Thank you to NetGalley, Oni Press, and Maia Kobabe for the opportunity to read Gender Queer: A Memoir (deluxe edition) in exchange for an honest review.

This book is utterly brilliant. The simple drawings of real people and events, as well as the type font, make this a quick read and hard to put down despite its mature topics and 250+ pages.

Gender Queer: A Memoir is  told through a graphic novel format. Some of the images are absolutely gorgeous when demonstrating metaphor and the understandings of oneself, and some images are horrifying, related to the trauma that may occur when one does not identify with their given gender, yet must conform to those gender norms in society.

Maia's tale is brilliant. This graphic novel is a great way to educate young people (anyone, really) who doesn't feel quite right in their body and explores some of the different gender identities and sexual orientations that are less commonly known to most. This book is a joy to read eir experience when e feels that female pronouns just aren't right and the journey a person may take when trying to find the right words to describe just who they are.

This book is a gem, a must-read for those seeking answers about themselves. I am a cis woman, but people have commented certain things here and there about my gender before, and this book really highlights some of the areas I myself have had questions about. This is an enlightening true story of the LGBTQ experience that has a lot to offer its readers. There is so much knowledge in this memoir, and I absolutely admire Maia for telling eir story to the world through the exquisite lens of a graphic novel.

Maia Kobabe tells the story about er life long struggle e has had to define er gender and sexual identity. Maia is a storyteller that is easy to empathize with and root for. Not since 'Funhome' have I read a graphic novel this honest. I believe that e has paved the way for other gender queer and asexual youth who have some point of reference now for their identity.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of the Deluxe Edition of Gender Queer.

I want to buy a stack of these and give them out to all my queer students. I related so much to this book and would have adored it growing up. Representation of yourself in literature is so important and I see a lot of myself in Maia's story.

The artwork is great. I really liked seeing all the progress pages at the end, another important aspect of creating that young people need to see.

This comic was amazing! Not only did it feel like the most accurate reflection of a lot of gender struggles I and others have experienced but never been able to put into words, but because it did not shy away from the real parts of life. Many stories will gloss the uncomfortable or difficult parts but this felt real and very reflective. I would recommend that every, even those comfortable with their gender, read this book to better understand how others may be feeling. It was real,m hopeful, and the art was beautiful as well.

Just the fact that this book exists makes me so happy. I found it so fascinating to see into someone else's experience of life. The more I read, the more I see that everyone's experience of sexuality and gender is so personal to each individual and it's impossible to generalise. This book is the perfect demonstration of that. I feel that this should be compulsory reading for everyone, because it would bring much more empathy that people currently have. The fact that it's being banned in some places saddens me so much.

The art is beautiful and the story is so personal and informative. I could not love this more.

This memoir is so well told, focusing on the little moments in Kobabe's life that helped em figure out their identity. I found the book incredibly relatable, even though my journey towards discovering my identity was vastly different. Kobabe makes the small details of reading fan fiction, discovering David Bowie, buying clothes, or discussing who you have kissed feel so universal. ND Stevenson's new introduction in this version of the book describes how lifesaving it is to see your identity reflected out in the world because it lets you know that you're not broken or wrong. This was the kind of book I wish I could have read in high school. It is easy and fast to read, with simple and clean art and a very clear story. Gender Queer is an honest and beautiful book that I hope continues to find more readers

This was such a beautiful exploration into gender identity and sexuality. The author was achingly honest in eir experiences and I can only imagine the impact eir story will have on queer youths, and even adults, today. The authors poignant, and sometimes graphic, portrayal of feeling trapped in a body that doesn't seem to wholly belonging to oneself is a feeling I imagine many gender-queer persons have experienced before. The format of a graphic novel makes these sometimes complicated concepts much easier to understand and an absolute joy to read. Gender Queer is a deep-dive into gender that doesn't leave you feeling water-logged or close to drowning. An honestly necessary read for everyone.

