It's difficult to start with this review because on one hand this book made me feel a lot of things (well, primarily rage on behalf of the main character) while on the other hand, it is an upsetting book to read. The story is about a closeted kid, Wyatt, living in a very homophobic town, where his father runs a Lincoln-themed B&B called Lincoln slept here (he claims to have the bed where Lincoln slept in at Springfield) and his mother works for the mayor. Wyatt is frequently bullied by his classmates, especially by the mayor's son, Jonathan, who bullies him using homophobic attacks and slurs. When Wyatt gets a book of letters from Lincoln to Joshua Speed for his school project where he has to write a book report in the form of a blog, he discovers that Lincoln may have been queer and if one of the most celebrated presidents being queer could be okay, he hopes that means it can be okay for him to be queer, too! Problem is when he 'outs' Lincoln on his blog, using the letters as proof, all hell breaks loose in his town.

The reaction to this blog is swift - Jonathan takes the opposing stance and denounces him, his teacher and principal call him a liar and threaten to suspend him if he doesn't take down the blog and retract the radio interview and his family is sued (attempted) for defamation. People just don't want to consider the letters and think in another way - for them, Lincoln was great and him being queer would make him not great, which Wyatt can't understand. The story is about his fight to uphold his own free speech, and another boy, Martin, who he finds online supports him with help from his lawyer mother. Meanwhile, Wyatt is having his own problems with his supposed best friend, Mackenzie, who at the start was his girlfriend but dumps him when he stands by his blog and instead starts dating his nemesis, Jonathan.

The content in this book - the bullying and the homophobia - can be upsetting for many queer people. There are right-wing conservatives bigots galore, so you can expect every vitriolic statement possible; there is one right-wing host who goes on a whole rant on his show and that pretty much made me throw something across the room (I didn't, don't worry). Sometimes, it did feel that the drama that arose from a simple book report could be so extensive, but honesty if you consider American conservatives (or heck, any conservatives), it isn't that much of stretch. We already see such examples of overt homophobia in the news, media, etc, so for me, yeah, I didn't find that so out of the realm of the possible. Which is why I would advise caution when you pick this book because the content is quite enraging.

With the ending, I feel some aspects of the story were hurried along to achieve some closure. For example, in the start of the book, you feel for Wyatt not being able to come out of the closet because (a) he lives in a homphobic town, and (b)he is a freshman, which means 3.5 years more of this hell. But towards the end, we don't get to know how his life might be in the town anymore. Secondly, I was not satisfied with Mackenzie being let off the hook, because she barely does anything to get forgiveness for her awful behavior. Apparently, getting along with the homophobes is fine just until they advocate for murder; otherwise they are apparently very fine to kiss. Jonathan himself does pretty much nothing - swooping in to save at the last minute doesn't count, Mackenzie - and doesn't even apologize to Wyatt for bullying him for all these years and attacking him with his blog.

Finally, the audio, narrated by Michael Crouch is done quite well, although I did have to get used to it in the start because I felt that the voice was slightly muffled in quality and since most audiobook players don't have equalizers, it can be a bit of an adjustment to listen to.

Overall, is it a good book about a closeted kid finally getting to tell his truth as well as open up discussion? Yeah! But will you be able to get through it? Maybe, with a lot of teeth gritting.

Overall, a reasonable book.

Michael Crouch as always, was fantastic. I will always enjoy him as a narrator.

I did, however, struggle with this book a little. The homophobia and slurs started to become too much for me to listen to. I also felt like some of the reactions some of the characters were having were extremely dramatic, or, completely unrealistic. (gym teacher not saying a single word when he walks in on Jonathan pinning Wyatt to the floor of the changing rooms with a shoe on his face) I also struggled to really care about any of the characters to be honest.

Overall, it was okay. I wouldn't reread it.

