I’m not crying, YOU ARE! Mostly fluff with a hint of real life angst and oppression. I love that this book was not focused on suffering and was more focused on joy, acceptance, companionship and team work. I love Spencer with all my soul (but also justice, Spencer’s whole family, the whole soccer team and the coach) it was fast paced, which I’m grateful for, but also happy to say it was done really well. I would die for these characters and I will be buying the book. I’m going to cry now about how happy my trans heart is after reading this. Not the most professional review but this book did things to me. Will be posting on insta soon

The American cover of The Passing Playbook sports a blurb from Kacen Callender that calls it “A simultaneous warm hug and a lightning strike of courage”, and I couldn’t agree more with that statement. While this book deals with transphobia in high school sports and religiously motivated homophobia, it also features a young biracial trans protagonist who finds support, falls in love, and empowers himself and others. The Passing Playbook felt both heart-warming and empowering to me, and I completely and utterly adored it in every way.

The book follows 15-year-old Spencer as he moves to a new school where nobody knows he’s transgender. After an incident in PE class, he’s invited to join the school’s soccer team, although this comes with several complications. His parents do not necessarily approve of their transgender son joining a boy’s football team, and Spencer doesn’t quite hit it off right away with the team’s vice-captain, Justice. Spencer gradually manages to find his place, however, and even when he faces hardships there is always a light in the darkness. When he is at odds with his parents, his friend Aiden is there to support him. When he can’t sit with his soccer team during lunch, he has a friend from his school’s Queer-Straight Alliance he can sit with. When the soccer league forbids him from playing because he is transgender, his team and coach still support him every step of the way. Whenever my heart ached for Spencer in sympathy, there was always a sense of support elsewhere to soften that ache.

The question at the heart of Spencer’s inner conflict is ultimately whether he should stay “stealth” or come out as transgender. Seeing Spencer weigh the pros and cons of both was something that resonated so deeply within me. I haven’t transitioned (yet), but Spencer’s reasoning behind why he should stay closeted versus why he should come out was so recognizable. He wants to be an ally to fellow trans people at his school—and elsewhere—but as a biracial Black transgender boy, he is also faced with so many potential dangers. At the beginning of the book, he switches schools because of anti-trans violence threats at his old school, so Spencer knows firsthand what dangers could potentially await him if he does decide to come out. I won’t say anything else about this—you can read for yourself how this plays out—but to see my own worries mirrored in a book like this was something that struck a nerve deep within me.

Besides Spencer’s inner conflict, his relationships with others are also just built so well. His romance with Justice develops at a pace that feels natural, and I loved seeing the two slowly get to know each other beyond their initial (largely wrong) judgment of one another. The soccer team’s dynamic is all about “boys will be boys” but in the best way possible. Spencer’s relationship with his parents and brother is at times complicated, but ultimately they are all there to support him. His little brother is autistic, which sometimes complicates life at home. I will admit that I, as an autistic reader, was at first a bit taken aback by the way Spencer sometimes frames his brother’s autism. At the beginning of the book, it almost felt like Spencer thought of his brother as a burden because of his autism, but I think as the book goes on it is shown that Spencer cares a lot about his little brother and that some of his earlier feelings about his brother’s autism (and how it influenced him and his family) were wrong.

I will note, for those who might struggle with reading about such topics, that Justice is part of a very strict Christian family and community who are not supportive of his sexuality. He is closeted for the majority of the book but is eventually outed to his family and ends up in a situation where he is distanced from them. Spencer struggles with Justice’s homophobic family and is initially not very understanding of why Justice needs to stay in the closet for his own safety. There are also several scenes with explicit portrayals of homophobic ideas from Justice’s community, which might be difficult to read for some readers. I believe that ultimately this conflict was resolved in a realistic yet relatively positive way, but if you plan on reading this book, just be aware of that going into it.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book. Everything felt so well-crafted and was handled with so much care, and I’m so happy this kind of book exists for trans readers, especially teens. And books like this, about trans teens in sports, are so incredibly needed at the moment with all the anti-trans legislation that seems to be on the rise in the United States. I highly recommend this one!

