Symptoms of Being Human
Symptoms of Being Human
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HarperCollins
Annotation: A gender-fluid teenager who struggles with identity creates a blog on the topic that goes viral, and faces ridicule at the hands of fellow students.
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #158481
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright Date: 2017
Edition Date: 2017 Release Date: 11/14/17
Pages: 335 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 0-06-238287-X Perma-Bound: 0-7804-0804-7
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-06-238287-0 Perma-Bound: 978-0-7804-0804-3
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2015015403
Dimensions: 21 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Starred Review Riley has a secret. The androgynous 16-year-old is gender fluid. Some days the teen wakes up feeling like a boy, others like a girl. Riley dresses gender neutral, though that isn't enough to forestall belief at school that Riley is either homosexual or transgender. Not surprisingly, bullying results, most of it sparked by a football player and his toadies. At the suggestion of Riley's therapist, the teen begins writing as "Alix" in a pseudonymous blog that provides a place for candid commentary on life as gender fluid. Surprisingly, the blog goes viral and Riley's true identity is discovered by an enemy who may out Riley. This could have a disastrous impact on Riley's emotional life as well as the teen's father's campaign for reelection to Congress. Garvin's novel is one of the first YA books to deal with the complex issue of gender fluidity. To emphasize the dynamic nature of this situation, the author avoids references to Riley's birth-assigned gender. This means eschewing personal pronouns, a device some readers will find frustrating but nevertheless underscores readers' instincts to put individuals into a box. The novel has its share of histrionics ley's typical reaction to situations is to have a panic attack, a device that gets old t for the most part, Riley's emotional life and personal growth shed welcome light on a hitherto obscure subject.

Word Count: 81,795
Reading Level: 5.2
Interest Level: 9-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 5.2 / points: 12.0 / quiz: 190468 / grade: Upper Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:6.6 / points:19.0 / quiz:Q68641
Lexile: HL760L

Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist * YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers * ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults List * 2017 Rainbow List

A sharply honest and moving debut perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ask the Passengers.

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. But Riley isn't exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in über-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley's life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it's really like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley's starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley's real identity, threatening exposure. And Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.

From debut author Jeff Garvin comes a powerful and uplifting portrait of a modern teen struggling with high school, relationships, and what it means to be human.


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