I was provided an audiobook arc from NetGalley and I'm now writing an honest review.
Trigger warnings for: homophobia, xenophobia, racism, bullying.
This book was an enjoyable story about a gay boy dreaming about equality.
I think the characters were nice, nothing too crazy, but nice to read about. I would have liked some more backstory about Wyatt and his bully though, and maybe some deeper exploration of their dynamic.
The plot was very original. However, as a non-American reader, I had to look up some stuff about the civil war and the presidents in order to get the story. I wouldn't really call that an inconvenience though, as I now know a bit more about the history of the USA.
It's hard to believe that the homophobia in this book is reality, but after some research I learned that in certain parts of the USA, this is how queer people live. It makes me very grateful for where I live and the acceptance here.
I love that this was written by a gay writer, own voices always give that little extra!
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this book and I would definitely read another book by this author!

I really wanted to like this book, but it didn’t grab me from the start like I was hoping.

The book had some good moments and did get better towards the latter half of the story, but I still struggled to stay engaged.

I think my main problem was I didn’t like some of the supporting characters. The MC’s best friend Mackenzie clearly likes Wyatt (MC) and is keen to pursue a relationship with him, then she ends up in a relationship with one of his bullies... that’s not something a best friend would do.

The plot itself (discovering Lincoln was gay) is a little far fetched, but actually I feel like the extreme actions of the people in Wyatt’s town are believable based on current attitudes to the LGBT+ community.

While I wouldn’t read it again and I didn’t love the book, I admire what the author was going for and I’m sure it’ll appeal to other readers of LGBT+ literature.

Closeted high schooler Wyatt finds a primary source suggesting that Abraham Lincoln was gay. Excited, he shares the knowledge in a school project, and then his whole town tries to censor him even as the story races through the media.

I wanted to like this book: revealing hidden queer history, fighting censorship... but the execution made me uncomfortable. Wyatt's teacher tells Wyatt in front of the class that his research is absolute trash, then praises a classmate for putting out a bullying counter-post. The town, which is a major Abraham Lincoln historical destination, sees the mayor and other leadership directly attempt to censor him and recover/remove/destroy the primary source text Wyatt used. And Wyatt has to contend with his awful classmates on top of it. All of this could be done well, but in this case it feels clunky. As a former teacher and a current librarian, the way both Wyatt and his primary source text are treated is too far beyond my suspension of disbelief, especially in 2018.

And speaking of 2018, my last pet peeve....Gay and Bi are capitalized every time in this book, and i just don't get it. Kudos for using the racially-inclusive Pride flag on the book cover, but I'm just scratching my head on the capitalization decision.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in December 2018.

"Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" by Lee Wind is a heart-warming coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old closeted gay boy who stumbles into a piece of secret history and, armed with his new knowledge, finds the strength to be himself, to fight for what he believes in and make the world a better place in the process.
What I really liked about this novel is how all the characters are incredibly mutlifaceted and interesting: even the high school bully ends up being more complex than you would have thought. The characters' fears and hopes, their struggles and all their contradictions made them feel truly human and relatable.
What I appreciated a little less is the intrinsic American-ness of the story. At times it felt like it didn't have much to do with me, since I'm not from the USA, President Abraham Lincoln is not a big deal for me and all the history and the traditions referred to in the book are alien to me. I had never even heard the expression "Queer as a Three-Dollar Bill", so I didn't catch the pun in the title until it was explained away in the narration. Before reading this book, I had no idea which American president is printed on a five-dollar bill, although I did know that President Lincoln was definitely on one of the bills.
Aside from these small details, everything else in the novel was totally enjoyable and resounded deeply inside me.
I can recommend reading this to anyone who is struggling with being different or discriminated against--not just bullied LGBT teenagers, but members of any persecuted minority.
The world would be a better place, if more people like Wyatt existed in real life.
Also, the narrator of the audiobook did an amazing job bringing each different character to life, and it's been a pleasure to listen to him.

Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill :What If You Knew A Secret From History That Could Change The World?, this ab audiobook that is worth a listen, extremely well narrated. It keeps your attention , very easy to follow. The plot is original and has some really cool facts and info in.

