In her new young adult book Like Other Girls, TV writer and author Britta Lundin (Ship It) introduces us to Mara, a teenage girl in high school who wants to be “one of the guys.” That identity that Mara wants and struggles which is challenging to attain when you are gay but have yet to come out, your mother wants you to be feminine and girly, and you live in the small, conservative, and rural Elkhorn, Oregon.

Mara and her point of view primarily tell the narrative, and as a character, her head space feels accurate to who she is. That can make the book hard to read at times. I liked that the story and main character Mara went from just wanting to be “one of the guys” to realizing and understanding that there are various ways to be a girl. Mara’s story was authentic and entirely relatable for some people. Seeing her anger and contempt towards others and herself lessen as she gradually lets people in, gains confidence, and comes to terms with herself and her sexuality is not a quick process. So seeing the character’s layers peel back felt real, which I enjoy reading in LGBTQ+ literature. It is something that has the YA entertainment value but is relatable to real-life situations for those reading it so they can feel seen and heard. The ending I found a little conflicting, but it also leaves it open for a continuation, which I do hope happens.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of Like Other Girls to review. Like Other Girls is out now!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Like Other Girls

Author: Britta Lundin

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Lesbian Asian side character, Lesbian MC, F/f romance

Rating: 5/4

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, sports, football

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication Date: August 3, 2021

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 373

Recommended Age: 14+ (Sexism, Assualt, Religion discussed, Alcohol consumption by minors, Language, Sexual assualt, Violence)

Explanation of CWs: Sexism is a theme of this book. There is fighting violence, assaults, and sexual assault in the form of inappropriate touching. Alcohol consumption by minors is frequent in the novel, as is language.

Synopsis: After getting kicked off the basketball team for a fight that was absolutely totally not her fault (okay maybe a little her fault), Mara is dying to find a new sport to play to prove to her coach that she can be a team player. A lifelong football fan, Mara decides to hit the gridiron with her brother, Noah, and best friend, Quinn-and she turns out to be a natural. But joining the team sets off a chain of events in her small Oregon town-and within her family-that she never could have predicted.

Inspired by what they see as Mara's political statement, four other girls join the team. Now Mara's lumped in as one of the girls-one of the girls who can't throw, can't kick, and doesn't know a fullback from a linebacker. Complicating matters is the fact that Valentina, Mara's crush, is one of the new players, as is Carly, Mara's nemesis-the girl Mara fought with when she was kicked off the basketball team. What results is a coming-of-age story that is at once tear-jerking and funny, thought-provoking and real, as Mara's preconceived notions about gender, sports, sexuality, and friendship are turned upside down.

Review: I really liked this one! I thought the book did well to highlight the need for change in sports for girls and the struggles every girl faces, even if they're more tomboyish or only hang around boys. I thought the character development was amazingly well done and the world building was great. I also loved the plot of the book.

However, I did feel like some of the books characters weren't redeemed by the end and that there was a lack of justice for the girls, especially when those irredeemable characters were fellow women. But that's sadly a realistic issue in today's society.

Verdict: It's great!

i honestly didn't really care for this book. since i feel like this book took the 'i'm not like other girls' plot line and run with it, which i guess you should get from the title. but, i honestly just didn't like it and i feel like it was just not something that i was into. like, i feel like it was just kind of annoying and that they should have just fixed it more, since it could have been better.

i also think that the side characters were so annoying. like, i guess that is what happens when you get a queer book in this point in time. and i feel like they were just some terrible characters and i think that totally sucks cause this could have been so cool and have everyone supporting everyone, but atlas, we did not get this at all. and i just feel as characters overall that her had so much internalized homophobia, which made me honestly not like this book, and also how she was in her head so much, that it just got to be annoying and kind of uncomfortable. and i mean, she also treated everyone so terribly, which i think it made me not enjoy this book at all.

This is a bit too long for a quick pick for reluctant readers, but it has a great hook and I'm really excited to read it. I can see a lot of teens being super interested in it.

This book was a wild ride and as soon as I picked it up, I was glued to it’s pages. It’s about Mara, who joins the football team and is joined by four other girls who want to make a statement. But she just wants to play football and be accepted there by her fellow players...tensions were rife in this novel and I loved Mara, who was such a fierce, but also flawed protagonist in the best way. I loved her character arc and how she came to peace with certain things, while learning to stand up when it counted. There was a great group dynamic between her and the other girls on the team, too, and I think if you like found family tropes you might enjoy this book.

