Cover Image: Perfectly Queer

Perfectly Queer

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Member Reviews

This book explains the different types of sexuality, gender, pronouns, each component of the acronyms, flags, etc. There are activities and puzzles to do within each section.

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A detailed and simple explanation of queer culture. Absolutely perfect to give to a teenager who is wondering what all these things are. Wish I had it when I was younger. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

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Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. There was a lot of information in here that I didn't know, and I feel like I really learned a lot! I really enjoyed the activity pages, and I thought this books was well put together and looks beautiful! It will make a great addition to our library.

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I really liked the activity pages and illustrations in the book. I think that is a great way to introduce the material. I think that this is a good resource for those who are learning about themselves and coming into their identity. I wish something like this was around when I was young.

Thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishing for the eARC in exchange for a review.

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*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

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Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is the most broadly inclusive book on the queer community I have read so far with a few identities I didn’t know much of yet. I thought the activities were a great way to reinforce the information and especially loved the colouring pages and word search. The questions section is awesome for tackling the more intricate issues such as internalised homophobia and coming out and I also liked the presence of a support section.

Favourite Quote:
"Confusion and slip-ups are a common part of the learning process, which is why it’s important to allow yourself (and others) the space to grow with support and forgiveness."

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First off, I love the idea of an illustrated guide to such a complex topic as queer identities and the various terminologies that surround them, and I think Barron's illustrations brought a lot of life to what was a lot of information.

But, I think that this book needed to be organized differently and be really clear on who its audience was. Being someone who is queer, constantly online, and has been deeply involved in a lot of professional queer groups and diversity education, I found this to strike a strange position where I didn't feel like I could recommend it to someone with no understanding of queer terminology or gender theory but was trying to take an introductory stance so kept it very surface level. It gave the feeling of being the most useful for someone who is already questioning their sexuality or gender identity, who has some familiarity with LGBTQIA+ identities and topics, and wants some guidance on how to understand and find an identity that resonates with them. There's a lot here, covering almost every possible combination of sexual, romantic, and gender identity and all their possible presentations, but at a volume and quickness that I can easily imagine it overwhelming anyone who doesn't have any idea about these things.

Starting off with definitions, with absolutely no context, feels almost like throwing the reader into the deep end, especially since this is the section with the least illustrations; especially with a crossword at the end, it feels like it should be the final chapter, rather than the first.

I also think the sentiment that identity is deeply personal, can change, and is what you choose, needed to come at the beginning, before someone goes into this thinking that they have to specify exactly where in every level of the split-attraction model they fit.

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First off, as someone who has been queer for a long time (a California resident but mostly an 'online' resident I guess lol) and who feels pretty educated on variances and the progression of things over the years, I feel it's unfair for this book to label itself "an illustrated introduction." I came in expecting another queer primer, so I wanted to read it to make sure it was good to recommend to folks who often come asking me for recs to educate themselves.

No! This is like Advanced Queerology! You have to test in or otherwise go through low level queer theory classes to get here! There was a bunch of stuff I'd never even heard of OR in this book said "commonly used for" common for whom? Maybe one day in the future but not around me and anyone I know, so I think it's fascinating actually how different circles experience different things.

There's a few issues with layout but as this came out last year it's probably too late now but things like - always define the acronym before you use it, if you make a bullet list where 3/4 start the same way but the 4th does not it's jarring. But overall nitpicky stuff that doesn't matter in the end.

I thought the inclusion of all the activities, from coloring pages to a crossword to a "find the matches!' etc was a fun touch to take a break from what is absolutely a TON of new terminology to most people.

Dang now I need to add a bunch of new flags to my Etsy shop....

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the eARC in exchange for review!

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Huge thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishing for providing me an ebook ARC to review. ❤️

Perfectly Queer was a great look at the LGBTQIA+ community for anyone from the beginner cishet country boy to me, an out and proud AFAB bi agender person who has done a bit of research on gender and sexuality. I’ve never been able to get such a scientific depiction and definition of the different, less common sexualities and gender identities. I even learned about a new gender that I had never actually heard of so that was very cool as well.

