~ I received an ARC of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks from the publishers for the opportunity!~

~

The Passing Playbook is an extremely relevant, important and heart-warming book about a transgender teenager in Ohio. After experiencing severe bullying when he transitioned at his old school, Spencer enrols at a new school with the goal of keeping his head down and his true identity a secret so as to ensure his own safety and happiness. But when he joins the boys’ soccer team, he ends up benched for games because his birth certificate says “female.” Spencer has to decide if he has the courage to come out as transgender to fight for his rights and the rights of other transgender teens…which means also coming out to the boy he’s falling for. Spencer’s story and his dilemma in this situation is told with honesty and courage, giving a voice to people who have been mistreated just for being who they are meant to be.

I really enjoyed this book. Isaac Fitzsimons’ exploration of identity, bigotry, injustice and religion in the story are so well done and really shed light on so many sociocultural issues present in history and today. While the story largely focuses on transgender experiences and issues, it is highly diverse in its representation of other identities and sexualities, including non-binary. There is just so much in this book that I feel will really resonate with readers and also help educate those that know little about the LGBTQ+ community.

I love Spencer. He is a wonderful main character and I really enjoyed spending time with him throughout the story. His experiences transitioning at his old school are only lightly touched upon as the story focuses more on his relationships with his family, who fully support him though they struggle at times to let him be who he is because they want to protect him, his best friend Aiden who is also transgender, his passion for soccer and comradery with the soccer team, and of course, his blooming relationship with Justice Cortes, love interest and fellow soccer team member. Spencer’s interactions with the other characters in the story is a really important part of him finding the courage to be true to himself, his rights and his needs as an individual. It’s his relationship with Justice that most influences Spencer’s character development, as together they have to deal with pressures of Justice’s extremely Christian family and what it means for the soccer team when Spencer isn’t allowed to play.

This book is such a hopeful and wonderful story about fighting for transgender rights, for humanity, for acceptance and something much deeper and significant than mere “tolerance.” The story deals with many issues carefully while always staying true to the character’s journeys and the plot. I think it is definitely a book worth reading and highly recommend you pick it up when it hits shelves in June. If you’re at all like me, this book will make you smile, laugh and undoubtedly shed a few, or several, tears.

What business does this book have being so unabashedly wholesome (in the best way)! Though topically weighty, The Passing Playbook balances its astute consequence with touching adorableness, charting the story of athletic wunderkind Spencer as he switches schools in an attempt to shake off the aftermath of some transphobic circumstances and chooses to chase his soccer star ambitions with softhearted sincerity.

The pacing is ostensibly a bit off but more than made up for by the on-point puns, pop culture one-liners and the bouncy, buzzing personalities that pepper its pages (shoutout to the warm affection of Spencer's parents and his autistic baby brother, and the supportive companionship he shares with Aiden and Riley). Between the optimistic sporty camaraderie and chummy compassion of his squad stepping up for their own and the authentic collaborative spirit and allyship squabbles of the QSA club's assemblies, Spencer conquers his anxieties and the cowing obstacles of coming out to clinch the casual acceptance of the school community in spite of the worst-case scenario he's already acquainted with.

The Passing Playbook collates a small collection of affecting scenes that come together for a short and sweet celebration of transness, and of the wondrous courage and strength of character of those who move through the world beyond the boundaries of cisgendered; Spencer showcases his fierce bravery again and again throughout his story - whether he's battling against bigoted opposition to bathroom choices, being benched by stupid bureaucracy, or finally fighting his way back onto the field.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children's UK for kindly passing on this arc! 💫

the joy i feel knowing that trans kids today have books like this to help them through hard times

(the absolute bitterweetness i feel thinking about all the things that could have been different for me if i had books like this to help me through hard times)

this is a very wholesome and very sweet and very feel-good novel about a trans kid finding balance between staying stealth (to protect himself and to feel the joy of passing - bc no matter what people say passing will make so many of us absolutely euphoric) and standing up for himself and his rights

it's also about friendship and finding acceptance not only in queer spaces (which are super important) but in very traditonally heteronormative places too - which i really appreciated as a sports loving trans guy (please mentally insert the hockey luvin homo picture here bc that's me)

if you want a nice story featuring a black trans mc and his christian bf and the loving football team and some awesome but realistic parents, then you're in luck, my friend

(tho i wish we had more time to explore justice's faith. and also macintosh's story. and like a lot of other stuff too. honestly, my only problem with this book is that it felt a tiny bit rushed at times. hence the four stars.)

thank you netgalley and penguin random house children's uk for the arc!!