I also loved the authentic way that queer identities were discussed in this book. I’m used to reading more fantasy, so it was fun for me to read a contemporary like this one. It avoided tropes that I have often seen in LGBTQ+ novels and instead offered a new perspective that I haven’t seen much in YA fiction. I would gladly read more books about Mara.

So all of that being said, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, original, sapphic, and feminist contemporary novel to read this fall. Thank you so much to the publisher for the review copy!

I highly recommend this book for any high school or library that serves teenagers. We need more books with diverse characters, including different representations of what it looks like or feels like to have a specific gender. I really appreciated the intense level of feeling that Mara brought to the book. I also really loved the introduction of adult role models and showing how important it is for kids to have different people that they can look at to help them explore who they are. The character development drives this book and is top notch.

Content Warning: Homophobia,Sexism,underage drinking,molestation,violence
I LOVED this book and I didn't think I would because I HATE football with a burning rage. When I was in high school....my junior year their was a senior girl lesbian on the football team and we weren't friends ; I was the swim team and never went to a game so idk if it was this hard for her or not....probably not because we had the same lunch period and I often saw her eating lunch with her teammates but I did think she was hot shit like that was bad ass of her but never enough to even go to a game....although she was dating girls I had crushes on so maybe that's why. I don't remember😂 this has nothing to do with the book really but like that was in 2012 in South Carolina so the fact that this book takes place in 2021(I know because in the end they mention being scared the dad has Covid) in Georgia honestly feels a bit behind the times. Otherwise I really loved this adventure of first crushes&meeting elder gays&nonbinary friends coming out to her&her family learning to accept her&first kisses and learning who your true friends are. Truly such an important story to have....learning that sometimes guys aren't your true friend(sometimes they are though)just because you played video games together since you were 8. I LOVE Jupiter and how much she helps Mara realize her true feelings. Highly recommend this book even if you HATE football and are very confused by all the terms....POWER THROUGH ; its worth it!!

On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks to Britta Lundin all about her new book, Like Other Girls, which is described as, “Fiercely charming and achingly relatable—a glorious, empowering touchdown, Britta Lundin’s sophomore novel will give readers all the feels and make them stand up and cheer.”

Like Other Girls does several things well, one of which is giving us a very realistic look high schoolers in a small conservative American town. These aren’t hyper-realized versions of teens that we normally get, they feel very real and very age appropriate, making the book land somewhere between a slice of life and local state football championship. With a good look at both internalized and externalized misogyny, Britta’s book is at times a very funny look at the fragility of the male ego, and at others, a very important coming-of-age story.

Steve and Britta talk about her glorious but short stint on HBO’s “Betty”, growing up in small towns, women’s sports, Like Other Girls of course, and much, much more.

For the full interview with the author, click the link below...

https://www.cinelinx.com/off-beat/shows/everything-is-canon-like-other-girls/

This book was absolutely fabulous! I knew I would be into it just based off the premise, but I didn't expect it to wow me in the ways it did. Mara Deeble gets kicked off of her school's basketball team after punching her fellow teammate during a game. Her coach refuses to let her back onto the team unless she can show that she can play a team sport and not resort to violence. Mara is expected to play volleyball "like the other girls" but instead decides to be daring and try out for the football team, setting of a chain reaction that is as heartwarming as it is illuminating. Lundin does an incredible job of highlighting the difficulties of being a queer youth, particularly within a small conservative town, as well as the gender dynamics within this particular community. She tackles issues of consent, anger management and violence, job loss, sexuality, and more within a mere 370 pages, and gives us an entertaining plot to boot. I would absolutely recommend this book to any teenager, and any adult for that matter, and it is a title I will definitely be adding to my YA collection.

Mara just got kicked off the basketball team and she is PISSED.

She punched one of her teammates, Carly, for telling their coach Mara might have a concussion and needed to sit out. Mara…has some anger lol.

But if she never got kicked off of the basketball team, this story wouldn’t have gotten very far.