I listened to an advance copy of this audiobook thanks to netgalley.com.
I was so surprised when I learned that Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill was Lee Wind’s debut novel! The story follows fifteen-year-old Wyatt, who lives in the Lincoln Slept Here Bed & Breakfast that his parents run. When he is tasked with a book report about Abraham Lincoln, the librarian gives him a book of published letters between Lincoln and Joshua Fry Speed. Wyatt, being a closeted gay himself, recognizes the letters as love letters. He publishes his findings in a blog post. It blows up. His tiny homophobic town loses their minds. Wyatt hopes that if everyone who loves Lincoln can believe that he is gay, then maybe they will see that other gays aren't so bad. But the rainbow can only follow the storm.
Let me start by addressing the elephant in the room: the very homophobic town. I don't doubt they exist, but I did find it a little unbelievable. At first, I thought the librarian was gay, and gave Wyatt the book in a small act of solidarity. However, the 180 later made me second guess myself.
That aside, I found the book very engaging. Wyatt found the support he needed outside of his community and, in the happy-ending storytelling tradition, managed to pull everyone together to rise against hatred. I like my books messy, so this was a little tidy for my taste but it wasn't more than can be expected. And, honestly, I was a little proud of the characters for their hard work and perseverance.
The book had plenty of layers: Wyatt had to face his own queerness, the hatred of others (including the media), and also see his parents as actual people capable of making mistakes. All the characters were well-rounded. This is probably why I was so surprised that this is Lee Wind's first novel. I look forward to more from him!
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Micheal Crouch. He did a great job with the narration. Each character was distinguishable, the pacing was smooth, and it was always clear what was going on.

Cute story with a fun bit of history!
First I have to say, Michael Crouch is a great narrator for teenage boys and particularly gay teens. His voice is so recognizable, I kept thinking of Simon and it made me smile.

Wyatt is an interesting character, he knows he's gay but is afraid to tell anyone, especially since he's bullied at school. When he discovers that Lincoln shared a bed with another man for years and wrote him what seem like love letters, he's so excited. If Lincoln was gay, maybe it will be easier for Wyatt. The repercussions are insane, people threatening to sue his family, his parents possibly losing their jobs, and a blow up of Wyatt's blog.

I want to say things wouldn't happen that way in real life, but they probably would. People are crazy and hateful, but there are also those who would support a fifteen year old kid and that makes me happy.

This is a quick read, nicely paced with fun characters. The ending is sweet and learning that there is evidence out there suggesting Lincoln possibly did love a man blew my mind!

I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a debut for Lee Wind and it is a good, interesting book.

It is a young adult story that talks about normal teenage drama i.e. first love, boyfriends/girlfriends, mean teachers, bullies, money problems etc. It also talks about self-acceptance and tolerance toward people who are different than what is supposed to be "normal".

It took me some time to get into Wyatt's world but his story definitely got better with time. It is not a perfect book, I didn't like Mackenzie and Wyatt's parents. I didn't understand her behavior most of the time (but maybe i am too old) and she was really, really annoying (right from the start). Wyatt's parents got on my nerves so often I had to make breaks just to cool off. How could they blame his son for their problems (it was a school assignment ffs!)?
On the other hand Lincoln and Joshua had my full attention - I didn't know their story and I started searching for more information about them.

This story is well written, fast paced and even though I've never really warmed up to Wyatt or that I found the ending kind of unbelievable, I really enjoyed my time spent in Lincolnville. I would love to read more about Martin because he was my number one in this book.

I will definitely read/listen to the next book by this author.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill was a pretty interesting read. Not only did I learn a ton about Abraham Lincoln throughout this book but I also saw a town filled a crap ton of homophobic people. I'm sure there are a ton of places like this in today's world too which honestly blows my mind.

