I enjoyed the writing style of this novel, which was incredibly lyrical and kept the book moving along quickly. The characters were interesting and multi-faceted, and the storyline was unique and paced well. I also appreciated how the story didn't use the trans characters' deadnames, opting to bleep them out (in the audio) when those names were used. A solid YA coming-of-age overall.

Aaron and Oliver have always been friends, but as they have grown they have helped each other come out as trans men, have helped each other buy binders, and have fallen in love. However, Aaron moves away to the big city with his staunchly Catholic family who has yet to accept his true identity, while Oliver is left behind in their small hometown with his accepting parents. The two keep in touch as they explore more of who they are during their final year of high school. From Aaron joining the LGBTQIA society at his new school, to Oliver learning about queer history and wanting to take part in a war reenactment. The two test the boundaries of long distance relationships. As well as, the difference in family life when one of them is accepted for who they are versus the other dealing with continuous rejection of their identity.

Aaron uses art as a means of expressing himself when his family continues to deadname and misgender him. While, Oliver is on a quest to recover queer history, to learn stories about other queer people who have been almost erased. There is a couple from the civil war that were possibly trans men like Aaron and Oliver, which is actually how they decided on their names. Oliver uses these instances of queer history to try to bolster Aaron's spirit as his parents continue to ignore his being a trans man.

This was a novel told in verse, which added so much depth to the story. It was lyrical, poetic, powerful, and full of love and hope. It at times felt like a real conversation between two people that the reader is listening in on. There are text messages, images, emails, letters, and more. This was a rich story about coming out and being your true self. It also gave the characters grace to learn as they go, to contemplate what their trans identity means to them.

I loved the connection between the two queer soldiers and Aaron and Oliver. It was as though they were living the life denied to those two young men. The novel also exposes prejudice, transphobia, and the everyday pain of not being recognized for who you are. It also tackles to churches long history of pedophilia, which is often a tactic that the far right use against trans individuals. Grooming is wrongfully linked to trans people, when it has very much been proven to be within the church and often hidden by the church.

A very touching story about first love, acceptance, and identity. This is one of those novels that more people need to read, to create empathy for a group of people who are being attacked constantly by individuals, laws, and Governments. Maybe if more people read books like this they would have less fear, less hatred, less bigotry towards their fellow humans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I am very late to this review but just finished A Million Quiet Revolutions and really enjoyed it. This is a novel in verse about two trans boys and their experience navigating their identities, families, and their relationship with one another. Woven into this already powerful story is a narrative about trans soldiers in the American Revolution, which I found really interesting as a history teacher. I found the story of the two main characters beautiful and interesting, but also the bigger question of whose stories have been told throughout history and why. There is a lot for students to chew on here, as well as terrific representation of the trans community. If I had not already purchased a copy for my classroom library, I would have after finally reading this one!

This was a beautiful book, although I think reading it in a physical copy instead of ebook would have been better!! The beginning was a bit awkward as you begin to distinguish the voices of the two main characters, so I’m hoping the print version has a better layout than the ebook to help with that. Other than that I really liked the concept and the main characters.

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

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow is a powerful and evocative collection of poetry that explores the intersections of identity, trauma, and healing. Gow's writing is raw and honest, inviting the reader into a deeply personal and emotional journey.

What sets this collection apart is Gow's ability to blend the personal with the political, exploring issues of social justice and LGBTQ+ rights with a keen eye and a compassionate heart. The poems are structured in a way that allows the reader to experience the emotional highs and lows of the speaker's journey, from moments of deep despair to moments of hope and redemption.

Gow's writing is also marked by a deep sense of empathy, as he seeks to understand and connect with the experiences of others. Whether he is exploring the pain of childhood trauma or the complexities of navigating queer identity in a world that often seeks to erase it, Gow's writing is infused with a sense of compassion and understanding.

Overall, A Million Quiet Revolutions is a stunning collection of poetry that speaks to the struggles and triumphs of the human experience. Gow's writing is both beautiful and heartbreaking, inviting the reader to sit with the discomfort of difficult emotions and emerge on the other side with a sense of hope and renewal. This collection is a must-read for anyone who is interested in exploring the complexities of identity, trauma, and healing through the power of poetry.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eGalley of this title.

