Gregorio's novel provides a necessary addition to the ranks of queer YA fiction. While there has been a flood of books that examine queerness in terms of LGBTQ issues, with a needed influx of stories about trans people being more and more common, there are very few stories about intersex people, and this text helps to fill that void. The story is hopeful and heartbreaking; the trope of "everyone in the school finds out the protagonist's secret" doesn't feel out of place or overdone. This is a book that explores the hopes and dreams of a high school student and humanizes a topic that is too often ignored.

The topic is important and not one we see often enough but the story around it wasn't anything I haven't read in many other YA novels.

I'm glad I read it for some intersex insight but felt it was problematic is some ways and lacking in a lot of ways.

I remember hearing so much about this book when it came out, and I do think it was really groundbreaking and helpful for tons of people! I just don't think I was the right target audience for this at all.

I guess ignorance is bliss. I also hate to admit I was ignorant to this issue. But Ignorance should not be tolerated so I read the book twice then I researched the topic. I know I went a bit overboard but isn't that the reason of books to inform and educate?

Well, I am now educated for sure. And it has created a new narrative in my life. So I will always be greatfull for reading this.

It's a good book.

Enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

In "None of the Above" a teenager finds out she was born intersex and learns to deal with discrimination from society and accepting the way her body is made. The book wasn't spectacularly refreshing, I liked the informative part of it since it had a lot, however, I had some problems with the storyline and the characters. Some dynamics of the story simply did not work for me, like the gossipy scenarios and how nothing was really done about this. I learned a lot about intersex people with this book -which I'm thankful for,- but the story is nothing I haven't seen before.

I enjoyed the book a lot!
I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I tried to connect with the story, the reading was not for me. There was somehting in the style that prevented me from getting into it. Just didn't work for me.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

This was such an interesting read with a unique voice at the helm of this story.

What I liked about the book was that our main character kept growing and making mistakes while dealing with the information that would change her life.

There moments where I wanted to just sit down and talk to her and let her know that things were going to be okay, there were moments where I became angry reading about all the things that she was going through and how the people closest to her were being so mean and not very good friends to her.

It’s scary how things can change in one’s life so suddenly.

DNF @ 35% but I'm still counting it as read because I read enough to know what I think about it.

Disclaimer: I am not intersex, so cannot speak for intersex people. I am, however, a lesbian, and the amount of slurs towards the LGBTQIA+ community in this book was appalling and extremely triggering.

I have wanted to read None of the Above for a very long time now, as I really enjoy reading contemporary YA, and especially ones with underrepresented MCs. It has been on my tbr on Goodreads since 2015 and I managed to receive an ebook from Netgalley back in May 2017 and I finally picked it up today.
I am not only disappointed with the one-dimensional side-characters, boring main character and dull plot for the first (only) 120 pages that I read, but am also disgusting by the amount of slurs used in the book - and I only got 35% of the way through!

Krissy, the main character finds out she is intersex when getting an OB/GYN appointment after a very painful first time trying to have sex with her boyfriend. But that's all she is - intersex. Her only defining characteristic is that she is intersex and this is ridiculous. As well as this, when everyone at school finds out, and her boyfriend Sam also finds out (not from Krissy), he is disgusting and homophobic. It takes a lot to offend me, especially when it comes to derogatory/homophobic terms, but I honestly had to stop reading because it was genuinely upsetting me to read those words. I went into this book with such high expectations that I did not expect at all to have to stop reading because of how upsetting it was.

I would not recommend this book to anyone in LGBTQIA+ community, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not in the community but wishes to learn more and read about intersexuality. It is in no way educational, and despite more than one character in the first 120 pages explaining that the h-slur is derogatory and that intersex is the correct term, the book continues to make use of the h-slur excessively and unnecessarily.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

Includes important issues and representation but very odd and confusing.

I talk about None of the Above in my #ARCAugust Wrap-Up starting from 3:56 and ending at 5:31

https://youtu.be/03DiFs4EzQw?t=3m56s

This book has been out for sometime and I have always been intrigued about it but never actually took the plunge until I saw it being offered on Netgalley to read due to it being reprinted in paperback edition. This book was really good, I love contemporaries where something dramatic has happened in our protagonists life that is very different and only happens to a minority of people.

We follow Kristin, she is 17, in with the popular crowd at school and has been named prom queen…her life is fantastic and everything a teenage girl could want. She even has this boyfriend that’s really understanding and takes it slow and seems to be really into her. Kristin wants to take their relationship up another level and prom is the night! Except when that time arrives,it’s a lot more painful than expected…..so excruciating that she consults her gynecologist.

What Kristin learns at her appointment changes her life forever…. she was born intersex. Intersex is where you are born with both genitalia at birth.With this discovery we see how people react to her once her secret has been leaked and how she overcomes the negatives and start to look at the positives.

This story evoked so many emotions from me, I was shocked and angry at how people treated Kristin, the problem is people are scared of what they don’t know and they become ignorant to that persons feelings. There was sadness when it seemed like Kristin’s life was crumbling away and how her diagnosis had such an effect on her everyday life.

