I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I look in the mirror,
I don’t see a girl and
I don’t see a boy. I just see
my goofy glasses and Beatle-like hair.

Let's get this out of the way first: the formatting of the ARC I read is horrible. There is a part where the same section repeats 4-5 times, and there are words that are either missing, or look more like keysmashes than actual words, and I have to try to figure out what it was supposed to be. I'm going to try my best not to let this affect my rating and opinion of the content itself.

I was a little skeptical when I saw that this book is written in a poetry-ish style (as in: no rhymes or real logic, but all the lines are really short for some reason), and I often wished that it had been written in prose instead - but despite that, this book felt really real. Seriously, some parts were as if they were taken straight from my internal monologue as an AFAB genderqueer/nonbinary person.

The whole book is really introspective, and there isn't really a plot other than finding yourself, figuring out your identity, trying to figure out what others would think, etc. There are supportive parents, unsupportive parents, supportive friends, queer side characters, and going to poetry readings by queer poets. There was also a part about the dangers of unsafe binding, and how you might resort to it if you're desperate but you really shouldn't.

The main character also doesn't have a love interest and kind of questions their romantic orientation, so if you're looking for a queer book without romance, this might be your thing? They don't consider being aro, though.

Overall, I'm rating this book 4 stars because other than the formatting issues I don't really have anything negative to say about it. I personally found the main character really relatable and close to my own personal experience, and I can't recall any parts that could have been offensive or hurtful - but others might think differently, so proceed with caution.