I really enjoyed this YA novel. It’s about Spencer, a black gay, trans teen who is absolutely obsessed with football. Did I ever see myself enjoying a novel that was so much about people playing football and winning footballs and losing footballs? No, I did not. However, it was so well written it kind of didn’t matter. Spencer was a great protagonist, mostly super relatable and fun to read, occasionally childish and / or unforgiving. His flaws and strengths were present throughout and his characterisation was consistent. For me, reading books like this provides a base line in understanding issues that I may not be faced with on a daily basis. Just by the way Spencer and Riley discussed / reacted to certain issues I learned another vocabulary / further embedded that vocabulary around LGBTQI+ issues. There was also some lovely imagery in this novel, alongside great connections between various characters.
I also loved the way this book dealt with past trauma. There was a whisper but it did not define any of the characters. You did not get to know the details of some of it, because it wasn’t your business. I feel like those lines being drawn were important too. I would definitely recommend this read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

You know when you share some parts of your identity with a character and said character is written with so much care and love that it feels like someone is putting the softest and warmest blanket over your shoulders? Yeah, that’s kind of how I felt reading this. There aren’t any incredible plot line or super complex characters in this, but there’s so much love.

There were many things to enjoy in The Passing Playbook, from the characters to the empowering plot. This will definitely appeal to readers who like sports, especially soccer, as it holds an important place in the book. The romance, though it is a smaller part of the story, is really cute! I really liked the writing too. The novel is told in the third person but the pov is really personal like you’d usually expect of a first person point of view. I thought that was really interesting and made the book quite different from other YA contemporaries I’ve read.

It’s definitely not easy to explain exactly why the rep in this brought me so much comfort, but thinking about it, I guess it has something to do with all the little details and small scenes, with the way we get to meet Spencer and learn things about him.

Such a great book!!

content warning: homophobia and transphobia (sometimes motivated by religious beliefs), misgendering, references to deadnaming, mentions of child death and drug overdose, past bullying, threats, and school lockdown.

This is an incredibly hopeful and relevant story that I feel is a must have addition to any school library. I think that it is so important that these stories are told and therefore I think that this novel will appeal to a wide range of readers. The topics are weighty but they are explored in an accessible way that is suitable for secondary age pupils

~ I received an ARC of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks from the publishers for the opportunity!~

~

The Passing Playbook is an extremely relevant, important and heart-warming book about a transgender teenager in Ohio. After experiencing severe bullying when he transitioned at his old school, Spencer enrols at a new school with the goal of keeping his head down and his true identity a secret so as to ensure his own safety and happiness. But when he joins the boys’ soccer team, he ends up benched for games because his birth certificate says “female.” Spencer has to decide if he has the courage to come out as transgender to fight for his rights and the rights of other transgender teens…which means also coming out to the boy he’s falling for. Spencer’s story and his dilemma in this situation is told with honesty and courage, giving a voice to people who have been mistreated just for being who they are meant to be.

I really enjoyed this book. Isaac Fitzsimons’ exploration of identity, bigotry, injustice and religion in the story are so well done and really shed light on so many sociocultural issues present in history and today. While the story largely focuses on transgender experiences and issues, it is highly diverse in its representation of other identities and sexualities, including non-binary. There is just so much in this book that I feel will really resonate with readers and also help educate those that know little about the LGBTQ+ community.

I love Spencer. He is a wonderful main character and I really enjoyed spending time with him throughout the story. His experiences transitioning at his old school are only lightly touched upon as the story focuses more on his relationships with his family, who fully support him though they struggle at times to let him be who he is because they want to protect him, his best friend Aiden who is also transgender, his passion for soccer and comradery with the soccer team, and of course, his blooming relationship with Justice Cortes, love interest and fellow soccer team member. Spencer’s interactions with the other characters in the story is a really important part of him finding the courage to be true to himself, his rights and his needs as an individual. It’s his relationship with Justice that most influences Spencer’s character development, as together they have to deal with pressures of Justice’s extremely Christian family and what it means for the soccer team when Spencer isn’t allowed to play.