All the characters in this were great and I thought were all necessary for the plot – you had two best friends that were totally different from one another and she could confide with them for different things. There were the bullies which showed their utter stupidity and how harmful their remarks can be. We had the characters that treated Kristin exactly the same before her diagnosis and also other intersex characters which helped her through the process of coming to terms of her diagnosis.

I suspect a lot of people are questioning how she could not know that she was intersex, she had a female body and everything about her was feminine yet it was mostly her insides that were different and if you don’t know if anything is wrong how would you know to look for it.

Overall I thought this story sent out a great message and portrayal of intersex characters – if definitely made me want to find out more about the different types of intersex there are and how common/uncommon it is. I have never met an intersex person so I can’t say if this is an accurate portrayal but with all the emotions flowing it certainly felt like it.

I couldn’t find a fault with this book it had great characters, LGTBQ, great parents, Romance(but not too much) and was an informative, eye-opening read and definitely recommend if you are looking to read more diversely or want to read about intersex main characters.

I rated this 5 out of 5 stars

3,5 stars

This book was informative and resonated with me. I really felt with Krissy who one day learns that she's intersex and has to deal with the hurtful rumours as suddenly the whole school knows about it. The only problem I have are with the author's writing. It is too simple and the transitions are quite abrupt. Also, I was dissatisfied with the ending as I think it was rather rushed.

I’ve had an eye on this book since it first came out, so I was ecstatic when I saw it on Netgalley for it’s reprint edition, because I wanted it so badly. And then I was super duper happy because I got approved for it!

I had never read any book about the subject, and I have to say that I really loved this one. I loved Kristin’s voice, she was so heartbroken and confused, and I thought that’s probably a very good representation of someone finding out they have AIS at such an important and defining age. I thought I.W. Gregorio did an amazing job, and the writing is beautiful.

Like I said, I loved Kristin’s voice. She wasn’t perfect by any means, but she just came out as honest, and human, and I loved her to bits. I really liked her dad too, I loved how present he was in her life, and how, even trying to be supportive, he didn’t allow for stupidity and senseless behaviour. He was there for her, and I loved their relationship.

But I did have a lot of issues with a lot of characters, mainly most of Kristin’s friends, and her boyfriend Sam. It’s one thing to be confused, don’t understand, not being informed, or even scared, but some behaviours are unforgivable. I hated the people who made her feel less than awesome.

I really liked the plot, because it was all about acceptance and understanding who you are, and not be defined by what other people think you are. I loved the support system and confidence that she found.

I only wish the book hadn’t ended so abruptly, even though I got it. She got to a point where she understood what was important and that her chromosomes didn’t define who she was, but I needed more somehow. More conversation with her dad, with Darren, with Vee and Faith. I just wanted a bit more.

But still, I loved this book, and I think it’s such an important theme, and I’m so glad this book exists. Have you read None of the Above? What are your thoughts on it?

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this title; I am trying to read as widely as possible ahead of the Carnegie/Greenaway nominations and awards for 2018 and your help is much appreciated.
As a Carnegie/Greenaway judge, I'm not allowed to comment about my opinions on specific titles so I can't offer an individual review on any title as I stated on my profile.

I love that this book approached a pretty unknown and little written about topic in YA - intersex, it was informative and a nice read

I like to think of myself as a fairly avid reader of LGBT+ fiction, however this is the first book about an intersex character that I've read. I therefore learnt a lot about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome whilst reading the book, from what causes it to how it presents itself. In the author's note I. W. Gregario explains the reasons and thoughts behind her wanting to write a story about an intersex female and whilst these areas all make up Krissy's story I feel that it wasn't quite strong enough in terms of everything else the novel involves. The side characters don't really have much of a life of their own and mostly just exist to serve Krissy's narrative. There's also the common case of unobservant-protagonist with Krissy not realising things that are perfectly obvious to the reader.

On the whole this was an ok story which fell short of its potential.

An incredibly important novel, None of the Above talks about an issue that is considered almost taboo by society: intersexuality. In a world where LGBTQIA+ issues and people are becoming more norm, there is still not a lot of room for anyone outside the traditional factions of lesbian, gay and bisexual, let alone intersex. I myself only know very little from one class I took at university, so I was more than excited to get my hands on a copy of this novel.

The author discusses many important issues regarding gender, identity and what it means to be male and female - not as black and white as one might assume. The novel questions the differences between males and females, and how we as a society treat gender. The novel is both instructional and emotive.

It's a staunch reminder that, while I absolutely adore fantasy novels, contemporary novels - specifically ones that emulate an adolescent's reality - are important, and should be at the forefront of YA fiction. In today's world, where teens are able to find a name for their identity through a quick internet search, we need more novels that showcase the normality of being "none of the above".

The writing also had a very authentic tone to it, and as such, I connected with the protagonist, Kristen.

None of the Above is an eye-opening novel, for sure, and one I am glad to have read. An easy novel to read it one sitting, although it's content can be quite heavy - but the ending more than makes up for it.