This sounded like it’d be a great trans coming of age story, but I couldn’t get past the opening misgendering and transphobia. I’m not the right audience for this book.

A MG book about a tween transgender who just wants to swim.
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Obi recently transitioned and he knew it would cause some issues in his life, but after quitting the swim team because of his transphobic coach, he’s completely distraught. Between that and the bullying he’s receiving he worries he’ll never find a place to belong. Obie luckily has his family behind him and a new friend/crush in Charlie. Now Obie is on a new swim team with something to prove: that he’s the fastest boy in the water!
🏊🏻
This was a difficult novel to read because of how badly I felt for Obie because of how others were treating him. I loved how supportive his family was. I’m a huge fan and long time follower of @pinkmantaray and didn’t know he wrote this book until after I finished it! I can definitely see his voice and experience reflecting on the content. I really loved this title and will recommend it to my students. This would be great for middle school age and up!

CW: transphobia, bullying, physical attack, homophobia, slurs, misgendering, deadnaming, outing, grief/loss, death of a grandparent

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Loved it. Love love loved it. The only thing that made me sad about it was that I couldn't just plop myself down and just read! Damn life getting in the way.

A tremendous story about a young man overcoming prejudice, bullying, insecurity, and adversity when society just was against him. Everyone in the same type of situation should have the kind of support Obie had in those around him and it makes me utterly gobsmacked and sorrowful for the society that we live in when they don't.

Absolutely fabulous story of a transgender teen born with female parts who identifies as male and wants to swim on the Boys swim team. Very timely given the current sports controversy about trans athletes. #OwnVoices

Write by an #OwnVoices author, this story could be really important during 2022 with the discussions about swimming in the media. I enjoyed this novel. Team sports usually overlook swim teams. so this one fills missing gaps for younger readers. Hand to readers that enjoy books by Gino or Deaver.
Thanks NetGalley for ARC which didn't influence my opinion.

A beautiful middle grade novel about a trans man. I loved Obie. His love interest was adorable. His family was sweet. I loved his interactions with his Halmoni. His English teacher. His new swim coach. He was surrounded by so many supportive people. The people who were transphobic were truly awful, and Obie's reactions to them were heartbreaking, and relatable. What a beautiful book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.

I liked this book. Good pic GM strong characters. It’s a tough issue and it’s important at that kids get to read about it.

This book is heartfelt, raw, and presents the trans experience in a way that is accessible to young readers. It is an essential message, and I hope the kids (and adults!) who find this book will feel seen and supported by it.

A strong middle grade novel about a transgender tween with a supportive family. Recommended for school libraries.

I love this book. As a young queer person I felt very close to Obie. I love this plot. Their are not many books about young trans people and this definitely one. Obie himself is a wonderful main character and he has some much depth. I love him. I don’t usually care much about side characters but in this book I loved them. I am very thankful that I got to read it.

I really really enjoyed this title. The representation was on point and necessary. The experience of bullying and the importance of friends and family during that experience was very well written. Even though this title is a middle grade, this book/story should be read by everyone. The best part is knowing that this story is written by someone who has life experience who most likely lived the same thing his main protagonist lived.

I really liked this one! I have been following Schuyler for ages on Instagram and was thrilled when he announced his book. I loved that he narrated the audiobook and it was done really well. I do feel like there's a little bit of a disconnect in the age range of this book. It's technically a middle grade but it reads like YA at some points and like middle grade at others.

I definitely think this is a book that cis readers should pick up and that trans readers could enjoy but definitely should be checking out content warnings first and reading reviews by other trans people. There are separate author's notes at the beginning and the end dedicated to both cis and trans readers where Schuyler kind of explains why he wrote the book the way he did and would be helpful to read beforehand.

This one is about Obie who is a swimmer in middle school and he has just been kicked off his swim team by his super transphobic coach. The coach's son, Clyde, is also a huge bully of Obie's and does some horrific things in this book. Content warning for bullying, transphobic and homophobic slurs including the f slur and t slur, physical assault, and outing Obie.

I really loved how supportive Obie's family was and his new swim coach and swim team were so amazing and I really loved all of their connections. I loved the Korean traditions thrown in as well and how intersexuality was discussed. I'm also here for books with trans characters in heteronormative relationships. To be fair, this is middle grade and so the dating element is small but it was cute nonetheless, especially Obie's brothers advice.

Additional CWs: death of a grandparent, loss of friendships, toxic masculinity, blood, hospital visit, stitches

Korean American trans boy MC

I'm so happy to have received an ARC of Schuyler's Bailar's middle grades story, "Obie is Man Enough." The story of Obie, who is a transitioning transgender pre-teen is poignant but still accessible to a younger audience. As a 7th grade English teacher, this is definitely a novel that I'll be including on the shelves of my classroom library.

I've been following Schuyler's journey for quite some time now and I'm completely thrilled that he decided to write a middle grade book. Trans kid belong in sports and stories like this one are so important to build an atmosphere of support and acceptance for their participation at all levels.

Reading this book about a transgender middle school boy who recently transitioned had me feeling every emotion. Obie is an amazing character that you absolutely want to root for (in his swim competitions and in his life.) The bullying was a bit extreme but I think it will get the intended audience fully invested in Obie's journey. The joy, love, and support that Obie experiences ultimately leaves the reader hopeful (and more educated about transgender issues.) Appropriate for 5th grade and above.

Thoughts and Themes: I am always happy to see Trans books that are written by Trans people and especially when those books are meant for a younger group. I love that this book is written for middle grade and gives the experience of being Trans in middle school.

