Pretty basic, so far as the story and words go, but I loved the art. Definitely got emotional seeing a gay couple (particularly with at least one of them as more butch/gender-nonconforming) on the cover of a kid's book 

Throughout this anthology, there are works from scholars, activists, and those who are incarcerated. They hit on the history of prisons in US and Canada as well as the current state of people in prisons now. Looking outside of traditional prisons, they also talk about institutions such as ICE as well as foster care and charities that increase surveillance and often bring in police. 

The PIC has been used and continues to be used as a means to police queerness. Trans and gender nonconforming people, young and old, face violence from these structures. The writers also illustrate some possibilities of how to help, but also critique some efforts that only serve to expand the PIC and give more money to these institutions. 

This is a must-read for anyone interested in activism or working towards liberation of any kind.

This book was a peek into this high school for magical kids. This is set up more like a comic strip collection than one cohesive story. I didn't really vibe with how sporadic the different comics were. Some of it did clearly move through time, while others were one-shots. There were pieces that were really good and pieces that I really didn't get or I found the main joke off-putting (some of the jokes were unclear, but others had aged poorly). There is one set of "main characters" to a certain extent -- Wendy and Marsha. Parts of the book, particularly towards the end gave them longer scenes and more of a story. I enjoyed the parts with more plot and there were a couple of characters that grabbed my attention, but there was so much going on that it was hard to really get into the characters (which is not great for me since I prefer more character-driven stories). It was a neat idea, but the beginning needed more direction and there were parts that could have been left out or changed to give it a clearer focus

As I am writing this review, it is 4:30 AM because I couldn't bring myself to put this book down. This was a joy to read in so many ways. There was an adorable romance, a great best friend, and family that played an active role throughout the story. Seeing trans representation like this is almost surreal -- seeing someone transition at such a young age and receive the level of support that Spencer does. While he does encounter a lot of issues, there are also many things that don't end up being issues which is incredibly important and wonderful to see. There was a lot of complexity thematically regarding experiences of queer people in affirming vs non-affirming environments, including roles that religion can play. As someone in a state in the "Bible belt" that is one of the leading states in anti-trans legislation this year, both the aforementioned joy and themes really hit home.  

I do think that the ending was a bit rushed. There were some great scenes that I think could have been made even more effective if the last quarter of the book had been longer. And there are a few characters that I loved, but would have liked to see explored more. Over all, this was a great read that tackles some very important issues and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you to Penguin for sending me this ARC to read and review!

This was a quick and interesting read. I love a book with good themes and this definitely delivered that. I really enjoyed the discussion around community, identity, and family. There were also a number of important themes layered on top of this: (very clearly) themes around climate, but also race, policing, and more.

I also really liked learning about the bits about supernatural beliefs and customs as Noah is learning about them.

I hope there is a sequel coming because I am more than ready! I want to get to know these characters even more and see more of the characters' processing the event. There was definitely some discussion of grief and trauma, but being further away from the event, I would be really interested to see what that processing will look like. 

This was an incredible read. The art was captivating and the way the stories intertwined was beautiful. I only wish there was more!

This was a really interesting addition to the memoir series. Just as My Solo Exchange Diary was different pacing than My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, this volume is different still. It is more of an immediate reflection of a year, not as small as diary entries in My Solo Exchange Diary and not as large of a focus as My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. This difference is part of what makes this series so unique. It's not just telling you about the author's experience, but you're seeing the change in approaches within the work itself.

In My Solo Exchange Diary Vol 2, one of the things she covered was the experience of writing memoir and even some of the fallout. In this volume, you see this more as her feelings around it shift. There's also a clear change in how she handles discussing interpersonal elements and discusses how it had caused issues after her other memoirs had been published. So this volume focuses much on her internal experience of hospitalization and recovery.

Over all, this whole series has been a really interesting look into her life, issues of mental health, and what it means to be vulnerable and seek intimacy. How do we seek comfort in a way that is healthy and productive? This series doesn't serve to answer this -- it is very honest in it's open endings.