Thank you so much to the reviewers for a copy of this book. This is the first book I've read by a non binary author about their experiences and I loved it. Travis has a beautiful way with words and the writing is insightful. I found the book engrossing and really eye opening.

I adored None of the Above. Based around seven phrases that are often directed at Alabanza as a Black non-binary person, they break down the misconceptions, misunderstandings, and straw man arguments that society is used to. It manages to be both generous and revolutionary. Love.

This is an outstanding and extremely insightful book. However I found it to be quite a 'heavy' read, so I advise to tackle in stages to absorb and understand everything fully. I would recommend it to everyone as essential reading! I learnt a awful lot from reading this. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book.

This book is so well written. I loved the structure of it. Travis Alabanza has taken phrases or sentences that have been said to him at times through out his life, relating to his gender, and has explored why they were said, what feelings (and often damage) these words caused and what can be taken from them in order to discover who we are.
I think this book would be really helpful to anyone who is struggling with their gender identity. I dont pretend to understand these struggles but i feel that reading books like this could help us all be a little bit more compassionate to others, especially if they are just trying to understand themselves and find who they are, while doing no harm to anyone else.

this was a very personal and insightful book about navigating binary gender expectations, travis writes incredibly about their experiences and thoughts on nonconformity which were very profound and vulnerable. i wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to any queer person or even anyone who wishes to understand the nuances of gender.

This book is a must read for anyone and everyone. Full stop. Not if you are interested in gender politics, not if you support your trans friends (because y'all should), but if you are a human being. Gender politics and trans rights are so important to so many people that we should all be educating ourselves and sharing the topics in this book.
Thank you Travis for writing this.

I was interested in reading this book because I wanted to understand how it feels like to live as a non-binary person, and, in that sense, this collection of essays in a success. It can be a pretty harrowing read sometimes, as Travis Alabanza explains all the humiliating experiences other human beings have put them through. But there is a joy, a pride in making it through it all that also shines throughout the book. Although I'm not non-binary myself, I've always thought this was something that made absolute perfect sense, and I hope that Travis's book will manage to convince other people still in doubt that it bloody does.

The two missing stars (or rather 1.5 as, if I could, I would give it 3.5 stars) are because of the structure and form. Despite the strength of content, I found None of the Above too meandering on too many occasions. Although I get what the author tried to do with the repetition of things they've been told, there was one point where the repetitions just started becoming too much. So from a purely stylistic and rhetorical point of view, I think the book could have done with some improvements.

Powerful essays about a life lived, getting through standards and checkboxes set by society that don’t offer you much time to question said standards.
Going into the book, don’t expect to get answers on "How did you know?" or “Who are you then?”. None of those or other questions will apply. “None of the above” is this middle ground of raw feelings and emotions put on paper created by experiences and observations, during small-talk-thrown-phrases turned into bigger life-affecting reflections.

I couldn’t resonate with some parts, and neither I should have, as at some points I just need to be quiet and listen. But also I could resonate to some points to a level I haven’t expected myself to. It made me question some of my thoughts, but more than that – it made me listen to my true self, how it feels, and do those new views and ideas sit right with me. Something similar to what Steve experienced. And just like him, I can have it pointed out and run from it, or I can just sit with it. I would prefer the latter.

“The culture around us has robbed us of the opportunity to be unsure.” Isn’t this brilliant thought? Wouldn’t it be great for a change not to have all the answers and not to question the lack of those? Just to sit in this unfamiliarity and… enjoy it with all of the possibilities presented by it. Furthermore, you don’t need to rush to any answers and clarity just to help someone fit you somewhere without later possibility to be refitted, especially since “This is for us, baby, not for them”.

And on the contrary to this phrase, I was lacking a bit more celebratory in this book. Although life is hard, as well as points and questions covered in this book, I do believe in a more positive outlook for each situation, creating a hopeful message in the end or call-to-action for change, for the better with a vision attached to it. The author finishes on a higher note, but it might not be enough to pick up all the pieces that fell. But this is for me, I tend to look for positivity even in each uncertainty, and we don't need to match.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alabanza is clearly a writer, and this book benefits from fluid sentences, daring structure and an undeniable sense of wisdom. I was less keen on some of the slightly too critical notes on the author's straight cis fans (all the more reason to cherish them surely, as they're stepping out of their comfort zone, but Alabanza doesn't seem to think so) and their overall conviction that they are brave for being the kind of queer performer to put themselves at risk for their art by appearing in straight venues (many queer and Black people and women have shouldered this burden for years without bigging themselves up for it). So, gorgeous writing, but the young author needs to do more living before making pronouncements on the imperfect behaviour of others and the history of queer art.

I wanted to pick this up after seeing it's win for the 2023 Jhalak Prize and after reading it, I can totally see why it won. It was a wonderful, captivating read and I adored getting to learn about Travis and their life. This will be going into my Sixth Form Library straight after the Summer break.

Thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Travis and learnt so much from this book. Realising that these concepts are not new and the role of the media are so important in today’s climate, and it’s refreshing to read something so open and honest. Wish it was longer!

This is a powerful book. It holds a lot of oomph for an author to open up to their audience in the way Travis does on these pages. On top of that, the writing is engaging and the style and formattng of the book really add to it's charm. It was a good book... that said I really struggled getting through it. A lot of the book was incredibly relatable, which I suppose would have been a good thing if it didn't just drag me down. Being Nonbinary (albeit white) myself and living in the UK, this book just reminded me of how much shit is out there and that really, really prevented me from picking up this book after I had put it down.
As such it's incredibly hard for me to rate this. is this a good book? Aye! I want to thank Travis for writing it, for opening up and making a stand. Do I reccommend the book? yes, I think this is a powerful book that deserves to be read. But did I enjoy reading it? not really. Being faced with reality made me want to cry and not in a good way.

None of the Above is a heartfelt collection of essays on non-binary experience.

I first came across Travis when they opened for Jonathan Van Ness on their 2023 UK tour. It was a comedy set, but laced with poignant reflections and sometimes uncomfortable honesty on gender non-conformity. This tone translates perfectly to this collection of essays. It's elegant and messy, embracing the complexity and doubt that comes from living outside of a binary that society so rigidly enforces.

A powerful blend of personal and political, None of the Above is an intelligent, thought-provoking read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy! I honestly think this should be required reading. It was beautifully told, and honest, and heartbreaking in some parts, joyful in others. Especially if you are looking to learn more about transgender people, this is one for the top of the TBR pile!

Written during the Covid pandemic, ‘None of the Above’ is the reflections of trans non-binary author Travis Alabanza. It portrays a sense of loneliness and anger, a person reckoning with their identity and fight to be accepted in a world failing to make space for everyone to be loved and appreciated for who they are. Not purely about gender identity, but also race, class and misogyny, this book is emotional and raw. Reading it personally made me feel incredibly sad. I would recommend everyone read this to learn, if not to practice empathy in future, then kindness.

The description of the book on NetGalley uses the phrase "a Black, mixed race, non-binary person" of the author so I'm going to assume that's how they choose to define themselves. We're presented with seven statements which people have made repeatedly to Travis over the years ("So, when did you know", "But, I mean, proper trans"), and then their thoughts and riffs on these statements, how they have made them and others feel, how hurtful and thoughtless many of them can be.

Alabanza makes some very good points about the narratives we seem to expect trans people to adhere to, the way the gender binary affects everyone negatively (this is something I find myself thinking about quite a lot as a not-very-"feminine" woman), and, in something that I felt echoed comments by people living with disability that they are made disabled by the world not being set up to be comfortable for them, that they are trans because the world makes them so (see the quote at the top). We get a few bits of history and sociology along the way here about other gendered people in other parts of the world. Race and colourism are covered carefully as well, each "othering" multiplying the previous one(s). Powerful and important stuff.

This is to a large extent a work in progress, as is its author: they use the book to mull over whether to transition further towards the female side of the continuum, noting that this will bring less visibility and less harassment, but will it move them away from their fundamental self? What a horrible choice to have to make: one many people make in a smaller way by choosing what to wear when you'll have to walk home in the dark as a cis woman, for example, but with magnified consequences. The book ends with this conundrum but also positivity and strong statements.

A brave, honest and heart-breaking book that gives the lie to people choosing to live in a way that seems to offend others: Travis is who they are, and I'm glad they have allies and supporters in their life to help transcend the very real dangers and difficulties they face by just going outside their home as they are.

Review to be published on my blog on 6 July.

A very powerful and gripping story that is difficult to read in some parts but worth sticking with. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

**Listened to the audiobook version, as well as reading along with the electronic version**

I really loved this. Travis Alabanza's personal voice is a breath of fresh air! This book has such a strong sense of personality. It's incredibly honest. Some hard hitting moments, but it just felt 100% genuine.

Only downside is I wish it was longer!

this book so elegantly and messily and precisely navigates so many truths about queer identity and stifling gender politics, particularly in the uk. operating on both personal and socio-political levels, intersecting with race and class. it's deft in it's articulation and stark in it's honesty. resists a lot of pigeon holing, which i suppose is a good thing. a right thing. travis' theatre work is some of the most stirring, immediate, urgent stuff i've ever seen and this is no exception.

An important addition to the few books on the non-binary experience, you get a very clear sense from this book, about some of the challenges of being 'beyond the binary', especially as a person of colour. I was less fond of the stylistic choice to repeat the chapter heading over and over. I particularly liked the opening chapter, where they are exploring the external markers that healthcare professionals look for in order to believe their own gender identity. Very much their personal story, this book is full of frustration, exhaustion, cynicism and rage.