Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults List, 2017 Rainbow List A sharply honest and moving debut perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ask the Passengers. Riley Cavanaugh is many things- Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. But Riley isn't exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure - media and otherwise - is building up in Riley's life. On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it's really like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley's starting to settle in at school - even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast - the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley's real identity, threatening exposure. And Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created - a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in - or stand up, come out, and risk everything. From debut author Jeff Garvin comes a powerful and uplifting portrait of a modern teen struggling with high school, relationships, and what it means to be human.
- Suggested age range - 14-17 Years
- Format - Paperback
- Dimensions - 5.2" W x 7.9" H x 0.9" D
- Genre - Fiction
- Publisher - HarperCollins Publishers, Publication date - 11/14/2017
- Page count - 368
- ISBN - 9780062382870
Web ID: 16131048
If Everyone Read This, The World Would Be Better
Jeff Garvin’s novel "Symptoms of Being Human" is, quite literally, a book that I believe could change everyone’s perspective on gender for the better. Not only is it an amazing book (and one that I was physically unable to put down) but it taught me about the experiences of people who struggle with their gender identity by putting me in the mind of Riley Cavanaugh, a genderfluid teenager and the main character of the book. I already knew the definitions of words like genderfluid and gender dysmorphia, but understanding Riley’s perspective helped me to understand the pains and frustrations that they (along with many real and tangible people in the world) went through. Riley is genderfluid, which means some days they feel more masculine or feminine and some days they feel somewhere in the middle; as Riley would describe it, sometimes their internal compass points towards boy and sometimes it points towards girl. Because Riley is a fictional character and can’t tell me what their pronouns are or where their compass is pointing towards today, I’m using the pronouns they, them, and theirs when I refer to Riley (as the author did when discussing the book). This might be a bit different than what most people are used to, and that’s the exact reason why Riley was bullied in the book, except the other students didn’t care enough to try and learn about it. In the beginning of the book, when it’s their turn to go to a new school, Riley is given demeaning looks and even called “it” in their first interaction. There are also many other similar occurrences like this one (and even occasions where Riley is harassed much more violently), but this one really puts the prejudiced perspective of most students and people on display; perhaps if the students who bullied Riley had a book like this one, they wouldn’t have done that. Not long into the book, Riley’s therapist asks them to create an anonymous blog to help them reach out to other people like them, so Riley complies and begins to post under the alias of Alix. They quickly gain popularity and feel supported by this new community. However, Riley eventually received an anonymous message threatening to reveal their identity, even though they hadn’t told anyone about the blog. I could feel the heart-dropping feeling that Riley felt when they realized they would be outed by someone; this was terrifying to Riley for many reasons, especially because they are in the public eye. The thought process that Riley had was a perfect illustration of the fear and worry that would cloud somebody’s head in an event like that. Riley’s two friends named Solo and Bec helped to lighten the air, relieve stress, and cause issues throughout the book, and I was just as invested in their stories as I was in Riley’s. Nonetheless, I think Garvin could have deepened their relationships with Riley – the interactions seemed a bit rushed and shallow. Riley and Bec had interactions before Riley started to think of Bec as more than a friend, and it would have been nice to see how they interacted and perceived each other before Riley’s internal monologue was taken over by their crush on Bec. As for Solo, I don’t see why Riley would forgive him after their fight because his meager apology was barely enough to compensate. The characters still played great roles in Riley’s life and the book as well, but their relationships with Riley could have been even more intense and real. One of the details I love most about this book is that the author never revealed whether or not Riley was born as a girl or boy (because it doesn’t matter). Although it is one of the most important questions to some people, in truth, whether Riley was born a boy or girl has little to no impact on the story. Honestly, I enjoyed not knowing Riley’s s*x assigned at birth because it implied that it wasn’t important to the Riley in the novel; it let me see Riley for who they are, not who society expects them to be. It seems contradictory that Garvin, a cisgender and straight person, would be able to write about identifying outside of the gender binary, but he conveys it well. As it says in the author’s note at the end, the idea for the book actually sprouted from a car ride he had with friends where one friend suggested that a trans girl who was trying to gain the right to use the girls locker room was just a "boy" trying to see girls change. This horrendous misconception and the general lack of knowledge that cis people have about non-cis people both led Garvin to write this novel, and that fire ignited in Garvin is shown through the character of Riley perfectly. Although not all the information in the novel will be completely accurate for everyone in a situation similar to Riley, I think that Jeff Garvin embodied the experience of discovering one’s gender identity (especially when it doesn’t fit under the category of male or female) well in his writing, and also created a story which I was enthralled in all the way up until the last sentence. This book is an excellent lesson and captivating narrative, and the thought and effort that Garvin put into writing this novel is clear from chapter to chapter.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Everyone should read "Symptoms of being Human"
As someone who doesn't often take a liking to books, the story of Riley completely blew me away and held all my attention. The way Jeff Garvin wrote this book was absolutely perfect. This book truly has something for everyone. Although one of the main topics is Riley’s identity as genderfluid, there are still aspects of this book and the characters in it that even cisgender people can relate to. If someone has ever been bullied, struggled with anxiety, sexually attacked, dealt with helicopter parents, or kept a secret, they can relate to this book. And if they can’t, there is so much important information from this book to learn. There aren’t many LGBTQ+ books and as you get further down to specific aspects of the community (transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid), there is even less novels conveying these struggles. So “Symptoms of Being Human” stands out right away with the main character Riley, a genderfluid teenager. I was reading this book at the same time my sister was and for her, it was the first time hearing of the term, which I think may be the case for many people. For these people, Riley makes many blog posts which are interesting and informational. The best part about it is the convincing and believable way that Riley was shown to readers--just as all of Garvin’s characters in this book. In fact, after reading, I had no critics of the book. Alongside Riley, who I grew to adore, Riley’s friends, Solo and Bec, were well written and enjoyable. Not only did the three’s playful humor lighten and give a more familiar tone to the heavy story, but they showed the means of being true friends to someone who is struggling. Especially Solo. He showed the journey of distancing and coming back around like a true friend, apologizing for his actions to support Riley at the end. This book was truly amazing. It was able to touch on many important subjects in a natural and entertaining way. While reading the book, it was like being right beside Riley the whole time and just wanting to give Riley a big hug. There’s so much in this book and I think it may be my all time favorite. If you’re a parent, I definitely recommended reading. If you’re a teen, I definitely recommended reading. In fact, anyone out there who wants to read a good book, “Symptoms of Being Human” is worth checking out.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com