ARC Review: None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publishing Date: April 7th, 2015
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 352 pgs
ISBN: 9780062335319
Source: Received from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review



Summary from Goodreads:

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Review:

I LOVED THIS BOOK! This is a story about Kristin who has been brought up as a girl and identifies as a girl. The night she loses her virginity she realizes something is not quite right and visits the doctor. It is there that she finds out that she is intersex. Essentially what this means is that physically she presents as a girl but she also has male chromosomes and testes.
I love how this book explores a topic that is not often discussed. While this condition is not a super common one, there are people out there living as intersex. I think Gregorio does an excellent job of raising questions of gender norms. How would you define what a girl is and what a boy is? Is it defined by how someone looks or how they dress? Who determines what you identify as? In many cases the parents or doctors make these decisions while the child is very young. It makes you wonder if this is the right thing.
This book was well written and you can't help but feel invested in what happens to Kristin. I found myself getting upset with some of the characters. I think it's horrendous the way people treat others that don't fit into the "norm" especially in high school. The author does a great job of depicting the struggle to fit in but at the same time trying to understand yourself.
I think this novel was wonderfully written and tackles a subject that can be sensitive in a respectful and realistic way. I can't recommend this book enough. Please go out and buy it as soon as you can.