In it, you will meet Wyatt. He is a 15 year old boy who isn't comfortable to be himself in his own town. So what does he do? Well, he pretends to date a girl named Mackenzie. Okay, he does actually date the girl but it was just awkward and wrong. They were actually best friends too but that's not why it was awkward.. it was because he liked guys and it was gross to kiss girls. So yeah, that kind of awkward.

Throughout the story, I learned that people in this town suck donkey balls. They were so cruel for no reason. Like can you all please get a day job or something and leave other people alone? Why does it matter who or what they love? Well, it shouldn't and everyone should mind their own damn business.

Love is love bitches, respect that shit.

Other than that, this book had it's cute moments and it definitely flew by for me.

An interesting book centring on emotions. An interesting storyline.. thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in return for an honest review

This book was intriguingly complex. At the beginning I thought it would be another high school novel and while it dealt with a big problem it wouldn’t blow up or be realistic.
I was wrong, this book has an interwoven narrative that not only feels with the stresses of bullying and coming out, but also the stress expressing yourself and your views. Especially when they don’t fit with the carefully created narrative that is currently in place.
Homophobia isn’t something that has gone away. In fact in a lot of places it is still extremely rife. This book delves into this and explores what happens when people are faced with truths they don’t want to accept. When bullying people for being different or using horrible homophobic slurs is ok. But writing anything different or new is covered up as quickly as possible in case it messes with the historical narrative in place.
It was a very well thought out and provoking book and I think more people should read it as a way to check themselves.

Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill is a YA Contemporary Fiction with a M/M Romance. In it, you will meet Wyatt, a fifteen year old boy trying to live in a town were homophobia is very real and present. At the beginning of the book, he doesn't feel safe to be his true self. However, over time, he manage to find the courage to express himself and get out of the closet. First to his parents, then his best friend Mackenzie (who previously wanted to date him - and yes, it was very uncomfortable listening to her kissing him when he hated it) and then publicly. It was heartwarming to see him taking a chance on the people he was close to. I also loved seeing him with Martin.

Now, for the plot, it's about Abraham Lincoln and how Wyatt finds out Lincoln was in love with another man. And I'm not going to lie, at first I didn't really care about American history. Perhaps in part because I'm not American. But the author surprised me and made me interested in a subject that I didn't think would appeal to me all that much. It was even more interesting since it's actually real and evidence actually existed.

Before seeing this book available as an audiobook on Netgalley, I had never seen it on Goodreads and none of my friends had read it. I can't help but think the cover might-not have been the best choice - marketing wise- even though it's actually pretty relevant to the story. This book is two years old and yet, only 142 people has rated it so far. It's a bit sad because I really enjoyed this story and I wish more people knew about it, especially after hearing the author's interview at the end of the book. It added a lot of insight to the story in my opinion and I loved getting to know the author behind the words I just read.


(Thank you for letting me listen and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I found this book as a read now copy and the summary sounded so interesting, I thought I'd give it a shot. I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to follow, fun, and pretty different from other things that I have read lately. Overall a good change of pace.

It was able to stay semi-lighthearted for a book that delved into homophobic communities. I have never heard or learned about Joshua Fry Speed until reading this book. Even while reading, I thought perhaps the history was fictional, but it is in fact historically accurate.

This is a book that I would probably not read again, but I am glad that I checked it out and was able to learn a little something along the way. The book does bring up a good question about how many other cis-gender/straight individuals have we learned about in history that were perhaps, in fact, queer? It brings up the point of how queerness was and still is erased from our history books and world-view as a whole.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book. This whole book is about all people are equals. It was a little corny at times, my opinion. But it was interesting nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this audio book. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.

*** Audiobook Review! ***

Okay, I'm going to start with the narrator, because holy cowabunga, dude... this guy is amazeballs! I about lost it the first time he switched from narrator voice to the actual MC's voice when he was talking to the bestie over the phone. Like, he sounded so different and exactly how I envision a 15-year-old sounding. It made the story so immersive and delightful. This narrator was born to voice YA novels and I hope he dives deep into the genre and never looks back! 💕 Full 5-stars for the narrator!!

