Both Can Be True
by Jules Machias (Author)
Debut author Jules Machias explores identity, gender fluidity, and the power of friendship and acceptance in this dual-narrative Own Voices story about two kids who join forces to save a dog . . . but wind up saving each other.
Ash is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. For someone who cycles through genders, it's a daily struggle to feel in control of how people perceive you. Some days Ash is undoubtedly girl, but other times, 100 percent guy. Daniel lacks control too--of his emotions. He's been told he's overly sensitive more times than he can count. He can't help the way he is, and he sure wishes someone would accept him for it.
So when Daniel's big heart leads him to rescue a dog that's about to be euthanized, he's relieved to find Ash willing to help. The two bond over their four-legged secret. When they start catching feelings for each other, however, things go from cute to complicated. Daniel thinks Ash is all girl . . . what happens when he finds out there's more to Ash's story?
With so much on the line--truth, identity, acceptance, and the life of an adorable pup named Chewbarka--will Ash and Daniel forever feel at war with themselves because they don't fit into the world's binaries? Or will their friendship help them embrace the beauty of living in between?
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Publishers Weekly
Musician Ash, a 13-year-old synesthete, is trying to choose a single gender after starting at a new Ohio school. It's what their transphobic father wants, and Ash hopes that identifying consistently as either a boy or a girl will keep them from being bullied, as they were at their previous school. Meanwhile, animal enthusiast Daniel, Ash's classmate, wishes he could live up to his mother and twin brother's pressure to be less emotionally sensitive. When the two join forces to keep an elderly Pomeranian named Chewbarka from being euthanized, a tentative romance develops, and both begin coming to terms with who they are. Alternating between the two white protagonists' first-person perspectives and accompanied by illustrations of Ash's synesthesia, Machias's debut handles both realistic emotional journeys with compassion, while offering a nuanced portrayal of the benefits and limitations of labels. While the two voices are overly similar, and a threatened public outing of Ash's gender identity is perhaps not treated with the seriousness it deserves, Ash's and Daniel's different but intertwined experiences with gender identity and stereotypes lead to a celebration of allyship and fluidity that's a joy to read. Ages 8-12. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management. (June)
Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV060000 - Juvenile Fiction | LGBT