“I’m your vice captain. If you have something to cry about, you come crying to me. Understand?”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

15-year-old Spencer is a new student, and he’s desperate to fit in. Starting at a new school, making new friends, joining extracurriculars, all of that is already hard enough at his age, let alone when you factor in the fact that he’s transgender.

Spencer is very obviously proud of who he is and his trans identity, but he also doesn’t want it to impact the way his new peers and his soccer teammates see him, or the way he plays his game, and so he hides that part of him away. He is still being authentically himself, just...without the label.

And it works, at least for a short while. That is until his coach sees that he is marked as ‘female’ on his birth certificate, and a law discriminating against trans youth forces Spencer to be benched. Of course, he is devastated. To him, this is his old school all over again.

But, this time he is faced with two choices: the quiet option of letting it go, cheering his teammates on from the benches or speaking up about the discrimination he has faced just for who he is. He wants to choose the second option; he wants to make the world a better, safer, friendlier place for other trans kids just like him, as well as be able to get back to the game that makes him happy...but there’s something stopping him and that something might just be the boy on his team that he’s crushing on. Hard.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I asked to review it after seeing it was a queer/trans novel, something I read a lot of and love to support as a queer writer, but I truly didn’t know what to expect coming into this barring what was said in the blurb.

Now, I’ll be honest, I know next to nothing about any sport, but especially soccer (football) and I really expected that to translate to a bit of a gap in the storytelling for me, but my knowledge, or lack thereof, of athletics didn’t mess with my ability to know all of what was going on in the storyline or fall head over heels in love with this book, which is exactly what I’ve done.

With the ‘big reveal’, so to speak, being put on the blurb, I really expected it to happen super early in the book but when I got to chapter 14 and it hadn’t happened yet, I was kind of glad in a way. While the subject of trans kids being unable to join the sports teams that are for their correct gender, and laws that discriminate against trans youth, is so, so important, it was refreshing and incredibly lovely to have the first half or so of the book just be about Spencer, a trans kid, fitting in and falling in love.

I think that’s something all too rare in media about LGBTQ+ people, it always has to use some form of trauma to further the storyline. We can never just exist and have happy, cutesy, romantic moments - not even in media. But this book gave that to me in spades for the first 65%, which is far more than I expected.

The beautiful, budding love story between Justice and Spencer was so wholesome and heartwarming. Seeing LGBTQ+ kids be happy and gay together is something that I’ll never tire of, even if it is just in books.

Watching them turn from almost rivals/enemies, of sorts, to friends and eventually to lovers was wonderful. Even though it happened quickly, none of their relationship felt rushed. It felt natural and every time something progressed, it felt like I was there watching their relationship grow and change with them. It’s been a long, long time since I was so deeply immersed in a book or a relationship from a book the way that I felt like I was with Justice/Spencer’s.

When Spencer told Justice that he’s transgender, I really was expecting Justice to run away. Very badly written LGBTQ+ media has conditioned me into thinking that it’s the natural response: fear. But Justice didn’t, instead he said that it doesn’t change a thing - that he likes Spencer for Spencer, no matter what sex he was born as, trans or not.

That moment was so incredibly intimate and touching, I may or may not have leaked a few tears.

Another favourite relationship of mine within this book was that of Spencer and his younger brother, Theo. Both of them have their struggles and differences, and Theo struggles with change being neurodivergent. But, their love for each other is never unclear. In every scene together, it’s very obvious that Theo looks up to Spencer, and Spencer loves Theo dearly.

There is one scene towards the end of the book that sticks out to me when I think about Theo and Spencer’s relationship, but I won’t say what it is for fear of spoiling as I do believe that the emotional surprises is what makes this book as beautiful as it is; all I will say is, have tissues. I was unprepared and it made my heart double in size like I was the goddamn Grinch.

Everything about this book was so freaking beautiful and handled incredibly. This speaks wonders as to why LGBTQ+ people should be the ones to write, and tell, our own stories.

5/5 stars. I will be buying and rereading this book, as well as recommending it to every damn person I can possibly recommend it to. Love, love, loved.

I just finished The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons & I hope he has plans to write a 2nd novel.

Spencer is 15 years old & trans. He has a supportive family, but it didn’t stop it ending in disaster when he came out at school last year. It was so bad his parents transferred his autistic little brother to public school so they could afford to move Spencer to a private school.