While stewing over how to get back on the team, Mara throws out the idea of joining the football team to her best friend, Quinn, and when he claims it to be “genius,” she decides to go for it.

At first, the other guys on the team are not enthused with playing with a girl, but as they see her skills and her ability to “hang” with the guys, they come to accept her.

Everything changes when four girls, inspired by Mara’s action, decide to join the team too. Mara is less than pleased. She joined the team because she’s good at it, because it’s what she likes. To her, these girls are not doing it for the right reasons, especially Carly who is clearly just joining to make a statement.

Mara’s crush, Valentina, also joins the team which throws her for a loop. Two other girls from school, River and Tayley also join the team (and they are delightful!)

But when she sees that the coach won’t even teach the new girls how to play or what certain maneuvers are, she takes matters into her own hands. This, along with most of the dudes being awful shitheads anyway, leads to them treating Mara as shittily (I insist that’s a word) as they do the other girls.

The worst part, at least to Mara, is that Quinn, her supposed best friend, seems to lump her in with the other girls too.

Mara tries to show them that she is not “like other girls” but she doesn’t have much luck.

It isn’t until she really starts to get to know the other girls and after Quinn betrays her in the worst possible way that she starts to see what’s really going on. She starts to open her eyes to the misogyny. It’s only then that Mara begins to see them as her friends (and maybe something a little more…) and they all start to support each other.

While this is going on, Mara also works at a hardware store and that’s where she meets Jupiter, a gay woman, who recently moved into the area. Mara is a bit enthralled with her as she is the first out gay woman she’s ever met. Mara is gay but for most of the story, she’s not out to anyone. She would love to have the freedom of being out, but with the way her life is, she can hardly imagine it.

Jupiter has Mara help her on her farm while her partner, Reese, is away and they form a strong bond. Unfortunately, when Mara’s mother finds out about Jupiter, she bans Mara from hanging out with her. Mara’s mother wants her to wear dresses and be like a “classic girl.” She certainly doesn’t want her playing football. Mara would rather vomit than be anything but who she is.

As Mara deals with the misogyny, the bullshit from Quinn, her mom’s underlying homophobia, and trying to figure out if she wants to be out (if that’s a safe option), she begins to open herself up to new possibilities. Possibilities like having friends who truly support her, being in a relationship with an maybe enemy, having someone she can look up to, and eventually, knowing the path she wants to take.

This is such a badass book. It was so easy to give Like Other Girls 5 stars. I loved Mara (even when she was a ball of internalized misogyny). I loved Carly and Valentina and Tayley and River. I loved Ranger, one of the only boys who actually supported the girls (although, he certainly could have done more). I LOVED the support the girls showed each other. It gave me happy chills and made me weepy.

I also LOOOVED that Mara was able to see an example of a happy and healthy queer relationship between Jupiter and Reese. It means a lot to her.

If you love YA contemporary LGBT+ books, you HAVE to read this!

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin is available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This queer coming of age story from Britta Lundin is one of my favourite new books of 2021.

It truly has something for everyone: positive queer role models, a riveting story of enemies to lovers, socially relevant tension and conflict, detailed descriptions of sports culture, and all the girl power you can imagine.

And as an educator, I think it deserves a place on every recommended reading list for young people.

Mara Deeble is not the girl her mother wants her to be.

She would rather wear loose jeans and a plaid shirt than a fitted dress and heels. She would rather spend time playing video games with her best friend Quinn than gossiping with the other girls in her class.

And when Mara is banned from her basketball team after an aggressive outburst towards another player, she would rather prove herself by joining football than volleyball.

But when four other girls are inspired to join the team in a motion of solidarity, things start to get complicated.

The girls face backlash from their teammates and coaches, and even their friends and families. Friendships are tested, and physical and emotional limits pushed to the brink.

But despite their differences, the “Elkhorn Five” learn to support each other unconditionally. And together, they are stronger than any of them could have imagined.

This empowering idea for young women to support other women is such an invaluable message in teen literature.

And more than anything, Mara learns that being a girl means whatever she wants it to mean, and that being different doesn’t mean being less.

As such, this book is one I would enthusiastically recommend to my students. And readers of any age and background, for that matter.