This book is such a hopeful and wonderful story about fighting for transgender rights, for humanity, for acceptance and something much deeper and significant than mere “tolerance.” The story deals with many issues carefully while always staying true to the character’s journeys and the plot. I think it is definitely a book worth reading and highly recommend you pick it up when it hits shelves in June. If you’re at all like me, this book will make you smile, laugh and undoubtedly shed a few, or several, tears.

What business does this book have being so unabashedly wholesome (in the best way)! Though topically weighty, The Passing Playbook balances its astute consequence with touching adorableness, charting the story of athletic wunderkind Spencer as he switches schools in an attempt to shake off the aftermath of some transphobic circumstances and chooses to chase his soccer star ambitions with softhearted sincerity.

The pacing is ostensibly a bit off but more than made up for by the on-point puns, pop culture one-liners and the bouncy, buzzing personalities that pepper its pages (shoutout to the warm affection of Spencer's parents and his autistic baby brother, and the supportive companionship he shares with Aiden and Riley). Between the optimistic sporty camaraderie and chummy compassion of his squad stepping up for their own and the authentic collaborative spirit and allyship squabbles of the QSA club's assemblies, Spencer conquers his anxieties and the cowing obstacles of coming out to clinch the casual acceptance of the school community in spite of the worst-case scenario he's already acquainted with.

The Passing Playbook collates a small collection of affecting scenes that come together for a short and sweet celebration of transness, and of the wondrous courage and strength of character of those who move through the world beyond the boundaries of cisgendered; Spencer showcases his fierce bravery again and again throughout his story - whether he's battling against bigoted opposition to bathroom choices, being benched by stupid bureaucracy, or finally fighting his way back onto the field.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children's UK for kindly passing on this arc! 💫

the joy i feel knowing that trans kids today have books like this to help them through hard times

(the absolute bitterweetness i feel thinking about all the things that could have been different for me if i had books like this to help me through hard times)

this is a very wholesome and very sweet and very feel-good novel about a trans kid finding balance between staying stealth (to protect himself and to feel the joy of passing - bc no matter what people say passing will make so many of us absolutely euphoric) and standing up for himself and his rights

it's also about friendship and finding acceptance not only in queer spaces (which are super important) but in very traditonally heteronormative places too - which i really appreciated as a sports loving trans guy (please mentally insert the hockey luvin homo picture here bc that's me)

if you want a nice story featuring a black trans mc and his christian bf and the loving football team and some awesome but realistic parents, then you're in luck, my friend

(tho i wish we had more time to explore justice's faith. and also macintosh's story. and like a lot of other stuff too. honestly, my only problem with this book is that it felt a tiny bit rushed at times. hence the four stars.)

thank you netgalley and penguin random house children's uk for the arc!!

“I’m your vice captain. If you have something to cry about, you come crying to me. Understand?”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

15-year-old Spencer is a new student, and he’s desperate to fit in. Starting at a new school, making new friends, joining extracurriculars, all of that is already hard enough at his age, let alone when you factor in the fact that he’s transgender.

Spencer is very obviously proud of who he is and his trans identity, but he also doesn’t want it to impact the way his new peers and his soccer teammates see him, or the way he plays his game, and so he hides that part of him away. He is still being authentically himself, just...without the label.

And it works, at least for a short while. That is until his coach sees that he is marked as ‘female’ on his birth certificate, and a law discriminating against trans youth forces Spencer to be benched. Of course, he is devastated. To him, this is his old school all over again.