Despite his parent’s concerns, Spencer secretly tries out for the boys’ soccer team. This leads to more secrets on top of the one he already has - he hasn’t told anyone at his new school he is trans.

When he discovers the boy he likes has an extremely strict religious family who view anything LGBTQ+ as a sin, Spencer worries even more about what would happen if he were to come out.

Then his coach comes to him because the League have said Spencer can’t play because his birth certificate lists him as female. Spencer pretends it is a clerical error, but Coach needs to bench him until it is fixed. Spencer struggles with what to do next. Fighting it would mean coming out publicly to everyone – including the boy he likes. Things went badly the last time he let people know – is soccer (football) worth the risk?

The Passing Playbook is a snap shot of what it can be like to be a young trans person today. Spencer has supportive parents, but it doesn’t mean everyone will be supportive & accepting. This can have repercussions for Spencer, & also for the people he cares about. It is a scary position to be in & an immense responsibility for a young person who just wants what anyone else does – to be accepted for who they are.

Isaac Fitzsimmons has done a fantastic job of presenting us with a character who is very likeable & easy to relate to, while also representing some of the struggles & fears transgender youth face & need to navigate. I anticipate The Passing Playbook to be a hit & you can pre-order it now. The UK release is the 3rd of June 2021.

4.5/5 🌟

Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Random House Children’s UK for the opportunity to read The Passing Playbook in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

This was SO enjoyable and informative both as a cute queer romcom and as an exploration of what it means to grow up as a trans kid.

The passing playbook has the perfect balance of feel good ya, fun sports vibes and the emotional and important issues we need to see covered in ya books now a days

This book has shot up to one of my favourite reads this year and one I will be re reading over and over again. It was such a fun and easy read but kept me invested the whole way through.

The characters were incredibly loveable and I was routing for each and everyone one of them. The team element with the football team and their bond with each other and even their coach was so perfect and a true highlight for me.

I thought this book handled the trans issues in such a well respected manner and showed those true issues clearly and I feel people who may not have been aware of them before will truly have a clearer view and understanding about them now.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the relationship between Spencer and his younger brother Theo. Their bond was incredibly moving and seeing them interact was always such a joy and jerked a few tears here and there.

I would and will be recommending this book from here on in and it is a no brainier that it is a 5/5 star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with e-arc of this book.

The Passing Playbook was a heartfelt novel with brilliant characters, meaningful theme and a well weaved plot.

The writing was readable and simple. I really enjoyed the plot and how poignant the story was. The characters were well rounded which made me root for them.

I didn't understand why Spencer's full backstory wasn't explained. We got snippets of it and a vague understanding that there had been some sort of lockdown but it wasn't fully executed.

Other than that this was a great read with brilliant representation and diversity so I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK, for the chance to read and review this book!

TW: homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, misgendering

Spencer Harris loves soccer, he's a great big brother and he's transgender. After years of bullying and a death threat at his old school, now he wants to start over at Oakley, a liberal private school in Ohio, without telling anyone he's trans. Surrounded by accepting classmates, with a place at the boy's soccer team and a great crush on one of hjs teammates, Spencer is slowly start to relax and be happy. But when a discriminatory law forces his soccer's coach to bench him, because there's an "F" on his birth certificate, Spencer is torn between fighting for his rights and coming out to everyone or hiding who he is.

I absolutely loved "The passing playbook"! Spencer is a magnificent main character, stubborn, brave, sarcastic and with a supportive family, but with a sometimes complex relationship with, a wonderful little brother and a funny and loving best friend. His starting over at Oakley means a new chance for him, to do what he loves, soccer, finding friends and, maybe, love.
I loved reading how much Spencer was loved and supported by his family and friends, all of them ready to have his back and learn from their mistakes. There's a lot of communication, above all in his family and it's wonderful and moving.

His relationship with Justice is lovely and so sweet and I really liked reading their bond becoming more and more strong and profound. Justice is another complex character and I really liked him. He has a complex family situation, with very religious and moralistic parents and older sibling, fighting and scared to be, at the same time, himself, but wanting to give him and Spencer a chance.

It's a book about love and sport, friendship and support, bonds and fighting for one's rights and to be one's self.

Reading The Passing Playbook is like injecting yourself with a shot of serotonin. It’s a book full of love and joy and just a book that’ll make you grin uncontrollably while you’re reading it. Pretty much perfect, in other words.

