The First Post

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The First Post

I've been inspired by my most recent read, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, to start a blog based on the books I read. The first book is the one that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. 
Symptoms of Being Human is about a person named Riley Cavanaugh who is trying to cope with accepting who they are. Riley is gender fluid and discovering who Riley Cavanaugh really is while also dealing with the pressure of being the child of a congressman and adjusting to a new school. Riley's therapist suggests that starting a blog and reaching out to people who might be going through similar things might be a good way to relive stress and to let things out in the open anonymously. When Riley's blog goes viral, the secret identity of Riley is threatened to be exposed. Riley has to decide between giving up a coping mechanism and a whole family of online followers or being true to who Riley really is and risking being out in the open with everyone watching, and some judging. 
     I really enjoyed this book. I think it's a good book for any young person trying to discover who they really are or want to read something about a person who may be going through similar things. It provides a lot of information about what it means to be gender fluid and provides some different ways to explain it to people who don't understand. Riley explains it as being a "dial," not a switch that you can flip to one side or the other and be categorized under one specific gender. 
    If you've read this book and enjoyed it, another book that is similar to it is Gracefully Grayson. Some reviews I've read also suggest Simon vs the Homo-Sapien Agenda and The Art of Being Normal to anyone who enjoyed reading this book.

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