Man O' War
An achingly honest and frequently hilarious coming-of-age novel about an Arab American trans swimmer fighting to keep their head above water in a landlocked midwestern town. River McIntyre has grown up down the street from Sea Planet, an infamous marine life theme park slowly going out of business in small-town Ohio. When a chance encounter with a happy, healthy queer person on the annual field trip lands River literally in the shark tank, they must admit the truth: they don't know who they are--only what they've been told to be. This sets off a wrenching journey of self-discovery, from internalized homophobia and gender dysphoria, through layers of coming out, affirmation surgery, and true freakin' love. "River is the most emotionally engaging character I've read in a long time, and this novel is a deep and comprehensive exploration of the journey transgender people trek through the confining world they're born into. Eye-opening, heartfelt, and real--with a massive payoff of true love." --A.S. King, author of Dig, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
Reviews
Moxie Minion@moxie
I didn't want to read this when I started it. I let my partner pick a number at random, and matched it up on my TBR. I seriously sighed and thought another YA book? But I am not mad at all. And yes I totally cried. The journey to watch our MC truly become themselves was refreshing, and amazing to read. The resources in the back of the book are great not only for the intended YA audience, but for the Dinosaurs too. Remember friends it isn't hard to ask people for their pronouns, and if you forget to... "When in doubt They it out."
Marsh@marshkrueger
Lexie @lexieneeley
Leticia Leal@theillumiletty
Swathi Seshadri@bookishcoder