First off, I did find this book challenging to read at times as a Trans person as it does include instances of bullying and Transphobia both by Obie’s peers and adults in his life. While these parts are difficult to read, I did think that they are important topics that this book addresses. I think that the book portrays this in realistic ways and shows how difficult it could be for a Trans person to just exist much less thrive.

There was so much that I really enjoyed in this story and I am so glad that it exists for the younger generation. I loved that the author points out that there is no one way to be transgender and how this is only one story about a Transgender youth. I also like how the author constantly tells the reader through the story and in the author’s note to make sure we aren’t using other people’s words against ourselves.

Characters: In this story you are introduced to several characters through their interactions with Obie. You get to meet some people who are supportive in Obie’s life as well as others who are not as supportive.

I really liked the relationship that we get to see between Obie and each member of his family. I liked how each member of his family supports him and each of them are able to help him in different aspects of his life. I loved seeing how Obie would rely on his brother for relationship advice and loved how Jae-sung supports him through his first relationship.

I also loved the relationship between Obie and Charlie, and how Charlie was just so willing to learn. While I hated that Obie was outed to Charlie, I do like Charlie’s response in that moment and how she is able to walk Obie through that moment while allowing him to also have mixed feelings about it.

Writing Style: This story is written in first person and is told through Obie’s perspective. I really liked that we get to see everything through his point of view and follow along as he experiences different things.

Such a heart-warming and important middle grade book about a trans pre-teen navigating life after coming out and beginning his transition. Obie has recently been kicked off of his swim team for being trans and is trying to find a place amongst his teammates on a new team. His friendships have changed drastically since his coming out, with one of his former best friends now his bully.

This was at times hard to read--the bullying & transphobia Obie experiences was heartbreaking & gut wrenching! Readers should be aware that this book includes transphobia & homophobic slurs, physical violence, and incidents of a trans person being outted without their consent. This would be a great book for a family to read together and discuss.

Obie was such a relatable, lovable character who just wants to be his own authentic self. I loved cheering him on as he tries to prove himself as a swimmer and as he experiences his first crush and navigates dating as a trans person. He also explores his biracial Korean-American identity throughout the book, which was handled well.

I loved that Obie Is Man Enough authentically portrays the experiences of trans youth in a way that is both realistic and hopeful. Definitely a must read for fans of Alex Gino, Ashley Herring Blake, and Amy Polansky!

3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

I simultaneously loved and disliked this book. First, the positive:
All of that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The characters are compelling and deep. We're brought into Obie's world and given all the tools we need to understand (to a certain extent, of course) what it's like being him. Not just the trans experience, which as we all understand differs from person to person, but the experience that Obie has as being a part of so many different communities while still being himself. He accepts that there are numerous facets to himself and to others, and there's very little confusion as to who he is. Obie knows exactly who he is, which is a refreshing change to see in a character.

Now the negative:
I was really disappointed in how vague the note from the author was at the beginning. This book contains a number of traumatic and triggering events, behaviors, and slurs that can be quite jarring. Aside from deadnaming, transphobia, homophobia, and bullying, there are a number of uses of ableist language and the grief suffered from the passing of a relative. All of this culminated in a compelling story, but one that was difficult to get through. While the transphobia is depicted as a negative (and the book highlights that people are complicated beings), there is A LOT of it. Coupling that with the vague note at the beginning made me worry that this book doesn't go far enough to warn trans youth who might read this of the possibility of detrimental effects.

Overall, I think this book had mountains of value to it. I think it could honestly do a lot of good, and I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's a compelling story, with interesting characters who the reader will learn to cheer for emphatically by the end of it. I just wish the book did more to prepare readers for some of the possibility of triggering content.

I got an ARC of this book.

I hate to say that I just couldn’t finish this book. I was so excited for a trans author to writing a trans story, but it was a trauma/inspiration porn through at least 52%. I’m a trans man and I just couldn’t get through this book about a trans masc teen.

When the first half of the book is just constant transphobia, I’m done. I’m so tired of the only plot trans people get is to be victims. I have lived that. I want better. The fact that this is constant transphobia and is aimed at middle school kids is even worse. Let them have some happiness damnit. The last straw for me was the homophobia that tried to explain away the transphobia. The kid was only being a jerk because he used to like the trans MC? That’s worse. I can’t understand why that isn’t seen as immediately worse. It made my skin crawl. Right before that, one of the straight cis characters explains his aversion to homophobic slurs is because his sister is gay. You don’t need to have a gay sibling to be against homophobia. Seriously?

So much of this book felt like trauma porn so cis people can feel bad for trans people. The idea that Obie is trying to prove he is man enough by beating his bully and it’s encouraged is also mind boggling. Why didn’t a single adult or friend up to 52% say “you have nothing to prove. You are man enough because you are you”? Why does it come down to if you can beat a cis man you are good enough? I get the whole underdog tale and the being better than your enemy makes you powerful, but it comes across so badly here. If Obie loses, then he isn’t a man. That’s not ok. Since I didn’t even make it through Obie’s first race, I have no idea if he wins. I’m assuming he does, because middle grade book. I’m assuming he learns he is man enough, but I’m so discouraged I never go to it.

I also found it super awkward that the author wrote himself into the story as a mentor character and kept referencing himself. Yes, the author is impressive and should be proud, but also please don’t. It made the story read like a bad fanfiction of yourself.

As a weird final note, there is a section where the characters talk about the history of the word “faggot”. They get it wrong. Basic google search.