This book should be essential for high school classrooms with trans and nonbinary students. Although the story was not relatable to me, it was quite beautiful and would be beneficial for queer students. The story follows two trans boys through their senior year of high school through a long distance relationship, and also has roots in queer history. It is honest and raw with a sweet love story for the ages.

Lyrical and just downright beautiful.

Topics include:
✔️ The struggle and strength it takes to come out to family and friends in a small town. Especially in a religious family.
✔️Cultural differences
✔️Sexual assault by church authorities
✔️Finding the history on trans people from the past and seeing beyond what little is there
✔️ Writing your own story

I absolutely adored everything about this. It's not what I expected in the least and it squeezed my heart and made me hug my ereader. Such a well done story of love, strength, family and self acceptance. True rating 4.5/5.

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

Publication date: March 22, 2022

Date read: July 4, 2022



For as long as they can remember, Aaron and Oliver have only ever had each other. In a small town with few queer teenagers, let alone young trans men, they’ve shared milestones like coming out, buying the right binders, and falling in love. But just as their relationship has started to blossom, Aaron moves away. To cope, they begin to dig deep into American history, coming across the story of two Revolutionary War soldiers who were rumored to be trans men in love. As they learn more, they delve further into unwritten queer stories and discover what it means to claim a place in history.

This was a quick read, written in letters as the two main characters decide to pretend to be Revolutionary War soldiers writing to each other, as well as in their own voices as one character moves away. I’ve always liked books written in the epistolary format, so and I thought the addition of the alter egos was a really fun move.

I loved that the characters dead names were never used in the text. Even when someone referred to that character, the name was blocked out. It wasn’t necessary to the plot and wasn’t acknowledged; it was just done as if it was a perfectly normal way to present things. Perfection. It wasn’t necessary to know the dead names for the plot, so no need to include them. I also thought that it was great that both boys had different perceptions about being trans and it wasn’t seen as weird or wrong; one wanted surgery, one didn’t, for example.

This is a really simple book - no dramatic plot, just a sweet coming of age story between two trans boys - and I really enjoyed it. I can’t even really explain what specifically it was about this book that I liked (which makes writing a review more difficult). But it is definitely a story that I would recommend for teens - trans or questioning teens, especially.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: transphobia, misgendering, deathnaming, sexual abuse in the church (mentioned), war (imagined)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I sometimes have trouble with stories told in poetry form. I feel that is what happened with "A Million Quiet Revolutions." It was formatted in a way that made it hard for me to really get into the story.

reading novels in verse is, unfortunately, not for me. i enjoyed the premise, but was unable to finish. i’ll have to find the audiobook version.

TW: references to sexual assault

The main character is Puerto Rican and Trans. Their romantic partner is also trans. They have a secret romance. Our main character's family is jewish and so he hides his gender and his romance.

This is a book written entirely in verse.

It relates back to history and our main character's struggle with what it is to be American. They relate every revolutionary battle to trying to make sense of the present and their place in the world.

But being trans is a transformation in and of itself. A revolution of sorts. Another battle to win that makes you feel at home in your own skin.

Our trans main character fights a ton of smaller battles (or revolutions), both external and internal. He fights loneliness, he fights for acceptance, he fights against his own insecurities of being enough for his family, to be accepted by God, to be accepted as a Man someday, a battle to be out in the open, a battle for a trans people to have a place in history.

The main character abstractly refers to his transition as a Revolution.

This is about more than a trans main character. It is also about a trans couple. They are both in Their senior year of highschool. Our main character is recognized as a boy by his parents. They are supportive. They adapt their pronouns to fit our main character. While our Male trans love interest is invalidated by his parents. They still talk about picking out dresses, and if boys are asking him to prom. Our love interest is the lost part of history. The part that is ignored.

The whole first section of this is from our main character's perspective (Oliver). The second section is told through letters and text messages between our main character and the love interest. The third section is about the battle, and told mainly from the love interest's (Aaron) pov.

In the second section, the revolution become more about love and separation. The main character and our love interest are separated by distance. The battle is no longer just being accepted for who they are. It becomes a battle to reunite. A hope that the distance hasn't changed their love.

