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Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).

From Booklist

Starred review from June 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Vulnerable and honest, Gender Queer grapples with issues of identity and sexuality in ways that highlight how messy and painful but ultimately vindicating the process of understanding and valuing yourself can be. Kobabe shares details of eir childhood, struggling with puberty, crushes, and teen sexual fantasies. Many of the anecdotes resonate with the general experience of uncertainty and experimentation common to kids growing up; other pieces portray the unique experience of knowing you are different but lacking the language to express how and the isolation wrought by an absence of validating representation. Kobabe relates the slow progress of eir nonbinary journey--finding pronouns that fit, worrying about coming out, and generally discovering ways to celebrate eir true self. The art highlights the core internal journey with frequent simple backgrounds centering Kobabe's avatar as e struggles with relationships, labels, and shopping. This deluxe edition adds a heartfelt intro by She-Ra and Lumberjanes creator ND Stevenson and an afterword from the author detailing both eir fear of pushback and the joyful reactions from readers. Also included are numerous process images and text, showing the transition from online single panel comics to detailed, full-color images. Highly recommended reading for those on their own journey of exploration or those supporting the explorers in their own lives. Gender Queer exists so a new generation can see the words and experiences to help them feel whole and seen.

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From School Library Journal

Starred review from July 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Kobabe, who uses the pronouns e, em, and eir, was assigned female at birth but never felt that this designation fit. As e grew up, e learned about the spectrum of gender designations and settled on nonbinary as the best descriptor. E came out to eir family as nonbinary and asexual and found that eir family supported em however e identified. In this memoir, Kobabe chronicles eir life from the time e was very young through eir coming of age and adulthood. E describes common situations from the perspective of someone who is asexual and nonbinary: starting a new school, getting eir period, dating, attending college. The muted earth tones and calm blues match the hopeful tone and measured pacing. Matter-of-fact descriptions of gynecological exams and the use of sex toys will be enlightening for those who may not have access to this information elsewhere. VERDICT A book to be savored rather than devoured, this memoir will resonate with teens, especially fans of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Mason Deaver's I Wish You All the Best. It's also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand.-Jenni Frencham, Indiana University, Bloomington

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

February 25, 2019
This heartfelt graphic memoir relates, with sometimes painful honesty, the experience of growing up non-gender-conforming. From a very young age, Kobabe is unsure whether to claim a lesbian/gay, bisexual, or even transgender identity: "I don't want to be a girl. I don't want to be a boy either. I just want to be myself." Kobabe comes of age having to navigate expressions of identity such as clothing and haircuts, with fraught attempts at romantic and sexual entanglements. Eventually, Kobabe's supportive sister concludes: "I think you're a genderless person." (Kobabe: "She knew before I did.") Kobabe continues to explore the challenges of a nonbinary identity, including the use of alternate pronouns (in Kobabe's case, e/em/eir), the trauma of cervical exams, refuting misplaced concerns from a loving relative who believes "female to male" transgenderism could be rooted in a form of misogyny, and learning that the term autoandrophilia actually applies "for me." Intermixed are lighthearted episodes relating Kobabe's devotion to LGBTQ-inspired Lord of the Rings fan fiction and hero worship of flamboyant ice-skating champion Johnny Weir. Kobabe is a straightforward cartoonist who uses the medium skillfully (if not particularly stylishly), incorporating ample cheery colors, with a script that's refreshingly smooth and nondidactic for the topic. This entertaining memoir-as-guide holds crossover appeal for mature teens (with a note there's some sexually explicit content) and is sure to spark valuable discussions at home and in classrooms.

From AudioFile Magazine

Maia Kobabe is the clear star of the show in this audio adaptation of eir 2014 graphic memoir. In a voice that's reflective, inviting, and refreshingly frank, e guides listeners through eir personal journey of gender discovery. A full cast helps bring the visual elements to life, voicing Kobabe's family, friends, colleagues, classmates, and others. Music and sound effects help ground listeners in each scene as Kobabe wrestles with questions of identity, attraction, sexuality, pronouns, coming out, and medical transphobia. While there are some missed opportunities--stretches of silence that could easily have been filled with more immersive sound effects--this is still an excellent production of an important book, one that many readers will be immensely glad to finally be able to listen to. L.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine