I really like requesting books from NetGalley about people with marginalised identities because I love learning new things, and want to make sure I don't accidentally spout harmful information.

I agree with other reviewers that this book is well-intended and does have some good information, but that it sometimes misses the mark. Bisexual is the attraction to two *or more* genders, not just two (and this is a pretty serious error to make). I think this is part of a bigger issue with this book that while it is aimed to kids 10+, it reads like it is trying to explain things to an audience much younger than that. Things are simplified when they should not be, and if I were reading this as a tween I would be pretty put off by the tone of the book. I'm glad it discusses how important racism is, but felt overall the book had a lot of potential it didn't quite meet.

This is a good idea, poorly executed. What could have been an interesting exercise for people of all ages instead came off as a juvenile, naive, and in places even possibly harmful glossing over of the issues that trans people actually face in the world, which is especially surprising since the authors of the text are a trans man and a queer woman. While there were several worthwhile thought experiments in the book, a lot of this revolved around a really surface-level examination of trans rights and allyship, and seemed more focused on giving allies "gold stars" (a term repeatedly used within the text) than with actually creating change in the world.

I was especially put off by the second about non-gendered/all-gender restrooms, which the authors seemed to think could be fixed by something as simple as a strongly-worded letter and a pat on one's back. Having been on a committee to create all-gender restrooms for the institution for which I am employed, this completely fails to recognize that it's not as simple as placing a placard outside a door but can often go into state and local ordinances and even the definitions of terms in legal text. I feel like that's a really good example of how this entire book is written: based on experiences and hopes and dreams and with little to no research into the actual realities of allyship and change - and I say that as a trans person.

Furthermore, this book contained several problematic definitions, including an ironically trans/non-binary phobic definition of bisexual, and an inclusion of the words "sapiosexual" and "skoliosexual," which may have valid definitions but are pretty consistently used by allocishet people either as thinly-veiled hatespeech or straight-up fetishizing terms. I get that this book might not exactly be the place to discuss that as, again, it's an incredibly surface-level examination of these topics, but then it might have been better to not include them at all. It also left out any discussion of the terms "masc" and "femme" which seem, in my experience, to be much preferred over more rigid terms like "transman," which is repeatedly used. It also includes a completely wrong-headed reasoning about why not to use "transgendered," which it then extols the reader to go out and share.

Lastly, this book seems really focused on gender expression in repetitive and unhelpful ways. Again, this is used to mild helpful effect early in the book when it's mentioned that a person who now identifies as a transman might still want to wear makeup since they're not completely changing the person that they are, but then seemed to fixate on this idea of "the boy in the dress," or taking your trans loved one shopping to buy new clothes, which implies a lot of unhelpful things, from the fact that clothes are expensive, to the fact that your trans loved one might not feel comfortable in a public shopping experience, to the fact that, again, this is a very "patting oneself on the back" definition of allyship. Again, if this had been a one-off, I'd be like, sure. Some trans people want to go out and buy new clothes and make a big event of it. But this is mentioned no fewer than three times in the text.

If this book were someone's first investigation into non-cisheteronormative gender and sexuality, and they themself were focused on not making a huge gaff when talking to or about trans folks, and that same person were absolutely intending to do a lot of further research, then great. This might be a good foray. Otherwise, I have the sneaking suspicion that this well-intentioned book is just another paving stone on the road to hell.

Thank you netgalley for this arc. This is going to be a VERY popular book. I love the format and the content. Our store has been actively looking to increase our inclusive inventory and this book is going to be an amazing addition.

This book is such a great idea! A guide for children and young people who want to know how to support a friend or family member who is trans and/or non-binary, or who want to make their school more accepting of trans people. It has lots of activities with thought provoking questions. There are worksheets, role plays and quizzes, as well as suggestions of practical things to do.

It felt like it could have done with a bit more editing at times as it could be quite long and rambling. But overall, it's a really useful and unique book and hopefully a second edition will have the benefit of a bit more editing.

Being a Super Trans Ally is superb! This is more than a book, this is a guide for people who care. Every page of this is filled with information on how to be the best ally possible to trans friends and family. The voice throughout is friendly and yet informative, raising issues from everyday life through the form of quizzes, role play and with loads of space to fill in your own thoughts. This is definitely aimed at junior years, and a great intro for younger allies. I particularly like how the book gives advice on how to use your voice in certain scenarios. When purchasing, a hard copy of this book would be important due to the formatting and the nature of the quizzes and sections to fill in your own thoughts.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the digital copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to give this a read! What an interesting workbook! I had trouble deciding where I lie with this book, as some of the language and definitions used are not as eloquent as others in the queer community might be used to. However, it is worth mentioning that this is aimed at young readers and the goal is to make them as accepting of an ally as possible. As an older reader and a queer person, I can’t possibly understand how this would be interpreted by a younger reader, but I think it accomplishes the goal of helping an ally grow that we in the community would be proud of!

I will carry this book in my classroom because it is a great conversation starter. However, I do think there are aspects regarding both gender and sexuality that misrepresented.

