Symptoms of Being Human: A Powerful YA Debut About a Genderfluid Teen and Coming Out Hardcover – February 2, 2016

I bought this book for a 30 days of Pride book review project. This is that review.“The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?” Our first glimpse into our POV character Riley’s mind is an observation, presented almost as an accusation. The answer to that question is, “Both or Neither.” Riley is gender fluid, and about to start an anonymous blog, on the advice of a therapist (Dr. Anne), to vent the pent up feelings that inevitably arise from that identity, while living in a very binary society, especially when you add high-school and a prominent political family into the mix.We get to ride around in Riley’s head, facing parents who just don’t get it, braving the first day transferring to a new school, and walking what is described as “The Gauntlet” through an unfriendly lunch area every day. The real and imagined judgements of the outside world rain down upon us. We meet other outcasts, such as Solo, the nerd turned jock, whose sheer size shifted his social standing, and the “mysterious” Bec, who Riley constantly tries to define as “friend” or “more-than-friend,” with all the requisite teenage angst and self-deprecation.We, as it turns out, have been invited to walk in on Riley at a very transformative and eventful time in life. In fact, though the story takes place over a really short span, maybe only a month or two, Riley has some life altering experiences in that time, some more traumatic than others.There was a lot to like about this book. Riley is a fully realized and relatable character, and a hopeful, anxious, flawed, but very human face for gender fluidity, an often misunderstood and still underrepresented demographic. Because non-binary gender is messy, complicated and controversial, it becomes hard to talk about, but there are many teenagers like Riley who NEED to talk about it, and need to see it being talked about… if nothing else to be reassured that it exists outside of their own heads, that it is real and happening, that they are not alone.Jeff Garvin also manages to write a very apt description of functioning with anxiety. His descriptions of Riley’s impending anxiety attacks, or of the low level buzz of daily anxiety, like a headful of wasps, was just very in tune with my own experiences of dealing with anxiety, being claustrophobic in a crowded room, being overwhelmed by sensory input when your anxiety level is high, like loud sounds or bright lights being almost too much to handle. It seemed to be written by someone who really understood what being (just barely) functionally anxious feels like.It is a book that is very much designed to address issues, but I didn't feel like it forgot about its characters in the process… and (to directly contradict a few reviews that I skimmed after writing this) I never felt it lost the thread of story. Riley is a gender fluid teen in a world where that is not really very understood, so Riley spends a lot of time educating the reader on gender and gender politics, subtly and sometimes really not so subtly, but we are also learning about who Riley is as a human, more than as an example of someone gender fluid. In the end we get to find out, as Riley does, what kind of person Riley is going to be-- seperate from labels like boy, girl, gay, straight, advocate… or victim. I was surprised so many people felt there was no story here. I feel, in a coming of age story, the character development is the story. So, maybe the plot wasn't always in-your-face apparent, but I don't think it is fair to say it was altogether absent.There were a few things that I did struggle with, though.Garvin makes a conscious choice to never reveal Riley’s sex or birth-assigned gender. The point, of course, is that it doesn’t matter because it is divorced from who Riley is. The character Riley is not a boy or a girl. There are no pronouns used. Nobody refers to Riley as the congressman’s son or daughter. When Riley is having moments of gender dysmorphia, or even of attraction to a crush, Riley’s inner monologue never mentions any body parts that might give anything away. Riley describes the gendered clothes that must be worn as the “campaign costume,” and there is never any detail about what they look like or what gender they are enforcing. There is a sort of defiance in this, mirroring and matching Riley’s own defiance and verbal insistence on more than one occasion that it doesn’t matter what genitalia Riley has. And it is of course none of anyone’s business... But there is also something calculated and false about the way it is concealed from the reader. We aren't just a random observer on the street or an anonymous reader of Riley’s blog, we are supposed to be inside the character’s head and this piece of information, that Riley knows and is in fact struggling with, is just absent. For example, when Riley mentions feeling very feminine around Bec… something about Bec turns Riley’s “gender-dial” all the way to female...If Riley’s sex is male, I feel like, Riley is going to be aware of having a penis. To me, that seems like potentially a huge source of gender dysphoria. If Riley is feeling masculine, getting dressed in a way that doesn’t feel too feminine while having to deal with breasts that need flattened down or with menstruation… I feel like those things actually matter. Not revealing Riley’s physical sex or birth-assigned gender or the role Riley’s parents expect Riley to be performing in...it just almost feels like the author doesn’t trust us with the information, and at some points you can feel the intention in it. I understand why Garvin did it, but it was a stumbling block for me in connecting with the character.The other thing for me, which I am aware is petty, were just a couple of typos. I make typos you make typos. It happens...but a missing word or using a mistaken word pulls me out of the story for a minute, and then I have to try to reconnect. And typos in a published work, to me, just seem careless on the part of the editing and publishing teams.And this has nothing to do with anything… but my book has a weird “haircut.” The pages are not cut evenly in a section and stick out beyond the cover at an angle… literally like an asymmetrical haircut. Which isn't really a negative or a positive, except the pages got all bent in shipping and it makes it hard to fit neatly on the bookshelf without dog-earring them further. It's kind of a round peg in a square hole world situation… which I suppose is apt for the novel.Do I recommend this book? I do. It's weird because scanning other reviews, my likes and dislikes seem to be backwards to the other reviewers, my stumbling block was their favourite feature. So, as with anything, it is simply a matter of taste.So, at last, let me throw this book on my two rating scales invented for this project.The first scale I've decided to dub the Queer Counterculture Visibility Scale. It measures how I personally feel this book shines a light on less visible members of the community.Riley is a white upper-middle-class teenager, so Garvin isn't scoring high points right out of the gate, but a POV character that is gender fluid gets a lot of credit on my scale. Garvin also has a teensy little bit of diversity in his side characters. One of the first people Riley befriends is described as brown, and later as Samoan. Riley also interacts briefly with a variety of different transgendered and genderqueer characters. I'm going to weigh it in at: 4 out of 5 starsIf only because gender fluidity has been underrepresented, thus far.The second scale I’m just going to call the Genre Expectation scale, and it rates whether this book falls above, below, or pretty much bog-standard for expectations of the genre.This is a young adult, coming of age/ coming out story… and it does what it says on the tin. No genre bending revelations, or spectacular story twists. I think it's a perfectly enjoyable example of its genre. 3 out of 5 stars.It met my expectations.

