This nonfiction book is great for anyone who identifies as gender diverse or is friends or family of someone who is and wants to know more. It is geared toward children. Based on the tone of the author, sweet, positive (but realistic) and a little bit joke-y, I think it would be best for ages 8-10!
Each section explains things well in a very organized layout with sections, followed by summary points and a fun little activity like matching, self-reflection, or a crossword.
There are several UK specific words and statistics but I don’t think it takes away from how warm, inviting, readable, and affirming the content is!

I received a digital Advanced Readers Copy from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.
I think this would have helped me a few years ago when I was figuring myself out.
This isn't a book that can tell you yes you are trans or non binary but it'll explain some of the concepts and will hopefully make you a bit less stressed about it all.
I like how the information wasn't just a huge block of text and was broken up with puzzles and activities as well as it telling you exactly what you were going to learn at the beginning of each chapter. And recaps at the end of the chapter too we're helpful.
One thing I found a bit odd was how the language seemed to yoyo from kids level language to harder to understand terms and concepts. Yes gender is hard to put in simple terms sometimes but the language used just didn't feel consistent. There were several metaphors and figures of speech that didn't really work too.
Over all I'd recommend it to younger readers who want to learn more about gender.

I wish I had this book when I was younger. It really explained gender in a clear and accessible way. Ben has a great way of communicating and the little exercises at the end of the chapters were fun.
It felt like a really lovely hug of a book. Having someone tell you as a teen that you are perfect and unique and welcome, it's such an amazing gift.
I hope that people reading this will feel that support and be a little more comfortable with their amazing selves.

"Gender is confusing, and that's okay"

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review:

This book was so validating, so educational and so much fun. This is perfect for your children, yourself, anyone of any age and gender. You should def pick this up.
Small spelling mistake at 52% "fitted in" needs to be changed to "fit in" at location 824 :)

The rest of my review is quotes:

"While clothes have no gender, they can have a voice."

"Questioning isn't a race to be when"

"So don't worry what might happen in the future. Just be happy with the choices you are making for yourself now"

"There are a lot of ways to be trans- they are all real"

"Kindness isn't a lack of bad behaviour-but it is where better behaviour starts."

"You don't need to be visible to be valid"

Your Gender Book is a book covering gender identity and what this can mean for different people. Topics such as pronouns and gender expression are explored, as well as more serious topics like transphobia and gender critical views. What I really enjoyed about this book were the beautiful illustrations throughout, and the bullet point recaps at the end of each chapter, to go over what was discussed in the chapter. I also enjoyed the case studies on celebrities, with both allies and members of the LGBT community being featured. This allowed multiple views to be shown and I thought it was very interesting to hear the different opinions people had on what gender means to them. The book is a short read but covers lots of very important topics and I think it was very well written. I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend this to a friend or anyone looking into the topic of gender either for themselves or a loved one.

I absolutely adore the works the Jessica Kingsley team publish, and I have been relying on them a lot in my publishing degree, so being able to review Your Gender Book was an honour.
This is a wonderful book and a great beginner's guide. If you are looking for something with greater informational value I would search elsewhere and there are definitely plenty of books on the market, however, if you are looking for a book with honest, emotional support this is definitely what you need and I would recommend it to anyone feeling lost or lonely in their queerness and gender identity. Most of the books out there don't have the heartfelt touch that this one has.
The book itself is laid out into short chapters with key takeaways to allow for an easy-to-read structure. There are also some great illustrations and there are well known role models within the queer community highlighted.
Also, Your Gender Book is BIPOC and disability inclusive, allowing for everyon to feel represented within this book.
For queer people looking for a metaphorical hand to hold, this book is great.

Thanks to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

It's a good beginner's guide to the LGBT+. However, i wouldn't recommend it for its informational value, but for the emotional support it can provide to anyone who feels lonely within their queer identity. The book has a consistent easy-to-read structure with short chapters, and key takeaways (and nice illustrations!). It is BIPOC and disability inclusive and it presents us many queer role models. One more complaint i have to make is the way i noticed the subject of "time" was repeated in more than one chapter. Other than that i think it's great.

“Your Gender Book: Helping You Be YOU” is a middle grade nonfiction book written by Ben Pechey.

I am honored to have received an eARC from Net Galley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

“Your Gender Book: Helping You Be YOU” will be released on November 21, 2023.

I was looking for a book to learn from. Stemming from something that happened recently at school, as an educator, I wanted to know more. To support more. Being a better ally starts with educating myself. I knew I could support on the outside with signs, posts, and clothing- but I wanted to do more than surface level support. And not just in June during Pride Month. All months. When I saw Ben’s book on NetGalley, I hoped this would be a perfect book. And it was.

Ben’s writing tone is honest, clear, caring, and funny. It is safe. They bring in role models, quotes, and leaders in the LGBTQIA+ community to share their insights. As Ben wrote in chapter 10- How to Support Your Friends- “Allies are people who support the beliefs of another group of people. This means they act as bridges between the group and the rest of society.” There simply needs to be more bridge builders.

I feel this is a perfect book for upper middle grade readers, but it was also perfect for an adult reader like me.