total of 3 times in the rest of the 300+ page book. Given both the trauma in this book and the fact that trans kids are known for being an at-risk group, it should not have been nearly the level of detail that it was. Mental health is important to talk about, but not like this.

Another irresponsible part of this book is his binding method. It's said he uses an ace-bandage-like binding technique. Anyone who has needed to bind is aware that ace bandages are incredibly damaging, and not to be used no matter how desperate you are, because you can break a rib and damage your lungs. He does mention the welts he gets from this makeshift binder, but he somehow still manages to exercise in it without any complications beyond the skin damage. There are safer ways of making homemade binders, and the author should have explored that instead of promoting this well-known, incredibly dangerous one.

It also needs to be said that his therapist's comments on his mother and trying to go around her are very inappropriate from a mental health professional. This kid is a minor, reliant on his parents in every regard, with no idea at the time if his dad would accept him or not. Telling this kid to go around his mother could very well run the risk of getting him hurt or making him lose his home, and while I firmly believe that trans kids have the right to transition, it is harmful to the kids who may read this book to tell them they should disobey their parents when it could very well put their life at risk.

The main character also sounds incredibly truscumy for the majority of the book, talking about how is body can't be a boy's body or how the fact he has a period means he can never be a boy. He uses the terms "male" and "female" interchangeably with gender terms, furthering the feeling that he thinks being a man means completely changing his body when in reality this is not the case. He refers to his sex as his "birth gender," which may not be truscum rhetoric, but is also inaccurate, as there is no such thing as birth gender. Assigned gender at birth sure, but birth gender no. This is something I've only heard transphobes say, and he should know better.

He also displays multiple traits of toxic masculinity, from saying it's not manly to cry, it's not manly to answer questions, he even says the way he attempted suicide isn't manly. I know that there are a lot of young trans kids that might fall into this thinking, but given that he also acknowledges that the only guy in his life who has that thinking is a bully, it's incredibly odd that he thinks it.

He also needs to understand that people don't owe him anything. Christine doesn't owe him love for flirting with him once, Madi doesn't owe him telling him she knows he's trans, and Libby doesn't owe him constant forgiveness. What is owed his his apology to just about everyone because he takes every single person who gives him an ounce of kindness for granted, like he shouldn't say thank you when someone does him a favor just because he asked. Twice it's even mentioned how glad he is that the guy he impersonates to work (not volunteer, like the synopsis says) at the animal shelter is in the hospital and can't out him as an imposter. The person he impersonates is on life support, and he knows this, and even thinks to himself possibly died already, and his only thought is to wonder how to break it to the animal shelter, not whether this person is okay. He eventually feels guilt, but it's incredibly messed up that he was ever glad about it.

This is not a good book, with an immature main character and irresponsible author. Frankly I'm surprised it has so many good reviews, and that it got published at all.