One of the greatest-ever performances at the Tony Awards is Sydney Lucas’s performance of “Ring of Keys” from Fun Home. Go back and watch it. Fun Home, which took home the Best Musical Tony and four others in 2015, tells the real-life story of gay cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who came to terms with her identity as a butch lesbian while growing up in rural Pennsylvania. In “Ring of Keys,” ten-year-old Alison sees a butch woman for the first time and feels an instant, soul-deep kinship. It’s joyful, strange, and totally overwhelming. Like Other Girls, Britta Lundin’s new young adult novel about a closeted teenaged lesbian who joins her high school’s previously all-guy football team, captures that feeling perfectly.

Mara Deeble is a 6’2” farm girl in rural Oregon who knows she was built for basketball. When she gets kicked off the basketball team for fighting with a teammate, Mara devises a plan to show her coach how much of a team player she can be. She joins the school football team for the fall season—even though some of the other players, including her best friend and her brother, aren’t thrilled. When four other girls join, inspired by what they see as Mara’s feminist statement, Mara’s even less popular with the boys on the team. Mara has always been one of the guys. Now she’s being lumped in with the girls, and she hates it.

For Mara, joining the football team was the opposite of a political statement. But as she grudgingly starts to help the other girls on the team, she realizes that it is political. She navigates being friends with girls—for the first time ever—at the same time that she navigates her own relationship to womanhood. Mara has a “Ring of Keys” moment of her own when a butch thirty-something named Jupiter walks into the hardware store where she works. A recent transplant from gay-friendly Portland, Jupiter becomes a mentor. Slowly, Mara realizes that her small town might have a place for girls like her after all.

When I started Like Other Girls, I wondered if its message would feel stale. Didn’t not-like-other-girls Internet discourse exhaust itself years ago? But Lundin’s novel is the opposite of a discourse vehicle. It deals with gender, sexuality, and sexism in ways that feel fresh, funny, and relevant. Awkward and headstrong, Mara is an all-time great protagonist. There are so few butch protagonists in YA, and Mara’s what we call “good representation,” complete with a truck and an empowering haircut scene. (Did I mention she’s 6’2”?)

The minor characters are real, too, not stereotypes of girly-girls or sexist football players. Mara’s friendship with Jupiter and her growing romance with a girl on the team are both great. Most affecting of all for me, though, was Mara’s relationship with her male best friend and teammate, Quinn. Mara grows increasingly uncomfortable with Quinn’s sexism, culminating in a devastating betrayal and one of the most painful friend breakups I’ve found in a YA novel. I could seriously gush about this book all day. When it was over, I went running to read Lundin’s debut, Ship It, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

*Special thanks to Penguin Teen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I almost didn't request an ARC of this book because I thought, ​Football? Eh, not for me. ​But I'm so glad that I changed my mind, clicked that little request button, and took a chance on this book...because it was totally worth it. There's so much amazing stuff packed into this book: self-discovery, feminism, heartwarming friendship, and, yes, football, but I discovered that football is way cooler when it involves some badass girls battling gender stereotypes. Mara was a fantastic main character that I couldn't help but root for, and watching her fully discover and accept herself was a beautiful journey. I was honestly so invested in this book, it's not even funny.

If there's one thing I love most about this book, it's the friendship. Mara started out absolutely hating the other girls who, inspired by her, also joined the football team. But slowly, slowly but surely, a friendship between the girls began to develop. It felt so natural yet beautiful. There was a slow-burn romance in this book, but the friendship felt like a slow-burn itself. In the end, the girls' friendship was so strong, and it was heartwarming to see them so supportive and caring of each other. Some of my favorite scenes were their hang-outs and parties they had together; it was such a cozy friendship environment, and I wished so badly to join them in those moments.

​This book does a brilliant job of tackling the issue of gender stereotypes in sports. The sexism and misogyny against Mara and her fellow female football players was disheartening but unfortunately very realistic. There's also has fantastic LGBTQ+ representation, and we see Mara struggle with her mother not accepting her for who she truly is. One character I especially loved was Jupiter; she was so inspirational and encouraging to Mara, really helping her become her true self.

To conclude, I absolutely loved this book! There are so many good things about it and I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you like football or not--because if you're anything like me, you definitely will like it after reading this book! Once again, this book hits the shelves today, so why are you still here?? You should be running to the bookstore or ordering a copy right now! I gave this book 4.5 Stars ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️​✨.

