big note off the top: I appreciate the writing style of this memoir, and that the audiobook was narrated by the author! it's always a treat when an author reads their own work.

I struggled with some of the terminology (specifically around

kink

) and concepts (specifically around topics like fanfiction). mostly due to it being substantially more graphic than I was anticipating, especially when it came to

sexual exploration as a youth and adult

and descriptions of

medical experiences

. all in all I think I would have benefitted from content warnings, or otherwise some more heads up in chapter names.

all that said I found myself often resonating the experiences explored, and generally appreciated learning more about the ones I didn't have first hand knowledge of. 

This book was an amazing read. The author's words and artistry come together in a beautiful way. I read this while struggling with my own gender identity, and even though I don't feel the exact same way the author does, it helped a ton to show me I'm not alone. That it's okay to be different, to feel "different". I am who I am. Gender is a beautiful thing to explore. There are limitless ways of expressing it. I am grateful to Maia Kobabe for writing/drawing this story and for fighting against the books bans by homophobic people. E is a fantastic person and I wish em all the best things in the world.