Probably what I loved most about this book was the following quote:

“I think that the more people who are out and visible, the safer it is for everyone. BUT, and this is a big but, you need to make sure that you’re safe first. Physically safe, yes but also emotionally and psychologically.”

I’ll never tire of books that have this kind of attitude to coming out. The part about putting your own safety above all else, especially. I’ve read too many books that seem to consider it as something you have to do, or as if someone who doesn’t come out is inherently cowardly, or even worse, having other LGBT characters not be understanding if someone doesn’t come out. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been let down by books that do that, so having a book that explicitly takes the stance that you ensure your safety first? Feels more revolutionary than it should, really.

I also love that this book centres on a found family of a sports team — if you liked that aspect of Running with Lions, say, you’ll love this book too. And that no one on the team was an intolerant bigot (although it’s entirely possible my memory is serving me badly here, I will admit). I feel like I’ve read a lot of books where it’s like...everyone but one. And, okay, realism, but do you think I read for realism half of the time? I love LGBT books that just go, okay let’s ditch any homophobia or transphobia (although granted the latter was discussed in this, in the context of the competition’s transphobia). I mean, don’t we all want to live in a world where neither of those things are prevalent?

So when I say that this book is like a shot of serotonin, or like a big warm hug, it’s because of these things. It’s those aspects of a book that you know you’ll get when it’s ownvoices. That feeling that you can trust in the author telling this particular story (not to say you can’t trust when it’s not ownvoices, or an LGBT author, but it’s more fraught). And that’s the overall sensation I had with The Passing Playbook.

Basically, if you hadn’t thought to pick this up before now, I’m here to say, please love yourself and read it.

I would recommend this to my students for a contemporary Young Adult read. A great diverse read and this is a well written debut.

This is a great book for teens, looking at trans rights and homophobia, alongside romance and fitting in at a new school.

This was a very interesting read for me, in that Spencer has already transitioned and is sure of himself, other books I have read with trans characters have been focused on the transition part, so this was different in that respect. We still see, however, that even once transitioned and passing some of the problems that Spencer still faces. Including whether he should tell people at his new school that he is trans, the issues he has with getting changed in the boys changing rooms, homophobia from Justice's family and church, and whether he is allowed to play on the boy's football (soccer) team when his birth certificate still labels him as female.

I loved that his parents were supportive, if a little over-protective. Spencer's interactions with his little brother (who has autism) are lovely and genuine, as well as with Riley when he helps them and backs them up, it shows that Spencer is a very caring person. His relationship with Justice is complex as Justice comes from a very religious family that are are clearly homophobic. I loved how diverse all the characters are, and they are portrayed well, none of them feel like they have been included for tokenism, it is just the real world and I love it!

The plot moves at a good pace, I read the majority of the book in one day as I wanted to keep reading.

The Passing Playbook is a great read that looks at some very important and prevalent topics which are portrayed in a way that is both accessible and enjoyable for teen readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children's for the e-arc to review.

This book sounded so cute, and I was so excited for it. But the writing style just didn't work for me. It felt like I was being recounted a story rather than being sucked into it.

I was pretty disappointed. That said, it could be that this book just isn't for me right now. And I may try it again in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

The Passing Playbook is about Spencer, a trans-15-year-old boy who starts a new school, tries to be in the soccer team and tries to navigate potential romances. There is a discriminatory law that states that because Spence has an F on his birth certificate (because in the state, they can't change the birth certificate) that he can't play in the male team and this is explored closer to the last part of the book.

This was a nice book and it shows issues that trans people go through. It also shows how tough it can be for a gay kid to live with a very conservative family. The romance was cute but I think it could have been developed a little more, especially towards the end where the usual conflict happens,

Rating: 3⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I really enjoyed this book - I just wish it was longer! The main conflict of the book begins too close to the end and wasn’t explored enough for me. I think it needed more chapters.

In general I enjoyed how the issues in this book were explored and it did feel realistic.

I really enjoyed ‘The Passing Playbook’. Spencer is a very likeable character, and I loved following his story and seeing him get a happy ending, even there are still larger issues. It’s written in third-person, which personally I enjoy a lot more than first, but it’s not as widely used it YA romances. So it was a lovely change!

‘The Passing Playbook’ follows a trans teen, Spencer, starting a new school after some painful and dangerous events at his last school. Here, he can be himself, but because he’s passing, he has a choice or whether to reveal himself as trans and deal with consequences, or not admit the truth. The situation gets more complicated when Spencer joins the football team, starts falling for his teammate as well as has to navigate being a supportive friend to Riley, a kid who’s trying to figure things for themselves.