Now, as for the actual story itself. It was really cute! I enjoyed it. I was "reading" while working on a project that didn't require my total focus, so it made for an excellent and easy to follow background entertainment. I thought it was unique and kept my attention throughout. Wyatt wasn't one of those irritating YA characters that either acts far too young for his age or far too old. He felt realistically 15 but without being a hormonal pain in the booty.

I would recommend this to any and all lovers of YA because it's an enjoyable and fresh story. A bit of a stretch in some places, but fiction requires a suspension of disbelief and I think YA often requires a bit more. And I'm okay with that.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook. The review I'm leaving is being done voluntarily and contains my own thoughts, views, and personal opinions.

I quite enjoyed this read/listen. I'm not sure how much of it is based on true facts, but I believe the author did a wonderful job of making it all feel very real and plausible. I'll admit, the premise did feel a bit overblown, which is really the only reason this lost a star. In this day and age, you can pretty much put anything into a search engine and find "proof" of whatever it is you want to find proof of. So, it makes it feel a little unrealistic that so many people were so bent out of shape about Wyatt putting proof of Abraham Lincoln being gay online.

However, if I suspend disbelief and pretend this <i>would</i> be a scandal, then the story was otherwise quite enjoyable and fresh. And the audiobook narrator did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. He has a wonderful talent and really made this book shine.

Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill is the first audiobook that I have ever read. The whole experience was intimate, and given that my sexuality resonates with that of Wyatt, and similar experiences of being in a closet, I could imagine it being written for me.

Lee Wind has done a great job in unwinding a fact that might bother a culture and a civilization, the subtitle declares of this claim: Certainly if you know that a figure that means History to a group of people and the world, and that person turns out to be anyway different than how they're written down in History, then, as they say, "all hell will break loose."

I am ardent that it might be the reason that many publishers must have denied publishing this book, if Lee went to them to get it published. However, it couldn't have been queerer and bold a step to self-publish it. If we've to tell our stories, then we might as well own it completely. Let no one decide our history, it'll be the one that we'll write.

I was fascinated with Wyatt, a closeted ninth-grader who happened to be working on a History assignment. Given that he was questioning his sexuality, his family - who wanted, of course, the best for him, which means dating a girl, Wyatt loathed the idea of questioned it within his sort of intimate kissing encounters with Mackenzie; but while working on this assignment he stumbles upon a fascinating fact in a book.

Speculation, or some may even call them proper evidences, of Abraham Lincoln being gay. He had exchanged most romantic of letters with Joshua Fry Speed, and its those letters that made him pick this topic and go on into the quest to find his authentic self.

He goes through all the problems that he could. Of course, people started making fun of him calling him queer. And the teacher gives him an ultimatum to begin the assignment afresh or disclose the evidence in full; and on top of that the librarian turns up in his house to request for returning the book, his single-point evidence.

The principal also calls him and rebukes in his room. What would happen to you if you're questioning your sexuality, and you discover that you're not how the society or the world wants you to be. It's that confusion and amidst all this the resilience of this character that comes out, no pun intended, beautifully well in this book.

Apart from that, the most important part of writing this book as he mentioned in an interview that came with this audiobook was this: All our histories is straight? It's not even possible to imagine that none of the great men, women, and others who walked this planet Earth were different from the gender binary that society wants to maintain. It's where the queerness of this book, and its urgency to claim our history is why this book is of utmost importance and deserves to be read. Congratulations to Lee Wind for this book.

Really disappointed with this one. I thought it might have been published in the early 2000s when books like this were more popular. I disliked that no one seemed to be in Wyatt's corner. No one. Not his parents or his best friend or any educator, except for one teacher who disappears. I've lived in a small town, I know what being in the closet feels like, and there's isolation , of course, but this was SO dramatic! The MAYOR cared about this school project?? I just couldn't get into any of the dynamics.