This was an honest and thought-provoking exploration of the author's exploration of their identity. I would recommend this book highly.

Loved this comic the graphics were really well done and I loved the way the author explored gender in a way that’s easy to relate to and understand

This was such a beautiful book. I loved learning about the author's self discovery journey from childhood to adulthood. The journal entries from eir life gave such great insight to how ey were feeling in the moment and honestly it was sad reading about how ey didn't feel understood and didn't even understand eir own feelings. This gave such great insight into a topic that I know very little about but want to learn more and be educated about so I can be supportive of my friends. This was so honest and at times sad but a definite must read for anyone wanting to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and gain a better understanding of it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Gender Queer is a cathartic memoir in the form of a graphic novel that delves into Maia Kobabe's—who uses em/eir pronouns—relationships with gender, sexuality and life. This was a throughly enjoyable and educational read for me, Kobabe certainly has a knack for explaining difficult concepts surrounding gender through imaginative illustration and text. It's a very slice-of-life type of memoir, almost as if we as readers were discovering the author's life through eir memories—remembering with em. The beautiful illustrations and perfect balance between internal monologue and dialogue is sure to be a great introduction to graphic novels for anyone.

This was incredibly beautiful and you can tell how much love and passion was put into this! Didn't completely connect with it because of the way some of the story was structured, making me a bit confused as to when something was happening and in what order, but I still liked it a lot!

I’ve seen this book in the news a lot lately. A lot. While I wish I could say it’s all been about how amazing, how honest, how raw this memoir is, it’s not always about that - it’s about hate and ignorance and fear.

This graphic novel memoir has a gorgeous soul, if a book can have such a thing. I choose to believe it does. Every teen and adult should read this graphic novel. It’s not only a good guide for how some of these conversations surrounding gender can go (the good, the bad, and the ugly), but it’s also an excellent opportunity to see a close-up view of one person’s story.

I’m so glad e shared eir story with us. We don’t deserve to hear eir personal secrets, but I’m so glad e decided to share them. Thank you, Maia, truly.

I read this book on one seating and it was eye-opening. I not only appreciate the insight from a nonbinary person, but the science behind gender was eye-opening. This is a book that needs to be in every library but some will find problems with it. This is a book that allows people to know that they are born this way and that they aren’t alone.

I first was interested in the book because of the controversy with Barnes and Noble. That's how I heard about it. When I saw it here, I knew I wanted to grab it to read.

I loved it. It was so validating for me, as I am nonbinary. Maia Kobabe opened up and talked about so many things I have personally struggled with, and did so in a way that was so easy to read, understand, and relate to. The drawings are amazing too.

I thought I was the last queer person to read Gender Queer, so when I saw it up on here for the release of the Deluxe Edition, I thought I'd finally get around to it. I certainly have friends for whom it has been eye-opening or a revelation; to me it was about what I was expecting, maybe a little less of a cohesive narrative as I had no idea it came from a series of single-panel(?) comics. This is not to say it wasn't a good read, and for something that started as separate comics and tried to keep as many of them as possible it does a great job of keeping a high level of investment (I have certainly read similar graphic memoirs that don't do half as well). For those who are looking for a novel-like memoir with a tidy bow of an ending, they will be disappointed to find that a cartoonist who has spent eir life grappling with the complexities of sexuality and gender just turning thirty doesn't have everything figured out yet. I think the rest of us readers are grateful for the honesty of an ending that isn't an ending at all.

As someone who is cisgender, I truly appreciate Maia's insight and experiences because they serve as a reminder to me of the ways I impose microaggressions on people. I'm thankful to em for the book.

I read this on my lunch break at the office today and showed up to my next meeting with tears in my eyes because this book was so beautiful. I loved everything about it and pretty much knew it would become a favorite when I was getting emotional at the introduction written by ND Stevenson.

Maia Kobabe's memoir pulls together so many little moments from eir life that helped em figure out eir identity and it was so well presented. There were so many moments where I had to stop and go, holy shit wow. E does a fantastic job of showcasing that discovering yourself, whether that be gender or sexuality or fashion sense, is a journey and it's okay to not have the answers and other people are going through the same things. I wanted to bookmark like every other page.

I have not read the original version, so I cannot say how different this deluxe edition is compared to that, but I will 100% be purchasing a physical copy and shoving this into the hands of everyone I know.

Gender Queer depicts Maia's journey of self-discovery, told in graphic novel format. I had never heard of e/em/eir pronouns before reading this so I would like to thank Maia for educating me. This is such a thought provoking and important read that I will encourage anyone to pick up.

