Aaron uses art as a means of expressing himself when his family continues to deadname and misgender him. While, Oliver is on a quest to recover queer history, to learn stories about other queer people who have been almost erased. There is a couple from the civil war that were possibly trans men like Aaron and Oliver, which is actually how they decided on their names. Oliver uses these instances of queer history to try to bolster Aaron's spirit as his parents continue to ignore his being a trans man. This was a novel told in verse, which added so much depth to the story. It was lyrical, poetic, powerful, and full of love and hope. It at times felt like a real conversation between two people that the reader is listening in on. There are text messages, images, emails, letters, and more. This was a rich story about coming out and being your true self. It also gave the characters grace to learn as they go, to contemplate what their trans identity means to them. I loved the connection between the two queer soldiers and Aaron and Oliver. It was as though they were living the life denied to those two young men. The novel also exposes prejudice, transphobia, and the everyday pain of not being recognized for who you are. It also tackles to churches long history of pedophilia, which is often a tactic that the far right use against trans individuals. Grooming is wrongfully linked to trans people, when it has very much been proven to be within the church and often hidden by the church. A very touching story about first love, acceptance, and identity. This is one of those novels that more people need to read, to create empathy for a group of people who are being attacked constantly by individuals, laws, and Governments. Maybe if more people read books like this they would have less fear, less hatred, less bigotry towards their fellow humans.
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