3.5/5 stars

🐻 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this audiobook-arc!


✨It was only fine. Not that good of a novel but i wouldn't mind reading more from Miles

Wow this book is very real and genuine. I watched him as he transitioned and its so special to see how he has grown. I would highly recommend this to members of the LGBT community and specifically of the trans community. If you enjoy youtuber books, you will also enjoy this. Would highly recommend great story.

This nonfiction is very teen friendly. It has so many pictures, fanart from Miles's fans, uses diction and voice that will appeal to teens who are asking the very questions he addresses: How do I come out? how do I tell my friend? my family? my grandparents? strangers? How do I live my life everyday without being afraid of letting other people know I'm LGBTQIA+? Miles also talks about his journey from his childhood, to understand his gender and sexual identities, and so on. Now, if there was one of these for adults, that's the next step!

Miles McKenna does a great service to the LGBTQ+ community by sharing his story and experiences with transitioning and being his true authentic self. This book is well written and has a great narration style. Even though I am much older than what would be the natural target audience, and my own experiences and journey in the LGBTQ community has been very different, I found the experience and advice that Miles shares to be very relatable and positive.
I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who is looking for extra support or is questioning their identity.

<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.</i>

4.5 stars

I've been watching Miles McKenna's videos since I was in middle school--I am now in college. I've grown up watching his channel steadily grow, but more importantly, I've seen the way he has changed over the years, becoming more confident with himself and open with his experiences.

Miles provides insight on how to be true to yourself and survive in a world that may not always be accepting (but there are many wonderful people and resources out there!) of the LGBTQ+ community. A mix of down-to-earth stories, advice, and humor, I found this book to be quite inspiring. I wouldn't necessarily say I learned anything new from it, but having thoughts and experiences that I relate to said out loud was a much more emotional experience than I was expecting. I think the audiobook format, narrated by Miles, was perfect for the intentions of this book. Regardless of your identity, and regardless of where you are at accepting or defining this identity, you're likely to find at least some of your thoughts, feelings, or experiences echoes in <i>Out!</i>.

Miles McKenna produces a book full of heart, humor, and love with Out! and I can imagine it is as helpful for children and teens as it is for this mid-20s person. This book is incredibly important, and it's my hope that it will be a big hit with publication.

The audio ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Miles' narration! It seemed like a podcast version of one of his YouTube videos. I liked listening to the audiobook because I simply like Miles, but I feel like it would have been a better experience to read the physical book. I'm assuming there's a bunch of cool pictures and stuff in the physical book that we just don't get from the audiobook.

Besides that, the book doesn't really bring anything new to the table, at least for a person who is already pretty confident in their sexuality. The one thing I really liked was the discussion on changing labels because I feel like that's not really talked about much, but everything else I feel like could be found on any queer YouTuber's Youtube channel or a blog post.

I'm still giving this a 4/5 stars though because I love Miles and honestly think this is a pretty cool book!!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced audio copy of Out! How to Be Your Authentic Self.

This is so, so well done. I didn't realize that Miles was a popular youtuber until after starting to listen to the audiobook and was worried that would hurt the experience but this is honestly perfect whether or not your a fan of his (and if like me you weren't, it'll turn you into one).

Part self help guide, part collection of personal antidotes, Out! explores so many different facets of coming out to yourself and the people around you. I honestly loved all of it but some things I want to highlight are:
- this book's repeated reference to making sure you're in a safe environment to come out! If you've read my reviews on pretty much any other piece of queer targeted media, I'm really bothered by how often coming out is portrayed as something every queer kid needs to do for everyone in their lives no matter the potential costs. McKenna is very cool and healthy about it here
- Resources! This book is full of links and resources to help readers get more information and support. Most of them are America based, but there are so many provided that it'd probably be a good starting point regardless of where in the world you are
- Discussions about changing your labels! Miles has changed the label he's given multiple times and talks about how you don't always need to get it right the first time around which honestly needs to be a lot more normalized. His attitude towards labels and their purpose as a whole was really refreshing and a delight to listen to.

So yeah, this was really, really well done. If you are debating/struggling with coming out in any way (Miles is trans masculine and queer, I didn't catch if he labels that queerness but if someone does know what he uses and wants to give me the right term, that'd be lovely. I'm personally a cis queer woman and could still relate to and benefit from most of what he discusses here so even if your labels don't quite match up with his, give this a go) this is a really good resource to check out.