Having not read the first publishing of Gender Queer, this Deluxe edition was a treat! Right from the Introduction by ND Stevenson, I was hooked and felt seen. The moments and feelings shared all throughout the panels felt all too real, and don't pull any punches, which is so refreshing. The extras at the end are an interesting insight into Maia's process, and as every artists' processes are different, it's so fun to see! I will definitely be purchasing this edition for our Community College Library.

An incredible graphic novel about finding yourself and struggling with gender identity. An absolutely essential addition to any library catalog. The art is beautiful and the content is heartfelt and authentic. A must read for anyone, regardless of gender identity.

I read the original edition of Gender Queer a little while back, but revisited it this week thanks to NetGalley providing an eARC of the new deluxe edition. Just as good the second time around!

The actual content of the memoir is more or less unchanged (from what I could tell, at least), so readers already familiar with the original edition may not find anything hugely different—though for collectors, the gorgeous cover redesign is worth it alone. This edition also features a lovely foreword from ND Stevenson, an afterword from the author, and some interesting back matter showcasing the early sketches and process for creating the comics. If you still haven't picked this book up, the deluxe edition is an excellent place to hop aboard!

This is a beautiful, heartfelt, and incredibly relatable read. Sometimes painful, sometimes funny, always honest.

Thank you to Oni Press for providing a digital arc of this release in exchange for an honest review.

As much as Gender Queer is a memoir of Maia Kobabe's coming to terms with eir own identity, it is about the books and comics e sought to affirm eirself. It is perhaps in part thanks to this very evocation of the importance of seeing one's self in the media that the book has become known as one of the most banned books in the United States under accusations of obscenity. Yet, what the book truly is an insightful, informative reflection on coming into one's own, with all its hurdles from within and beyond.

Gender Queer begins with Kobabe's childhood and follows em to present day (well, 2019, when the work was first published). E grows up with a loving family uninterested in enforcing gender roles, yet, Kobabe is soon confronted with these expectations anyway when e starts school. Books became an escape as characters such as Tamora Pierce's Alanna speak aloud the feelings e feels alone in sharing. Thankfully, e finds community through these works like in a QSA that morphs into a LOTR fanclub. Yet, as Kobabe notes, navigating these friendships isn't always easy as e details confusion around eir gender and sexuality arising even among those from the community. One of the most interesting moments in the book for me was when e discusses being non-binary with eir lesbian aunt who is concerned misogyny may play a part in more young people identifying as non-binary/trans. While Kobabe doesn't attempt to offer all the answers, the willingness to lay out such tensions makes this an even more interesting read.

Wow !! Despite having read Gender Queer previously this book still effected me all the same. The extras in this edition add so much, it's truly so beautiful. It's incredibly personal and graphic in the best way, I will forever appreciate how real Maia was in this book, it truly helped me with my gender identity and I hope it can do the same for other Queer kids !

“Seeing yourself in the world, knowing that you’re not alone, that you
could actually have a future as yourself—it’s lifesaving.”

Ever since I first read this book I've recommended it non-stop and I will continue to do so, this is a story that deserves to be shared.

I love this book so much! I'm forever angry it's being attacked by people because it's such an important book and story to share.

Whilst I gave the original Gender Queer graphic novel four stars, the deluxe edition earns that fifth star!

An introspective approach to a graphic novel - I loved it! Who wants to read a memoir by someone who hasn’t even turned 30? Me!

The experiences one has in their life are not constrained by their years lived, Maia perfectly (and literally) illustrates that within the pages of this graphic novel.

The journey throughout this novel felt very physical and emotive as a reader - a real captivating story with a balance of humour and optimism.

I enjoy that this ended with a non-perfect resolve; a real one.

Sometimes people aren’t at their happily ever after, just like in real life; it’s an ongoing journey and I appreciate that Maia chose to end the novel in a truthful place.

I truly enjoyed the foreword by ND Stevenson and afterword by Maia Kobabe are much appreciated additions to this deluxe version; which also helped to ring true the fundamental necessity for this books existence. The progress pages and additions at the end were also much loved content - as the memoir is depicting the life of a gender queer person who is also an illustrator, it’s fascinating to see the stages in creation.

As a UK reader I was unaware that the original GQ graphic novel had been heavily banned in USA. In a time where we see censorship becoming more prevalent, we see an even bigger need for works such as this to exist.

In a world filled with diversity, we need more books like this, not just to show depictions of “me” and “you” but of Us.

A huge thanks to Oni Press, Maia Kobabe, Tara Lehman, Lydia Nguyen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel prior to its release, this was a highly anticipated release for me, it not only met, but excelled my expectations.