Content warnings: homophobia, sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment, forced kissing/touching, bullying, injury, medical content

I received an advanced copy of Like Other Girls through Netgalley so I could share my review with you!

Content Warning: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Homophobia, Non-Consensual Touching/Kissing, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, Toxic Masculinity.

After losing her place on the school basketball team following a fight that was only partially her fault, Mara is desperate for a chance to get back to the rush of playing a sport. So, Mara makes the choice to join the football team, even though there are no other girls playing. This would be the perfect chance for Mara to prove herself, but things don’t go quite the way she planned. Inspired by what they see as a political statement on gender in sports, four more girls join the football team. Now, rather than being part of the team, Mara is seen as just another one of the girls, which is the last thing she wants. Mara will have to tackle sexism, homophobia, and toxic masculinity if she wants to earn her spot on the field.

You can get your copy of Like Other Girls on August 3rd from Disney Books!

I will be completely honest- I am not much of a sports person. I definitely prefer reading about sports to playing or watching them, so this book was perfect for me! I enjoyed the ways that the story explored the many ways that gender identity can be expressed, as I don’t see all that many stories focusing on butch leads on shelves today. Watching Mara grow because of her experiences on the football team was both engaging and uplifting to read. I was occasionally frustrated by the actions of the adult characters, as they repeatedly failed to protect the female members of the team, though I feel as though this representation is unfortunately rather accurate.

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy sports-centric stories with a lot of energy, you need to pick up a copy of Like Other Girls! I would especially recommend this book to fans of She’s the Man, and of other spunky sports movies.

4.50 Stars. I loved this! I had high hopes for this book but it was even better than I had hoped. I’m actually surprised that it’s not getting more of that YA hype and that more people aren’t taking about it. Hopefully, that will change when this releases in a few days because it deserves its readership. While I’m 39 and loved this, had I read a book like this when I was a teenager, it would have meant the world. I hope librarians will pick this up for high school aged kids.

I was really impressed with the readability and good flow of this book. I couldn’t sleep last night –was anxious about the USA/NED women’s soccer game- so I thought I would read a little to get my mind off things and hopefully relax before sleeping. That was a bad decision on my part since I could not put the book down until it was finished. This is a book that easily gets its hooks into you. And while it is not without flaws, Lundin sure can write.

I’m a big fan of angsty YA books that play with your emotions. This book is the perfect example of that. I was frustrated, angry, and had to reach for the tissues multiple times, but there were heartfelt moments, and sweet moments that just put a smile on my face. I loved the rollercoaster of emotions you go through as a reader. Not only was this the kind of YA read that I love, this was also a sports book! I love a good sports read and this book had more football in it than I expected. The football scenes were gripping and exciting and this is one of the better YA sports books I’ve read.

While a book about a teenager who chooses to hide her sexuality in a small religious town is not a new idea, there was a bit of a twist to this storyline. While I hate labels, Mara is really a baby butch. It’s a struggle for her wanting to be comfortable in her own skin as a masculine presenting young woman, but when you are in the closet that’s not an easy step to take. While of course not all masculine presenting women are gay, many people just assume the stereotype is true so to watch this struggle for Mara, and her mother especially, was really well done.

I do want to mention some triggers for homophobia, major sexism, and forced/unwanted touching and kissing. I do have to say that this leads to the one part that bothered me. A character is assaulted and the way they adults act, that she confides in, really pissed me off. I understand a little bit about one of the adults as she was in a tough position and was one of the few decent adults in the book, but the adult educator that was told just made me want to scream. I thought her reaction was a little too unrealistic for being in the Me Too era, but whatever. It really was my only main complaint in the book.

While there were plenty of parts that made me angry –due to some nasty characters- there were some great female friendships and a super sweet romance. The romance was light, this is more a book about sexism, finding oneself, and football, but I was happy with it anyway. I felt like the romance was just what the book needed to balance out some of the tears and anger you will have as a reader. Plus the pairing is really adorable.