Actual rating 3.75 stars.This was a difficult book to read. Not because of its writing style or plot, but because of its content. Bullying is a big thing for me. I don’t like it and it triggers strong reactions in me. I experienced many of the challenges our protagonist Riley faced, and other challenges he faced in this story are completely alien to me. But the bullying and assault thing... I just wanted to grab a taser, jump into the world of ‘Symptoms of Being Human’ and zap all of those horrifically behaved teens. Such a satisfying image in my mind of those bullies twitching on the ground and wetting themselves *rubs my hands together in evil glee* How human beings can treat one another at times is simply unbelievable.This novel deals with some amazing issues around identity and orientation. Even themes of gender roles. I loved the philosophical discussion that ran throughout the course of the story. At times my head hurt for Riley and the struggles he faces. ‘Symptoms of Being Human’ has a great deal of information for any reader who relates to being in the grey parts of the gender spectrum, or whomever wants to learn more about the concept. It really was an eye opener. But I think that this aspect was part of the story’s drawback. Some of the narrative felt forced or guided by the hand of the author to illustrate an important aspect of being gender fluid. The novel gives full exposure to the gender expression dial, and as such, loses a touch of realism.As a former high school teacher and someone involved with the LGBTQIA+ community; having spent years at university studying psychology and using those tools in the workplace to help youth, the situations and topics in ‘Symptoms of Being Human’ are invaluable, but at times felt like tools to bring light to a perspective or issue. So it’s got me juxtaposed between applauding Jeff Garvin approaching this subject matter, and wincing at how some parts of the story don’t feel authentic to the narrative.I also didn’t get that emotional punch I was waiting for towards the end. Something about the conclusion felt somewhat... clinical rather than passionate.Riley’s arc over discovering who he is and coming out against adversity makes for an interesting read. I especially enjoyed how he made new ride-or-die friends in Solo and Bec. Their trio of friendship really drives this story.I also appreciated the roles Riley’s parents play, as well as that of Riley’s therapist. They all added support and safety for Riley to begin this journey of self-discovery that we don’t usually get to see in YA. Though I think the trend is starting to change as older opinions fall out of favour to be replaced by inclusive (woke) attitudes.I can’t say I got any surprises from this read. I predicted the storyline within the first five pages, but the beauty of ‘Symptoms of Being Human’ comes not from a derisive plot, but from the themes and content. It ‘opens up a conversation.’Jeff has some great wit in the narrative, and I found myself wishing for more. I also was hoping for more angst. Though he can really build the tension like nobody’s business, seriously, I felt my muscles coil up and they did not release until I finished the book. I don’t think I’ve experienced a read quite like this. So top notch in tension with his writing style, but a tad dry; I feel a bit more humour would have livened it up more. But who knows – that may have been intentional to highlight the seriousness of the themes posed in ‘Symptoms of Being Human.’Definitely something I’d happily recommend, I’m glad to have had the experience.

