Ash is a genderfluid seventh-grader who is trying hard to identify as a single gender in order to fit in at their Ohio school and appease their transphobic father. Their mom is more supportive, but their parents are divorced, which adds another layer of stress. Classmate Daniel volunteers at a local animal shelter and is trying to heed his mother and brother’s call to be less emotionally sensitive. The two of them gradually fall in love as they bond together to save an elderly dog named Chewbarka who is scheduled for euthanasia—but Daniel initially thinks Ash is a girl.
The story alternates between their two perspectives (including images to convey Ash’s synesthesia) as separately and together they try to find ways of living in between. A rare book with a genderfluid protagonist and a thoughtful exploration by a nonbinary author.