This was an excellent read. I believe it will easily make my list of favorite books of the year since I enjoyed it so much. If you are a YA fan, this is a must. If you are a sports fan, this is also a must read. Even if you are not the biggest YA fan, but love sports books, I would highly encourage you to give this a chance. I hope this book gets the attention it deserves and I can’t wait to read what Lundin writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! This was an anticipated release for me, and I’m happy to say it lived up to my expectations! If you’re looking for queer sports books, definitely pick this one up this fall.

One of the strongest aspects of this book is Mara’s journey to unlearn the misogyny that she’s internalized her entire life. At the beginning, she’s so against being “one of the girls” because she doesn’t feel like she fits in. Throughout, she learns that being a girl isn’t always a bad thing, and the little group of friends she makes is fantastic. I loved each one of them. Their dynamic in the book, both on and off the football field, works so well.

Another thing I enjoyed was the subtle nature of the romance. While I didn’t always get the chemistry between Mara and her love interest, I did enjoy that the romance didn’t necessarily take a front seat to everything else that was going on. Also, some of the boys on the football team are awful. Parts of their interactions were hard to read, just because you know this happens in real life.

Overall, this will be a great book to pick up going into football season, even if you don’t know that much about football. Mara is a great character, and her journey is one I think a lot of girls will relate to.

Like Other Girls is exceptional reading for teens. Britta Lundin perfectly captured the awakenings of social justice and feminism that so many teens feel while experiencing discrimination or unfair policies and procedures. I loved seeing Mara and her friends unite over a common cause. Lundin especially exceled at showing Mara's growth on the page from dreading being like the other girls to realizing it was a strength to share common goals with the girls at her school.

4.5 Stars

Content Warnings at end of review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for an arc of this book.

When Mara is kicked off the basketball team for fighting, her coach gives her the opportunity to play a fall team sport to prove she can go a season without fighting. Her coach thinks Mara will choose Volleyball, but she chooses football instead, and unintentionally inspires four other girls to join her.

This book was so relatable for me. It really hit me in a lot of spots close to home, and I seriously identified with Mara in a lot of places. I loved watching her journey to understand her internalized misogyny and homophobia, and how her way of thinking about other girls was toxic. I was so sad she had to go through some of the things she did to gain that understanding, but I loved the way it all turned out in the end.

I also really loved the way Mara chose to express herself, and her slow but sure realization that she wanted to be openly gay. I loved the girl-group on the football team, and the supportive boys they played with. Even though her interactions with her mom were difficult, I still loved how real and raw they were. Such a great book!

Pub date: August 3, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Religious bigotry
Minor: Medical content

Okay, I'm gonna be honest. I didn't go into this book expecting much. For some reason, I just wasn't hopeful for the storyline. I'm so happy I was wrong. This ended up being an excellent story with an excellent message. I loved the deconstruction of internalized misogyny that Mara undergoes throughout the novel! It really went after the "not like other girls" (I see the point of the title now haha) trope and changed it for the better. I truly loved watching her realize she doesn't need to be like other girls to appreciate them for who they are and what they like. I definitely recommend this book!!

To be perfectly honest, this book made me angry – a lot. From an unsupportive and close-minded mother, to homophobic characters, to stereotypes and generalizations, the list goes on…

Mara doesn’t want to be like the other girls. The girls who wear high ponytails, ribbons, short shorts, and make up during practice. Instead, she prefers to hang out with the guys and be treated as one of the guys. But as her new friend Jupiter points out, that will only work until the guys start seeing her as one of the girls.

Mara has some aggressive tendencies that get her thrown off of the basketball team. In order to redeem herself, she has to join a team sport and not fight. So she joins football – but the guys she once viewed as her friends soon become relentless.

This book was filled with character development, identity exploration, and sexual identity understanding. There were so many ways this book could go – hinting at discussions of gender fluidity as well as sexuality, and exploring homophobia and how it feels for people who have yet to come out publicly.

This being said, one part that I really didn’t like about the book was how the main character hated being placed in the box labeled as “girl” and how everyone wanted her to be more feminine – but at the same time, she lumped other girls together, continued to stereotype them, and used the most random things to identify as gay (for example, since when is wearing a watch a gay trait??). Part of this felt a bit close-minded and never really was redeemed throughout the novel, but I can only hope that it would be for Mara as she continues to explore what it means to be gay for herself and those around her. There is no box – not for anyone.