Isaac Fitzsimons

Hug of a Debut

I absolutely loved this debut. This feel-good story has everything I enjoy about contemporary young adult: strong friendships, supportive and loving parents, romance, and the addition of both athletes and musicians rounded off my favorite things about reading this book.

The characters felt so real and each brought unique character traits and life-problems to deal with. The author tackled tough issues people face every day in a way that made me think about others with kindness. show more Spencer, the point of view character, must deal with struggles of being transgender and the choice of whether to fight for his rights to play on the school team which would mean coming out publicly, or keep his secret safe with trusted family and friends.

Justice also has tough issues to face--his family lives as strictly religious with zero tolerance for anyone who is not "straight."

The author doesn't overwhelm his readers or preach to them, but lets them really feel as if they are going through what Spencer and Justice are living through. I enjoyed the writing style and never wanted to stop reading. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My first finish for the #TransRightsReadathon 2023: what a beautiful start!

This book addresses so much. First and foremost we get a look inside the mind of Spencer, a trans high school soccer star, as he navigates a new school, complicated family life, and his first crush. Those would be a lot of things to deal with for any kid... but Spencer also has to deal with the daily challenges of existing in a society that can be everything from dismissive to downright show more dangerous for a boy like him.

We get to see daily choices and actions made by Spencer, his family, and his friends and how differently the reality of those choices and actions effect Spencer. Everything from being able to pass as a boy at school to the challenges of navigating gendered bathrooms and locker rooms, it was definitely eye opening to see the thought behind so many situations most people would just take for granted as being easy.

While this could have just been a book about a trans kid navigating "normal" high school challenges (which would be difficult enough!), the author did a beautiful job of adding so many layers to Spencer's story to help illustrate the additional multi-faceted challenges that so many trans kids face. From growing up in a multi-racial household to having a sibling on the autistic spectrum, we learn how difficult and sometimes invalidating it can feel to interact with loved ones, even in an "accepting" family.

Then we meet Justice, Spencer's crush and fellow soccer teammate. They bond over a shared love of the beautiful game, but Justice comes from a very conservative, religious family who see the LGBT community as sinful. Through Justice and interactions with his family and church, we see how difficult it is for Spencer to separate Justice and his (more open-minded) beliefs from the hateful rhetoric most of his family believes in. Justice is on his own journey of self discovery and acceptance, and the connection between these two is beautiful, and also important to their individual and collective growth.

But don't worry, this isn't all intense emotional journey stuff. Shout out to great side characters like the soccer coach, the school GSA (gay-straight alliance) club, Spencer's rocker best friend, and of course, the boys on the soccer team. They all provide some endearing scenes, and the comic relief.

I hope this book can find it's way into the hands of trans and other lgbt youth across the country because it gives a voice, and a validation, to so many diverse aspects of the queer experience and how challenging it can be, especially in your teenage years. This is a beautiful story about community, love, and acceptance overcoming bigotry. I can't recommend it enough.

Some notes & TWs:
❤️ 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans MC
🧡 Gay MC
💛 Multi-racial family
💚 Autism rep (family member)
💙 Non-binary side character
💜 Little bit of side character bisexual rep

- TW: un-accepting church culture
- TW: drug use & death (discussion of past event / not current characters) show less

Coming from a family who wouldn't be accepting to my sexuality if I were to come out to them I could relate deeply to Justice. Seeing Spencer have such an amazing support group is absolutely everything to me and seeing him come out of his shell and being more comfortable with telling people his sexuality is amazing to see in a book. "Thank you for telling me. I want you to know that I'll always love you. whether you feel like you're a girl or boy or whatever." The second I read that sentence show more from Spencer's mom after he came out made me absolutely cry, it made wish I had the same support. I read that and I thought about it in my head and hearing my mom say that to me would absolutely break me in the best way possible. This book brings light to a topic some people deem "inappropriate" which is important to be aware about all of this to be able to safely talk about and know that you aren't alone. show less

Fifteen-year-old Spencer switches to a liberal private school after being bullied while transitioning at his old school. Things are going well: classmates are more accepting, he has new friends, has joined the boy’s soccer team, and is falling for a teammate. The problem is that he’s passing, so no one knows he’s transgender. His soccer coach is forced to bench him due to a discriminatory law after finding an ‘F’ on his birth certificate. Will Spencer stay on the sidelines and show more cheer or fight for his right to play knowing that means coming out publicly?

THE PASSING PLAYBOOK was a sweet story with endearing characters. I stayed up far too late to finish reading it because I couldn’t put it down. I liked that it explored many aspects of the transgender experience. There was an emphasis on not feeling pressured to come out. I do have some mixed feelings about the author’s choice of including an autistic character as Spencer’s brother, specifically how that role was presented in the narrative. Otherwise, this was a great read. show less