3.5 stars! Wow, this was a really quick read! I think I finished it in just an hour.

I enjoyed the format of Jamie's story being told in verse, but I think it could have used more substance. I feel like the important events happened too quickly (such as Jamie deciding she's non-binary, coming out to her parents, etc), so it just seemed unbelievable to me. I could have used more passages of Jamie coming to terms with who she is as well as how that changes the relationships with friends and family.

Overall, I think this is a solid novel for teens to read that may be confused about who they are, whether that has to do with sexual orientation or gender. There were also quite a few quotes that I highlighted throughout because they were so poignant/well crafted.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read/review this!

I received a free eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the premise and style of Some Girls Bind. I also would highly recommend this book to middle and high school teachers in my local area for a few reasons. 1-it is a hi-lo text, which can draw in students who may not like reading because they lack vocabulary or skills to figure out vocabulary, as well as students who may still be learning English but want to read books aimed at their age group. 2- it talks about the LGBT+ community in small towns. 3- it actually takes place in my local area, somewhere near Rochester and Buffalo on the Erie Canal. and 4- it doesn't contain a violent outcome for a character being LGBT+.
I would have to wait to recommend this book until the book has final edits though. As someone who is getting a degree in TESOL, the editing for the version of the book I read was painful. I really hope that the book is edited to flow more smoothly, because the writing is actually really beautiful and simplistic, and I would really like to recommend this to older ENL students, but I can't if the mistakes are going to detract from their ability to read it.

Following Jamie through understanding their identity and in their first thoughts of coming out to family and friends, I was worried that this book would follow the same path as every other trans/queer coming-out story. To some extent it did, but the style of writing meant that the set-up moved quickly, onto other aspects of importance.
The book highlights that feeling in high school that 'everyone has their secrets,' but doesn't single Jamie out for their queerness. It brings attention to Jamie being a queer kid in a small town, and that acceptance still isn't automatic, but the overkill trope of violence isn't used to make this point. I loved this novel, and would love to see it expanded on.

4.25 out of 5 stars (Received e-arc from NetGalley

Some girls bind was a great little simple LGBTQIA poetry book about Jamie who is struggling to figure out her sexuality and is scared that the people around her will judge her harshly about binding her chest. A great intro to poetry for teen readers that are considering reading poetry and is a positive story for potentially gender queer individuals. From Jamie's mom thinking that she and her best guy friend are dating (he's gay) to her brother being able to tell something is up and buys her a binder, and to her revealing her secret/thoughts to friends and family. I feel strongly that this book would be a great resource material to have in a junior high or high school. One thing is I read the book on my phone and there were times when it repeated a few pages of dialogue several times, so it did confuse me just a bit thinking am I going crazy didn't I just read this. But just an issue with formatting for the e-book through the kindle app on my phone. Otherwise a lovely poetry/story.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Some Girls Bind tells the story of teenage Jamie, who is binds their chest and is questioning whether or not they are genderqueer. The book follows Jamie as they figure out their identity as well as being comfortable sharing it with others. That being said, there is little plot in this story. The story itself is more character driven rather than plot driven which I found really worked well for both the story itself and the format of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. This is a book that I would pick up on my own when browsing the bookstore if I saw it. The book is written in a poetry format which I typically do not read but after a few chapters, I got used to the formatting. I loved the authors writing style and found it easy to follow. I was rarely confused when reading the book and it was easy to come back to after days of not reading it. The only problem I had with the format of the book was within the eARC copy itself. I think that formatting in the copy got a little messed up. There was a point when one scene repeated itself about three times and I had to scroll through until finding where I left off before the error happened. The only other issue that I had reading this book was the spacing of lines towards the end of the book, but again I think that was due to formatting of the eARC.

I personally would have preferred to read a physically copy of this book since it is written in poetry format, however I still very much enjoyed it regardless of the format and technical errors that I encountered. One of my favorite moments in the book included the main characters interaction with their friend Levi and their brother Steve. It was really nice to see two people so accepting of Jamie’s identity and wanting to learn more about it. Though almost all responses to Jamie’s gender identity were positive, I think that it was nice that there were also the negative responses included about Evan’s coming out as well. I think the author did an amazing job at portraying how even in different situations there are both positive and negative reactions to gender identity or sexuality. I do wish however, that there would have been more interaction with Jamie’s other friends, not just with Levi and briefly with Nora. If the book were a bit longer maybe some other interactions could have been included but I won’t fault the book on that. I think everyone should give this book a go. It proved to be informational and a hard hitting read for me. Regardless of your gender identity or sexuality, this book should be read by all.