This feels very much like a coming of age story. They each progress and try to find their place in the world..

Honestly loved this. It was all told in verse and it was so beautiful.

A Million Quiet Revolutions should be in at least a million classrooms and bookshelves. From the first poem, I was immediately entranced. At once a love letter to queer trans teens and an ode to queer history, Aaron and Oliver painstakingly find courage in the works, lives, and loves of men they believe to be some of the first trans male heroes.

As I was reading, I immediately began pairing individual or coupled poems with books I’m teaching in American lit next year and i cannot wait to share this gem with my students.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It has admirable elements, two boys growing up in the same place with vastly different experiences and the idea that there is no one way to be trans, no one way to be male. It also plays with the difference between seeing yourself as a boy and as a man. We see how their perceptions of themselves color their interactions with each other, how they push their own perceptions on each other just as society has done to them. The constant reference to "our soldiers" was charming at first but became tiresome as the book wore on.

This is a book written in verse about two high school seniors finding out their sexuality. This was a very intense novel where the two high school seniors reenact the American Revolution and find love along the way. I loved every single page that I read. There is definitely a trigger warning for sexual assault though. The ending however was confusing to me because of something written in one of the last letters. I will definitely look more into this author's works even if the ending left me a little confused.

This is an incredibly special book, it's a beautiful verse novel about two trans guys who grow up, grow apart, grow closer and fall in love all while navigating the complexities of coming out. Together they discover two Revolutionary War soldiers who they believe were trans men in love, they delve into the untold history of queer people and are inspired to take on the soldiers names as their own. In such a short space of time this novel covers such an expanse of feelings and emotions from both main characters; from joy to anguish, the author has written a journey like no other for these two young trans men. I loved this book, it's the easiest five stars I've given all year.

I loved this novel in verse about two trans youth discovering themselves, friendship and then love. I enjoyed the historical references and the author/character beliefs that there had to be people like them in history who couldn't put words to the things they were feeling. this was just lovely

Honestly, I wasn't drawn into this book. I think other readers may enjoy it, but perhaps it was not at the right time for me. I don't think the writing style was for me either. It's great that there is a historical note. I think that I may pick up this book again at a later time.

This YA contemporary in verse follows two queer best friends who fall in love while coming to terms with their identities as trans boys. When one of them moves away, the two seek comfort by digging into queer history. In doing so, they become taken with the tale of two Revolutionary War soldiers rumored to be two trans men in love. Feeling a need to honor this piece of history, the two adopt the soldiers’ names for themselves—Aaron and Oliver—and delve deeper into queer and trans history together.

A Million Quiet Revolutions is a thoughtful queer love story that has a dreamy and lyrical tone thanks to its verse structure; much of the novel takes the form of letters between the two boys. Aaron and Oliver fluidly go from friends to boyfriends, and they experience many major moments together: coming out, changing their names, purchasing their first binders. While first and foremost a romance, the novel also tackles many heavier topics: Aaron’s family has recently moved in the aftermath of his older brother coming forward about sexual abuse within their church. Aaron is struggling to understand what his brother is going through and is trying to adjust to a new school, while also struggling with a family that isn’t as supportive as Oliver’s. Both Aaron and Oliver are trying to adapt to being apart and their relationship changes shape as they figure out what they want.

In terms of representation, both Aaron and Oliver are gay transgender boys. Aaron is Puerto-Rican, while Oliver is white and Jewish, and there are minor characters who are queer and/or BIPOC. It should be noted that the book does deal with sexual abuse, homophobia, and transphobia. There is sex scene included (that models consent and healthy communication!); librarians may want to take this into account when recommending, as younger readers may not be ready for such content.

Overall, A Million Quiet Revolutions is a poetic, beautiful, and lyrical YA romance that is also a love letter to queer and trans history. It is about the power of finding yourself reflected in stories and about reclaiming our stories. Readers who enjoy verse novels like Me (Moth), Every Body Looking, or The Black Flamingo will enjoy this one. I will also be recommending it to fans of Anna-Marie McLemore, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Aiden Thomas. A Million Quiet Revolutions is an excellent purchase for public and high school libraries, and Robin Gow is an author to watch.