A story told twice, once from the perspective of each protagonist: a 13-year-old girl at a new school, and her new classmate, a nonbinary student, as they develop crushes on each other and move through personal growth.
Essie isn’t looking forward to starting a new school in North Carolina while her dad holds a visiting professorship. In fact, she’s counting down the days until they return home to her mom in Saint Louis. When she meets the nonbinary Ollie, however, she develops an almost immediate crush.
Essie has known a nonbinary person before and isn’t fazed by Ollie’s identity—but if she has a crush on them, what does that say about who she (Essie) is? Her efforts to figure herself out aren’t helped by the growing strain she notices between her parents.
Ollie, for their part, usually enjoys being a “Happy Nonbinary Kid” who’s head of the school’s LGBTQ group. Their parents have been unfailingly supportive of their gender identity and their mom even helped set up the LGBTQ group—but sometimes Ollie’s mom feels a little overprotective in her support. Ollie also find the focus on their gender exhausting sometimes, and want people to see the million other things they are, too.
Can Ollie learn to make room for the other aspects of themself and not be defined by one label? Conversely, can Essie find a way to name the new aspect of her own identity, especially while her family fractures? And can the two of them express their feelings for each other before the clock runs down on Essie’s time at the school?
This is a sweet story of first love and a welcome story of a nonbinary youth that isn’t about coming out or bullying—important topics, but sometimes overdone. (Some moments of past harassment are mentioned here, but don’t form a core part of the plot.) One neighbor and friend of Ollie’s mom is also a nonbinary adult, who has been a mentor to Ollie about being nonbinary—a nice reminder that being nonbinary isn’t a brand-new thing.
While both protagonists are 13, the short chapters and frequent use of text-message conversations makes it a light read, suitable for slightly younger middle grade readers as well. A recommended title.
Essie and Ollie are White; two friends are Black and Latina.