This is such an important book, rendered with genuine heartfelt honesty. It undoubtedly would have done me good when I was younger and figuring out my gender, and is doing me good now as I continue to figure out my gender and how I present to the world. We need more stories like Maia's and we need them to be kept accessible to people of all ages. Additionally, I enjoyed the extra touches in this deluxe edition, especially the foreword! Overall this was a good read, and one that I would recommend just about everyone pick up once in their lifetime.

Though this isn't the kind of art style that I normally gravitate toward, I thought it fit the story well, making the daunting journey of discovering your identity seem much more accessible. Combined with a story of discovery and growth that is by no means perfect or over, it allows the reader to dive just a little bit deeper into things that trans people deal with daily, as well as introducing Maia's own unique experiences. I'll admit, I didn't personally connect as much to this as I'd expected when I started, but I still enjoyed it and believe in the importance of this memoir. But not everyone's story has to be one you connect to personally, as long as you still view and respect them as a person.

To sum it all up, I think this is an incredibly important book with a story that needs to be told. I hope that we continue to see more stories like this, from a wide breadth of experiences.

Thank you so much to the publishers for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I did not think I would relate to a book so quickly. This graphic novel has deep and relatable discussions on discovering who you are, from Maia's understanding eir identity. I wish I had a book like this as a kid, where it was so open about asexuality, masturbation, fanfiction, pronouns, visits to the doctors and more.

Kobabe was not afraid to discuss subjects that others would consider taboo, and I have huge respect for em.

This is not just a book for queer people but for those who want to learn and educate themselves more about gender identity and pronouns.

As someone who is on the ace spectrum and is gender queer, I cannot recommend this book enough.

This is a gorgeous, unflinching memoir about becoming who you are supposed to be. I love the honesty and validation of every page.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I gave this a five stars! I really enjoyed this book and related to some parts of it. This a book I absolutely recommend especially if you are questioning your sexual or gender identity.

A beautiful memoir on growing up and growing in to who you are. I am honored by the author's vulnerability. I've seen some reviews like on Amazon saying this book is pushing sex on kids or that the graphics are obscene. It absolutely is not. This memoir is bravely honest and touches on topics that many kids experience in their childhood and young adult lives. The narrative is easy to follow and well explained. I love the metaphor of a landscape for gender. Topics of gender, misgendering, sexuality, puberty, sexual attraction/asexuality, society expectations/pressures (i.e. body hair, having kids, getting married), feeling "broken", neurophilosophy and of course, One Direction[!] are all covered. There's a theme of isolation and loneliness that can follow with trying to understand sexuality and gender that the author captures well (both with words & art). My only concern of note was that the end of the book felt jarring to me. I would have loved to have seen an interaction between em and eir students after em came out and what that discussion/response looked like, but I loved the "extras".

I love the ace representation too. It touches on how confusing figuring yourself out is! The different dichotomies like being/feeling ace, but also loving (a.k.a obsessing over) gay/slash fic and 1D. Eir ace experience is not mine, but I SO appreciate reading about eir experience and thought process. Having words to describe what you are feeling (and have been feeling for a long time) is super important! It makes you feel seen. It makes you feel like a piece of yourself has "clicked" into place. It makes you feel not alone because if there is a word for it then there has to be other people like that out there too! But words can also be labels and sometimes labels can be limiting and claustrophobic, in my own humble opinion and experience. Especially when talking about complex and fluid topics like sexuality and gender. I love how this book inspires conversation <3

I would love to buy this book for my high school library and also LOVE to have it as an e-book option.

*ARC provided by Oni Press & NetGally*

The Deluxe Edition of Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe is an excellent book and one that I think many people could benefit from reading. This book is searingly honest and the author is definitely not afraid to tackle difficult or supposedly taboo subjects, as ey discuss everything from awkward first dates to masturbation and even difficult moments in eir doctor's office. The book unfolds like a coming of age story where the author is on a quest to discover eir truest identity and self, and seeing that exploration on the page will resonate with many young people I am sure. The format of a graphic memoir was really clever too as the artwork shone a light on the emotions the author was feeling at the time in a way that sometimes spoke louder than any words or speech bubbles could. The style while simple completely fit in with the down to earth conversational tone of the book. I really appreciated that the book explored the fact that it can take a long time to figure out your gender identity and that it can change or evolve over time as you gain a better understanding of yourself.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher , all opinions are my own.

