Monday, June 29, 2015

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Kristin's the kind of teenager who thinks going for a run with her boyfriend is romantic and can't wait to go to college next year on a track scholarship. Things have been rough since her mom died from cancer, but she and her dad are getting along all right.

And then sex happens (or doesn't) and when Kristin goes to the doctor to figure out why she's still in such pain her whole identity comes crashing down around her. In an effort to understand her new diagnosis, she confides in her two lifelong best friends - but suddenly EVERYONE at school is shunning her and calling her names, including her now-ex-boyfriend. How did they find out? And how can they be so mean and wrong?

I loved this book because it's not about the more common LGBTQ issues, but about a genetic anomaly that brings similar self-doubt and personal identity concerns. (Not that we'll ever hear too many "common" LGBTQ stories.)

Additionally, the book deals with bullying and cyberbullying, with trying to curl up and disappear rather than face another day of school, and of dreaming about moving far, far away and starting over fresh in a place where no one knows you. While Kristin's situation is less-than-common, her struggles and story will ring true for anyone who is or has ever survived the high school rumor mill.

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