But, this time he is faced with two choices: the quiet option of letting it go, cheering his teammates on from the benches or speaking up about the discrimination he has faced just for who he is. He wants to choose the second option; he wants to make the world a better, safer, friendlier place for other trans kids just like him, as well as be able to get back to the game that makes him happy...but there’s something stopping him and that something might just be the boy on his team that he’s crushing on. Hard.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I asked to review it after seeing it was a queer/trans novel, something I read a lot of and love to support as a queer writer, but I truly didn’t know what to expect coming into this barring what was said in the blurb.

Now, I’ll be honest, I know next to nothing about any sport, but especially soccer (football) and I really expected that to translate to a bit of a gap in the storytelling for me, but my knowledge, or lack thereof, of athletics didn’t mess with my ability to know all of what was going on in the storyline or fall head over heels in love with this book, which is exactly what I’ve done.

With the ‘big reveal’, so to speak, being put on the blurb, I really expected it to happen super early in the book but when I got to chapter 14 and it hadn’t happened yet, I was kind of glad in a way. While the subject of trans kids being unable to join the sports teams that are for their correct gender, and laws that discriminate against trans youth, is so, so important, it was refreshing and incredibly lovely to have the first half or so of the book just be about Spencer, a trans kid, fitting in and falling in love.

I think that’s something all too rare in media about LGBTQ+ people, it always has to use some form of trauma to further the storyline. We can never just exist and have happy, cutesy, romantic moments - not even in media. But this book gave that to me in spades for the first 65%, which is far more than I expected.

The beautiful, budding love story between Justice and Spencer was so wholesome and heartwarming. Seeing LGBTQ+ kids be happy and gay together is something that I’ll never tire of, even if it is just in books.

Watching them turn from almost rivals/enemies, of sorts, to friends and eventually to lovers was wonderful. Even though it happened quickly, none of their relationship felt rushed. It felt natural and every time something progressed, it felt like I was there watching their relationship grow and change with them. It’s been a long, long time since I was so deeply immersed in a book or a relationship from a book the way that I felt like I was with Justice/Spencer’s.

When Spencer told Justice that he’s transgender, I really was expecting Justice to run away. Very badly written LGBTQ+ media has conditioned me into thinking that it’s the natural response: fear. But Justice didn’t, instead he said that it doesn’t change a thing - that he likes Spencer for Spencer, no matter what sex he was born as, trans or not.

That moment was so incredibly intimate and touching, I may or may not have leaked a few tears.

Another favourite relationship of mine within this book was that of Spencer and his younger brother, Theo. Both of them have their struggles and differences, and Theo struggles with change being neurodivergent. But, their love for each other is never unclear. In every scene together, it’s very obvious that Theo looks up to Spencer, and Spencer loves Theo dearly.

There is one scene towards the end of the book that sticks out to me when I think about Theo and Spencer’s relationship, but I won’t say what it is for fear of spoiling as I do believe that the emotional surprises is what makes this book as beautiful as it is; all I will say is, have tissues. I was unprepared and it made my heart double in size like I was the goddamn Grinch.

Everything about this book was so freaking beautiful and handled incredibly. This speaks wonders as to why LGBTQ+ people should be the ones to write, and tell, our own stories.

5/5 stars. I will be buying and rereading this book, as well as recommending it to every damn person I can possibly recommend it to. Love, love, loved.

I just finished The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons & I hope he has plans to write a 2nd novel.

Spencer is 15 years old & trans. He has a supportive family, but it didn’t stop it ending in disaster when he came out at school last year. It was so bad his parents transferred his autistic little brother to public school so they could afford to move Spencer to a private school.

Despite his parent’s concerns, Spencer secretly tries out for the boys’ soccer team. This leads to more secrets on top of the one he already has - he hasn’t told anyone at his new school he is trans.

When he discovers the boy he likes has an extremely strict religious family who view anything LGBTQ+ as a sin, Spencer worries even more about what would happen if he were to come out.

