Review Detail

A young adult book, YOU DON’T SEE ME is geared towards 14 and up. I think that’s fairly accurate, though some younger teens may not wish to read this book due to its depiction of self-harm. On that note, trigger warning for self-harm. I will be referring to Ros using they/them pronouns as the summary does.

Ros is at a party when they meet Eddy, a girl who makes them feel like no one else has before. But she doesn’t know that Ros is trans. Ros has to deal with bullies, a new friendship, and family drama all while trying to figure out who they are and whether they want to tell Eddy. Soon things start spiraling out of control and Ros must figure out their next move: be honest or continue hiding the truth?

What I Loved:
Chris Ricketts is a nonbinary author. I typically wouldn’t mention this in a review as I find that an author’s identity isn’t always tied to their writing and isn’t applicable to a review. However, in this case, I think it is. Because of Chris’s personal experience being nonbinary, Ros’s journey is handled with a deep amount of care and emotions. There’s an authentic feeling to Ros’s journey and the emotions that they feel throughout the book. The confusion, anger, fear, sadness, all of it. It’s visceral in a way that, I don’t think, can quite be understood or written by someone who hasn’t felt the same way.

There are a lot of emotions poured into this book. The reader is given a very intimate look at Ros and their journey, which includes the ups and the downs. If Ros is feeling good at the moment, the tone of the book is lighter and more breezy. But if they’re not, if something has them feeling down, the tone reflects that. It darkens in a way that is consistent with a young adult book, but also doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty of life.

This book deals with mental health issues. I do believe it’s in an age appropriate manner, but it does still deal with them. If topics such as self-harm trigger you, it might be better for you not to read this book.

The romance in the book feels both minor and major at the same time. There’s a decent amount of time dedicated to seeing Ros with Edy which helps the relationship feel real. But there’s more time spent on Ros thinking about the relationship with Edy. Strangely this adds to the book rather than takes from it. Because it is a lot of Ros mentally thinking about whether to come out to Edy, thinking about why the label of lesbian doesn’t fit them. For such an introspective book, they manage to balance the romance in it well

What Left Me Wanting More:
The ending of the book felt a bit abrupt. There were situations set up readers don’t get to see the outcome to but we never got that. The book just…ends. While reading you are given different ways that these can go, as Ros thinks through the good and the bad, but we never get to see how it all unfolds.

Final Verdict:
A fascinatingly emotional look at teenager coming to terms with being transgender, YOU DON’T SEE ME discusses tough topics with grace and approaches Ros’s identity with care and love.