As someone genderfluid but with a background in gender studies, I found this book introductory in terms of gender, but in a much-needed way. The main character's transition to a new school and growing understanding of their gender and their mental illness provided the perfect setting for a relatable yet educational read. I liked that readers became acquainted with gender fluidity and anxiety, but in the context of getting to know a human character. The school setting and straightforward writing style made the story all the more accessible. It was the perfect setting to be relatable to younger readers and familiar to older audiences—and even though it explained a lot of concepts that I was already familiar with, I still found something to gain in watching the protagonist learn how to be themself despite opposition. We need more books like this!

I really enjoyed this book about Riley, who is gender fluid. I felt this novel really helped me get to grips with and understand these issues much better. I liked Riley as a character, although I felt incredibly sorry for him at times. He had so much to battle with! Riley is the son of a congressman, and has just moved schools due to being so badly bullied at his last. Some days Riley wakes up feeling very boyish and will dress and act accordingly. Other days, he feels far more feminine. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. He tries to fit in at his new school, but finds some of the old problems remain. His therapist has advised him to try to express himself and she also thinks he needs to find his 'cause', so when he starts an anonymous blog about the realities of being gender fluid, he thinks he may have found his calling. The blog is an overnight internet success, but someone is sending him malicious messages. Someone has found out who he is. Will they out him before he can explain himself to his parents and his community? Pretty tense reading at times, but I feel this is a really important book to read. Whether you are young or old, experiencing these issues or not, it's vital to understand them, and this is a great book for that reason.

Loved this book and the general storyline, very impressed with the way in which it is written and how the main character 'Riley's gender assigned at birth is never revealed showing how well this is written and the delicacy and care which has noticeably been added to make this book perfect. I have regularly quoted fhsi book and hope to continue to. I have recommended this book to many people and will continue to. All-in-all an excellent book.

Loved this book, makes you think

Bought as a gift. Was well received, and seemed to be a well written, interesting book

It was a gift and they was no complaints.

Bought as a gift. They loved it and read it in a day.

Loved this book so much and made me question so much but left me so satisfied.

bought as a gift

Very good. A remarkable book with a great theme and a relatable and memorable protagonist.

Good

Really great book, Im glad I read it!

AMAZING!! :D

My tween bought this, she was moved to tears (repeatedly) reading this. I borrowed it and read it late into the night as I got caught up in Riley's experiences. On the whole I found it well written (some YA stuff makes me cringe) and often powerful. The story was not 100% solid (in fact it was quite a mess in places) (mind you it is aimed at the younger side of YA), and the ending was a tad overwrought, but my tween loved loved loved this.

The thought of having a book with a genderfluid main character made me so happy that I tried to preorder it twice in two months. Having just finished following Riley along a bumpy path of acceptance and identity I am glad to have read such a charming, important book.It's not an easy read. What Riley goes through hurts on a human level. Sometimes, as all teens are, Riley is self-centred and obnoxious. Yet every moment feels believable instead of stilted or forced under some social justice agenda while still being open and informative.If I could go back to my teens and share one book with my teenage self, it would be this one.

I loved this. The plot was very much character driven, with lots of exploring of lgbtq+ themes, especially about gender since the main character is genderfluid. I haven't read anything similar and I recommend it.