Then his coach comes to him because the League have said Spencer can’t play because his birth certificate lists him as female. Spencer pretends it is a clerical error, but Coach needs to bench him until it is fixed. Spencer struggles with what to do next. Fighting it would mean coming out publicly to everyone – including the boy he likes. Things went badly the last time he let people know – is soccer (football) worth the risk?

The Passing Playbook is a snap shot of what it can be like to be a young trans person today. Spencer has supportive parents, but it doesn’t mean everyone will be supportive & accepting. This can have repercussions for Spencer, & also for the people he cares about. It is a scary position to be in & an immense responsibility for a young person who just wants what anyone else does – to be accepted for who they are.

Isaac Fitzsimmons has done a fantastic job of presenting us with a character who is very likeable & easy to relate to, while also representing some of the struggles & fears transgender youth face & need to navigate. I anticipate The Passing Playbook to be a hit & you can pre-order it now. The UK release is the 3rd of June 2021.

4.5/5 🌟

Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Random House Children’s UK for the opportunity to read The Passing Playbook in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

This was SO enjoyable and informative both as a cute queer romcom and as an exploration of what it means to grow up as a trans kid.

The passing playbook has the perfect balance of feel good ya, fun sports vibes and the emotional and important issues we need to see covered in ya books now a days

This book has shot up to one of my favourite reads this year and one I will be re reading over and over again. It was such a fun and easy read but kept me invested the whole way through.

The characters were incredibly loveable and I was routing for each and everyone one of them. The team element with the football team and their bond with each other and even their coach was so perfect and a true highlight for me.

I thought this book handled the trans issues in such a well respected manner and showed those true issues clearly and I feel people who may not have been aware of them before will truly have a clearer view and understanding about them now.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the relationship between Spencer and his younger brother Theo. Their bond was incredibly moving and seeing them interact was always such a joy and jerked a few tears here and there.

I would and will be recommending this book from here on in and it is a no brainier that it is a 5/5 star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with e-arc of this book.

The Passing Playbook was a heartfelt novel with brilliant characters, meaningful theme and a well weaved plot.

The writing was readable and simple. I really enjoyed the plot and how poignant the story was. The characters were well rounded which made me root for them.

I didn't understand why Spencer's full backstory wasn't explained. We got snippets of it and a vague understanding that there had been some sort of lockdown but it wasn't fully executed.

Other than that this was a great read with brilliant representation and diversity so I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK, for the chance to read and review this book!

TW: homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, misgendering

Spencer Harris loves soccer, he's a great big brother and he's transgender. After years of bullying and a death threat at his old school, now he wants to start over at Oakley, a liberal private school in Ohio, without telling anyone he's trans. Surrounded by accepting classmates, with a place at the boy's soccer team and a great crush on one of hjs teammates, Spencer is slowly start to relax and be happy. But when a discriminatory law forces his soccer's coach to bench him, because there's an "F" on his birth certificate, Spencer is torn between fighting for his rights and coming out to everyone or hiding who he is.

I absolutely loved "The passing playbook"! Spencer is a magnificent main character, stubborn, brave, sarcastic and with a supportive family, but with a sometimes complex relationship with, a wonderful little brother and a funny and loving best friend. His starting over at Oakley means a new chance for him, to do what he loves, soccer, finding friends and, maybe, love.
I loved reading how much Spencer was loved and supported by his family and friends, all of them ready to have his back and learn from their mistakes. There's a lot of communication, above all in his family and it's wonderful and moving.

His relationship with Justice is lovely and so sweet and I really liked reading their bond becoming more and more strong and profound. Justice is another complex character and I really liked him. He has a complex family situation, with very religious and moralistic parents and older sibling, fighting and scared to be, at the same time, himself, but wanting to give him and Spencer a chance.

It's a book about love and sport, friendship and support, bonds and fighting for one's rights and to be one's self.

Reading The Passing Playbook is like injecting yourself with a shot of serotonin. It’s a book full of love and joy and just a book that’ll make you grin uncontrollably while you’re reading it. Pretty much perfect, in other words.