4.75*

I really loved Some Girls Bind. I feel like this book is perfect for anybody even if you aren't genderqueer. It was a new perspective I haven't read from before. It deals with disapproving parents and worries they won't love you once you come out. Or that you'd be viewed differently by your friends. And just overall if you're ready. I shed tears when she came out and when one of her friends came out and weren’t supported by his family. This book is so real and current because so many people deal with their identity. My only issue with it was since it was written in verse and so short it did feel a little rushed.

It's my first time reading a book that is written in verse. And I have to say that I absolutely loved it! The story of the main character's self-discovery was very compelling. In terms of writing it was simple and very easy to understand. Overall it was an incredibly enjoyable and quick read.

I read this in less than an hour. Just flew straight trough it. The writting is very simple but it doesn’t take away from the impact it left on me.

Some Girls Bind features a protagonist who explores self-acceptance and how to come out as non-binary throughout the course of the novel. While some groups make a distinction, the author doesn’t specifically define non-binary vs genderqueer and uses both terms interchangeably. The book does make a distinction between gender non-conforming vs non-binary identity, which I feel is helpful for both trans and cisgender readers.

Although the book’s synopsis uses “she/her” for Jamie, they also discover gender-neutral pronouns as a way to reduce dysphoria. Beyond non-binary identities, this story features a subplot about a gay student who’s rejected by his community after he comes out.

I’m a bit of a sucker for YA books in verse and am always happy to read LGBTQ poetry. The writing style works well and allows Jamie to reveal their thoughts and feelings in an authentic and often beautiful way. Some Girls Bind features a lot of difficult subjects; even beyond queer topics, it also discusses child abuse, alcoholism, and marginalized characters living in a conservative and homogenous community. And it does so in a concise, yet thought-provoking way that keeps the story overall hopeful.

One of my favorite subplots in the book was when Jamie comes out to their brother Steve. As Jamie prepares to come out and live authentically as themself, Steve helps them find the resources and binding materials they need while supporting them all the way. In so many books about transgender characters, they don’t have someone they can lean on in their family. I thought it was both well-written and powerful to give Jamie one person who may not fully understand their gender experience but tries to and loves them unconditionally.

While this doesn’t necessarily relate to the queer community, I think it’s important to note that this is a hi-lo novel. Hi-lo refers to books written in a simpler style than most YA but still explores challenging topics. The purpose of hi-lo is to bridge the gap between juvenile fiction and YA fiction written at a high reading level for reluctant readers. If you’re a queer student who struggles with reading or know someone who is, this could introduce them to themes they’re looking for in an accessible writing style.

This book’s style reminded me a lot of Ellen Hopkins, another YA writer who explores challenging topics in free verse books. If you’re a fan of her books or hi-lo LGBTQ YA, Some Girls Bind could be a good book recommendation.

Before I get into this review, I want to put down why I was worried about this book. First, the cover gave me a lot of worries. The person on the cover is not binding correctly, and binding like that can cause some serious health issues. I also really dislike the fact that this book is about a questioning gender queer character and the title is Some Girls Bind. I know that some non-binary/genderqueer people do use "girls" personally, but in a book about a questioning character, it felt weird to me for the title to be focused on girls.

In addition to the above, the publisher provided summary was very, very weird. They treated Jamie's gender questioning as a terrible secret, one that they had to hide. And while that is the way some people initially feel about their gender, the way it was treated in the summary was also enough to make me question the insides of this book.

When I finally opened the book, I was ... quite surprised with how much I ended up liking it and the representation. Jamie was a very under-developed character, but it was easy to project yourself into their life because of how general everything was. While that can be seen as a bad thing, I actually quite enjoyed it. Jamie discussed their gender openly with themself, and when they finally decided to come out to another queer friend. I loved how this book showed both positive and negative reactions when people come out. While it was hard to read about the negative reaction, I still appreciated the fact that it was included in addition to positive reactions. 

The writing was also fairly simple. The book was written in verse, so descriptions and thoughts were fairly brief. That's probably why everything was so general, but I thought it fit the story well. 

This book was extremely short and honestly hard to read--in the literal way. The ARC was terribly formatted and repeated portions of the book over and over. In addition to that, because the story is told in verse, it's nearly impossible to read on an e-reader. I emailed the publisher about these issues but they never got back to me. 

Final Rating: ★★★★☆
Overall?
When I started this book, I was worried how the representation would be handled. It turns out, the rep was just handled badly by the publisher, and the author did everything pretty well. I loved how Jamie questioned their gender and worked through it with help from friends and family. I also loved how it not only showed negative reactions, but also positive reactions.