The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is that I feel it could have included a lot more examples to break up monotony of the definitions. This could be that I read the ebook ARC without the illustrations, but it was very knowledge forward without stopping to make sure the reader fully grasps each concept.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has recently learned their child, friend, spouse, family member, etc is a member of “the alphabet army” and wants to learn more about their new identity as well as how to be respectful to that person.

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Perfectly Queer is a beautifully and brightly illustrated guide to the terminology used within and about the LGBTQIA+ community. Whilst it is designed primarily for allies as they support loved ones, etcetera, it will be perfect for anyone wishing to learn about the terminology but don't wish to be bogged down by terminology.

As with any language, the ones used for the community are constantly evolving, and Perfectly Queer explains everything simply so that the reader will come away with an understanding that they may not have had previously. I also loved how, throughout the books, there are such things as word searches, etcetera, which is a quirky way of ensuring the words that have been learned as you go along.

This is a book that should be found in any educational setting, therapists’ offices, etctera to help anyone who may need it. I only wish that books such as Perfectly Queer had been around decades ago when I needed the reassurance to understand who and what I was.

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I think my copy was incomplete, not ready to be published. The formatting was wrong in some places but the most important thing is that lacked the illustrations so it was a little dry; but it was very informative.

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This is a nice, easy illustrated primer. It is mostly a collection of definitions of queer terms and identities. It also has some coloring pages and activities like word searches, but seems to be geared toward adults (or possibly teens). I do think that not including neo-pronouns was a pretty big oversight.

Overall, I thought it was good but not outstanding.

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This was a beautiful book and very enjoyable to read. I loved the illustrations and the colours and activities throughout made it even better. It was concise but the terms were very well-explained and I believe that an ally looking to learn more or someone new to the community wanting to find out more about themselves would find it easy to read and understand. Whilst it was a short read, I found it very interesting and fun and would definitely recommend to anyone looking to learn more about the LGBT+ community.

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This was cute! I have followed Victoria Barron for a year or two on Instagram after seeing an illustration explaining asexuality. This was a lovely book that explains many different LGBTQ+ identities and easy-to-understand illustrations. I was delighted to also discover cute coloring pages and games! This is a great intro for allies, folks questioning their identities, and even queer folks trying to understand some of the labels they are unfamiliar with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this e-ARC.

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This was a wonderful, colorful, exploration on the LGBTQIA+ community. I would recommend this to friends who are just starting to learn about the community, young adults who might be questioning, parents of LGBTQIA individuals. I enjoyed reading it and will recommend it to others.

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THis was excellent not only information was nicely put i loved little exersises to made it nice toucth also very beautifully iliustrated to well done:)

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This book is going to do amazing things for the queer community.
It’s short & to the point. It’s easy to read while still being highly informative.

I am apart of the queer community & I am still constantly learning new words and phrases. This was a very educational breakdown of things I already knew & things I still didn’t understand. I liked the activities at the end of each chapter. That was a great way to engage with the concepts/definitions that had just been taught.

Thank you to the author, the publisher & to NetGalley for the digital advanced copy.

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This book was a delight. Super informational and a bit of fun, too.

This book spans a wide range of definitions and explanations, everything from gender identity to sexual orientations, not leaving out that romantic attraction can be different. It covers a variety of identities, featuring flags for exact term, displaying how the umbrella terms work at a basic level, and more!

I was particularly appreciative of the inclusion of the ace spectrum, and differentiating between being ace and experiencing romantic attraction, because that's me!

Additionally, each chapter has some variety of little activity that was super cute, reiterated what the book showed, and gave a nice little reading break. The art is also super cute, I love it.

If you're trying to learn more about the LGBT+ community, be that as an ally, a parent, or a member, I think this will be a great place to start. Even as someone who feels pretty knowledgeable on the topic, I feel like I learned things.

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Thank you for the chance to read an e-arc. I'm not sure if I got a half-done copy, but it just seemed incomplete? There were no illustrations, just a list like a dictionary. At first I thought it was an intro, but then I was at the end of the book.

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