As an ace non-binary person, this book speaks so much to my personal experience. Kobabe's tale is uniquely eir own, but touches on so many of the questions I had as a younger person. These questions about labels and fitting in aren't discussed enough in media and I see why the author of the Intro was so moved. Kobabe is not afraid to go into the nitty gritty details of taboo subjects around dating and relationships and sex. All of these moments, though, are honest and raw and have so much heart behind them. They don't shy away from the difficult discussions or frustrations of coming out to people who don't immediately accept eir identities. Every embarrassing anecdote is told with aplomb and drawn in a way that matches that tone--not sexual or exploitative, but honest in its depiction. I see myself reading this many times in the future.

Highly recommended to everyone. Please teach this in schools--it's beautiful.

This is so educational even for gender binary people. You don't have to be queer but you have to educated enough to respect and understand queer people. And this book would be a great place to start.
I for one had never heard of spivak pronouns before. Also we love the Harry Styles references. Respect.

Thank you so much for the publisher for sending me a copy of this to review. This is such a beautiful, poignant and important book that belongs out in the world, I loved it! Five stars

A raw and honest look at identity and self-discovery. This graphic memoir is a raw and unfiltered look at the life of a kid to young adult trying to discover who they are in every facet, but particularly in regards to gender and sexuality. I love that this book made clear it's always an ongoing journey of checking in with yourself. #FReadom
The extra content at the end was interesting, especially the reflections from the present after all of the challenges.

Oh my goodness this book was spectacular. As someone who has been going through my own gender identity journey over the past year, I find it so interesting and inspiring to hear about other's journies. I especially liked this book because I have never seen representation of people who use Ze/zir pronouns. The whole time while reading this I kept thinking that there's gonna be kids who are struggling with their gender identities who have never heard of ze/zir pronouns and this book is going to absolutely change their life. I also really appreciated the representation of asexuality. I am a part of a group on my college campus that did an event about asexuality representation and a big thing about asexuality representation is that there isn't a lot. Overall I loved this book. I do not have a single bad thing to say about it. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I could not put it down. I have a ton of asexual and gender queer friends who I am going to recommend this to ASAP. I think that this book is essential for any queer person. I hope to read more by Maia Kobabe.

Gender Queer is a graphic novel memoir about someone growing up non-binary, charting eir journey around identity, gender, and sexuality from childhood into adulthood. Opening with how difficult it has been for em to actually make such personal comics, the book explores particular episodes in Kobabe's life and eir feelings about elements of gender and what feels right.

I'd heard about this graphic novel but never actually read it, so took the chance with this deluxe edition that has a foreword and an afterword that gives more framing to its impact. I've read autobiographical comics before but never a whole graphic novel memoir, and I enjoyed the flow of the book and the way it presents the complexity of self even within a very linear format. The art style is cute, if not entirely to my taste, and I liked some of the metaphors and real utilisation of the format to get across emotions and things that might be hard for audiences to understand.

I found many parts of the book pretty relatable, particularly some of the growing up moments around gender and sexuality (occasionally way too close to home), and it feels important to have memoirs that allow people to share their experiences in a range of formats, including comics, that may help people feel less alone when they have similar experiences. Some of the fandom/pop culture elements put me off a bit, particularly around real person fanfiction, but I appreciate it was important to the memoir's narrative to include some of these points, and maybe the format lends itself less to critical self-reflection about smaller details.

This was a gripping memoir that really drew me in, partly due to having had similar experiences at times. Reading memoirs can feel quite personal and whilst some parts of this book weren't completely up my street, I think a lot of people will find it powerful and useful. As ever, it's important people can tell a range of stories in various ways and tackle topics that aren't always talked about, especially not in this format.

I absolutely love the art style in this book, it's so clear and gorgeous and the lettering is very easy to read as well! So many important topics addressed and surely a relatable journey for many