Would I Recommend?
Totally! Although I would recommend not reading it as an e-book. The formatting was terrible, and it was hard to follow due to the fact that the stanzas were separated horizontally sometimes rather than vertically. Lines were separated and ended up ruining the formatting of the page.

This book gave me new insight into binding, the genderqueer community, and trans community. I can not speak for the representation of the book but it was an okay read. I may recommend it to my trans friends to see how they feel about it and what they think, so my opinion on this book is in the middle.

This book was really good. The formatting for the book was reminiscent of Ellen Hopkins who is one of my faves. However, NetGalley did mess up the formatting a bit which was distracting at times. It didn’t detract too much from the story though.

Some Girls Bind defused the LGBTQ genre and gives us a real sense of what it’s like to hold of the secret of being gender queer. This book is an important example of gender queer language being used correctly. Not only do we feel the weight of Jamie’s secret, but as a reader, I was able to identify with those feelings she had.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The verse style worked well and I got a real sense of Jamie through the narrative voice James created. This was a quick and enjoyable read and i ended up tearing up when Jamie came out to their parents! Such a good read.

Great novel for helping those who identify as genderqueer or gender-fluid. Would highly encourage this novel for anyone.
My edition was formatted odd and appears as if it's written like a poetry novel - if it is that way, a reader may find it challenging to read, but I recommend trying it! The information and story is well done and developed.

*Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Could not have been happier with this book! As a teen who identifies as genderqueer and knows several people who have struggled with coming out, I think James does an amazing job at defining what it's like to be a gender non-conforming teenager. I really connected with the words inside the book and thought that the story was conveyed very well. Jaime's hardships along the way were portrayed perfectly. The writing was fantastic and really fit with the plot well. I'd definitely recommend this book to any teen who struggles with their identity and wants to learn more about how to overcome that.

Book Review
Title: Some Girls Bind
Author: Rory James
Genre: YA/LGBTQ+
Rating: *
Review: So, all I could get from the synopsis is we are following a girl named Jamie who binds her chest as she feels more comfortable this way until she beings think that she might be genderqueer. As the book is so short my review will reflect this. We are introduced to Jamie and her friends who all have a secret, for example, Levi is gay, and she is possibly genderqueer, but they don’t share their secrets except with each other as they live in a small quite closed-minded town.
Eventually, Jamie comes out to Levi about being genderqueer and begins the long process of figuring who he or she is. Jamie decides that for now having a label she can identify with and binding are enough, Jamie will think about romance and relationships when the time comes for that. One thing that bothers Jamie though is that she/he feels that she/he can’t tell her/his parents as they are comfortable using the term queer is a negative scene. I also like the fact that this book is written in verse much like One by Sarah Crossan.
Following Jamie’s journey was very interesting, but I found I didn’t enjoy it at all for one reason; it was written in verse. Unlike Sarah Crossan’s One which I loved, this book didn’t have the rhythm and flow that One did. I felt that this would have been better written in normal prose and Jamie’s feelings would have come across instead of feeling like you were bouncing between acceptance and complete and utter panic. While the concept of Some Girls Bind was interesting the book just didn’t deliver for me.

Some Girls Bind was a very insightful, very emotional look at Jamie exploring their gender identity (and to a lesser degree, questioning their sexuality) and coming out to themself, their friends, and their family. I often find that novels in verse have a higher emotional impact than prose novels and this was no exception. Each word had weight. I could relate a lot to Jamie's struggles and explorations and I thought the way they moved through the journey from questioning to sure to coming out to being out was portrayed realistically, especially the way Jamie privately explored their feelings and then held on to that knowledge before inviting other people to see the real them.

I will add that the digital ARC copy I received had a significant number of issues with formatting, garbled words, and repeated sections of the text, which made it difficult to read in places. Nevertheless, Jamie's story managed to shine through strongly and I'm sure the formatting problems will be cleared up in the published copies.

I am a sucker for a book written like poetry and lgbtqia books.

I highly recommend this book to everyone however you identify.

It’s emotional, it’s honest about what someone who is genderqueer and in high school goes through internally and with their loved ones. It isn’t a massively heavy book, I love that it seems to be targeted at younger audiences like it’s teaching the next generation how normal this is and how you can be an ally to anyone learning their identity.

Great to read a book about gender identity and sexual orientation so thoughtfully written and in an everyday was making it seem normal and expected along side the emotions of the individual who is hiding their secrets.

Would love to see more