I enjoyed the dynamic of ‘The Passing Playbook’ both at school and in a home environment. Spencer’s family was supportive for the most part, and it was great to see. There have been some heavy topics handled by the book – such as transphobia and religious hate – and while ‘The Passing Playbook’ hasn’t shied away from those topics, it also created a cute romance and (mostly) supportive environment for the main character.

This is a sweet middle grade about navigating a new school whilst being a stealth trans boy. Some of the plot points seemed over simplified to me. However that could just be due to the age of the reader that this book is aimed at.

4.5 stars. This book gave me so many butterflies, there were happy moments, sad moments, loving moments and more. This story was beautifully told about Spencer who had been treated horribly in his last school due to the fact he is transgender. The story starts as Spencer is going to a new school, throughout this book you follow a journey of acceptance, fighting for rights, relationships and so much more. Spencer’s story was truly amazing to read about, I got to understand what it’s like for a person who is transgender and how it feels for a transgender person when things that should be available without any questions aren’t. I really enjoyed the writing style in this book as it flowed so quickly that I ended up reading it in a day. The relationships in this book were truly wonderful and there was such a diverse group of characters who were accepting of each other’s emotions and struggles. Spencer was an amazing character to follow and I loved seeing his friendships blossom. This is definitely a must read in my books and it made my heart so happy. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Spencer has just started at a new school. He’s a talented soccer player. He’s also transgender, and, after a horrible experience at his previous school (of which we never really learn the specifics) is keen to keep that particular information under the radar if possible. Of course, it’s not going to be quite that simple.

It feels like, and is, a very “YA” kind of book - a simple story told in a very straightforward way and no less enjoyable for that. I liked the characters- the football coach was great - and that there was a relative lack of angst - although Spencer certainly has some challenges over the course of the story, the most awful things that happen to him have already happened before the story starts. And there’s the kind of satisfying ending that you want from a story with a big sports component.

The part I found really interesting was around Spencer’s involvement with a boy from a very conservative religious family. This obviously set up interesting stresses and conflicts, and I felt for both boys in a very difficult situation.

(But is a “hell house” really a thing? That’s super disturbing, if so!)

A very readable, diverse and ultimately uplifting story - I enjoyed it a lot.

After a horrible experience at his old high school Spencer Harris is ready to turn a new leaf. He's Black, fifteen, a bit of a nerd, and good at soccer. He's also trans.
His new private school offers him the chance to start over, and, despite his initial desire to 'lay low', he finds himself joying the school's soccer team. No one at Oakley knows he's trans, and while Spencer is not ashamed of who he is, he doesn't want to re-experience the bullying and harassment he was subjected to at his old school.
While Spencer becomes friends with the other boys on the team, his budding crush on a fellow team member and the fact that he joined the team after his parents explicitly forbid him to...well, these make his life a bit more complicated.
Things take a downward turn when Spencer is benched due to a discriminatory law.

Isaac Fitzsimons' prose is the classic YA coming-of-age kind of fare, simple and readable, only occasionally coming across as a wee bit green (some lines of dialogue here and there, maybe a description or two). I appreciated how inclusive this book was. In addition to Spencer being trans, we have queer, gay, autistic, and non-binary characters.
Spencer comes across as a realistic teenager, sometimes prone to angsting over this or that, being a bit self-involved, or giving his parents a hard time,. We can also see how hard it is for him, how anxious he is about people accepting him for who he is. He was a really sweet kid and I really admired that he speaks up about the gender-neutral bathrooms and for being so supportive towards his younger brother.
I also liked how uplifting the story was. It made me smile more than once and I am so happy that Fitzsimons didn't let his story follow the path of many other lgbtq+ YA book (usually a character is outed) and that he actually made his mc's parents into more than one-dimensional characters. The authors keeps a good balance between Spencer's character arc and the romance subplot.

This was a really wholesome book. We have a cute romance, as well as good family and friendship dynamics, and the author includes realistic and current issues in his storyline. There may be the odd cheesy moment but I could have not cared less (if I wanted 100% realistic stories I would not be reading anything ever).
This is clearly a novel with a big heart. The author treats his characters and their struggles with empathy and understanding. If you are a fan of Kacen Callender or Julian Winters you should definitely consider giving The Passing Playbook a chance.