Being a Super Trans Ally! is an important book and as an LGBTQ+ ally I feel there still needs to be more understanding and acceptance of those who fall into the categories; it's certainly not time to stop our fight for equal rights for all just because we have moved a step in the right direction as there is still a stigma attached to being part of the LGBT+ community as well as those who support it. Being transgender is perhaps one of the scariest things for a person to undertake and not being accepted for who they wish to be and feel more comfortable as must be terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. This book is a fantastic resource for those wishing to support friends, family and the wider community and help them feel strong enough to be themselves no matter who that may be on the outside. It is a helpful workbook with activities tailored to ages 10 years plus, their awareness of non-binary individuals, as well as the wider LGBTQ+ fold, and the activities are very helpful to the development of youngsters open-mindedness.

Each of the activities has been well thought through so you are not merely sitting and taking part in pointless exercises; each of the tasks is designed to further a youngsters understanding of the topics and perhaps create an emotional understanding of what some of the community has to live with day in day out. I believe that it's vital to introduce children to these topics and the beauty in individualism from an early age so they become normalised in their lives just like they should in everyones. This is not only perfect for home use but would be great in school classrooms and libraries too as often children learn more from doing a task than merely reading. The ideal way to learn about gender and identity in child-friendly terminology and with compassion, this is a great little task book. Highly Aa. AÀublishing for an ARC.

I really love that this book exists, and I love a lot of what it says and how it introduces younger readers to being a better ally. Unfortunately, the formatting of the ebook is quite bad, so the exercises were often mixed up or just hardly present - the crossword at the start in particular is not actually there at all, though the prompts are. I also found the tone to be a little on the immature side at times - I recognise that this book is aimed at sort of a middle grade to teen range, but at the beginning of the book it says that it is written for all ages to enjoy, and I just found the tone a little frustrating at times.
It was really nice to see representation of other LGBTQ+ labels in here, too, as I identify as nonbinary and pansexual, so it made it fun to think about my own gender and sexuality identification whilst also learning how to be a better trans ally.
Overall, I really love that this exists, but I feel that it could be a little more mature, and some more thought could be put into how the ebook is presented.

I really wanted to give this book five stars. There's so much about it that's brilliant. The suggested activities are interesting and creative, the language is very positive, it seems like it could be really helpful for young people interested in making the world better for their trans friends and family members. But the definitions near the start of the book are just straight up wrong.

I can't give more than 3 stars to a book that includes a biphobic definition of bisexual. Bi is not attraction to two binary genders. It is attraction to any/all genders, and can be regardless of gender. This is the way it has always been defined by bi activists. There were some other issues with the beginning definitions. The definitions of lesbian and gay seemed to imply that nonbinary people can't identify as lesbian or gay, only as an mspec identity. This is not true. Demisexual is not romantic attraction to one of more genders, it is sexual attraction to someone only after forming an emotional connection. And then, something that really frustrated me since this book is by a trans author about trans people, was the definition of heterosexual being a cis man or cis woman attracted to cis women or cis men. Because trans people, especially binary trans people, can 100% be heterosexual, and a cis man who finds a trans woman attractive is still heterosexual, and vice versa.

There is actually a better glossary at the back, which includes a better definition of bisexual, but it's at the back of the book, where I didn't think to look until the end because I had assumed that the glossary at the front was the only one. I would have preferred if the book had only had the glossary at the back, or had the better glossary at the front. It also seemed odd to have two glossaries with conflicting definitions, especially in a book for young people, because that just screams confusion.

I did like the emphasis on 'super trans ally' rather than just caring friend, and the focus on stepping out of your comfort zone to help your trans friends. Whilst there is a lot of kickback from the LGBTQ+ community online against 'ally cookies', the stars and rewards for allyship work really well in a book aimed at children. There are fun activities like crosswords to help learn definitions, roleplay activities for practicing difficult conversations, and space for the reader to explore their own identity.

Ultimately, I would probably go through and change, or even remove, the beginning definitions before giving this book to someone.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Being a Super Trans Ally! In exchange of an honest review.


This is a fantastic way to introduce teens with being Trans and how can they understand social constructs, binary concepts and gender.

Sadly my Kindle doesn’t show the interactive features the right way and everything’s smashed together. But other than that, I think this should be provided at schools for teens to start being inclusive, to teach and for them to understand. It doesn’t have to be specially for teens, anyone can read this.

It’s very handy that it makes you apply and check moments you understand someone could be affected by X SITUATION. Or, write what you understand and learn definitions. Not only it ask questions but it answers and explain prejudice and concepts.

⭐⭐⭐ 3 Stars

This book is a good starting point for those who wish to educate themselves about the Trans Community. However, it is not in-depth enough that I think you wouldn’t have to supplement your reading with other books to learn about trans rights and the issues Transgender people face.

I received an E-Arc of the book and therefore I cannot say how well some of the interactive features function as they did not show up well on my kindle app. However, for the most part, they were engaging and did make the reader stop to digest what they had just read and actively apply them to real-world situations.

Overall, I think this book is a good place to start your education and if you combine it with other new releases like Seeing Gender: An Illustrated Guide to Identity and Expression and other non fiction books about gender then I think that you will be on your way to being well educated about Trans Rights and how to be a good Ally.

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily 📚