Probably what I loved most about this book was the following quote:

“I think that the more people who are out and visible, the safer it is for everyone. BUT, and this is a big but, you need to make sure that you’re safe first. Physically safe, yes but also emotionally and psychologically.”

I’ll never tire of books that have this kind of attitude to coming out. The part about putting your own safety above all else, especially. I’ve read too many books that seem to consider it as something you have to do, or as if someone who doesn’t come out is inherently cowardly, or even worse, having other LGBT characters not be understanding if someone doesn’t come out. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been let down by books that do that, so having a book that explicitly takes the stance that you ensure your safety first? Feels more revolutionary than it should, really.

I also love that this book centres on a found family of a sports team — if you liked that aspect of Running with Lions, say, you’ll love this book too. And that no one on the team was an intolerant bigot (although it’s entirely possible my memory is serving me badly here, I will admit). I feel like I’ve read a lot of books where it’s like...everyone but one. And, okay, realism, but do you think I read for realism half of the time? I love LGBT books that just go, okay let’s ditch any homophobia or transphobia (although granted the latter was discussed in this, in the context of the competition’s transphobia). I mean, don’t we all want to live in a world where neither of those things are prevalent?

So when I say that this book is like a shot of serotonin, or like a big warm hug, it’s because of these things. It’s those aspects of a book that you know you’ll get when it’s ownvoices. That feeling that you can trust in the author telling this particular story (not to say you can’t trust when it’s not ownvoices, or an LGBT author, but it’s more fraught). And that’s the overall sensation I had with The Passing Playbook.

Basically, if you hadn’t thought to pick this up before now, I’m here to say, please love yourself and read it.

I would recommend this to my students for a contemporary Young Adult read. A great diverse read and this is a well written debut.

This is a great book for teens, looking at trans rights and homophobia, alongside romance and fitting in at a new school.

This was a very interesting read for me, in that Spencer has already transitioned and is sure of himself, other books I have read with trans characters have been focused on the transition part, so this was different in that respect. We still see, however, that even once transitioned and passing some of the problems that Spencer still faces. Including whether he should tell people at his new school that he is trans, the issues he has with getting changed in the boys changing rooms, homophobia from Justice's family and church, and whether he is allowed to play on the boy's football (soccer) team when his birth certificate still labels him as female.

I loved that his parents were supportive, if a little over-protective. Spencer's interactions with his little brother (who has autism) are lovely and genuine, as well as with Riley when he helps them and backs them up, it shows that Spencer is a very caring person. His relationship with Justice is complex as Justice comes from a very religious family that are are clearly homophobic. I loved how diverse all the characters are, and they are portrayed well, none of them feel like they have been included for tokenism, it is just the real world and I love it!

The plot moves at a good pace, I read the majority of the book in one day as I wanted to keep reading.

The Passing Playbook is a great read that looks at some very important and prevalent topics which are portrayed in a way that is both accessible and enjoyable for teen readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children's for the e-arc to review.

This book sounded so cute, and I was so excited for it. But the writing style just didn't work for me. It felt like I was being recounted a story rather than being sucked into it.

I was pretty disappointed. That said, it could be that this book just isn't for me right now. And I may try it again in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

The Passing Playbook is about Spencer, a trans-15-year-old boy who starts a new school, tries to be in the soccer team and tries to navigate potential romances. There is a discriminatory law that states that because Spence has an F on his birth certificate (because in the state, they can't change the birth certificate) that he can't play in the male team and this is explored closer to the last part of the book.

This was a nice book and it shows issues that trans people go through. It also shows how tough it can be for a gay kid to live with a very conservative family. The romance was cute but I think it could have been developed a little more, especially towards the end where the usual conflict happens,

Rating: 3⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I really enjoyed this book - I just wish it was longer! The main conflict of the book begins too close to the end and wasn’t explored enough for me. I think it needed more chapters.

In general I enjoyed how the issues in this book were explored and it did feel realistic.